GILROY
– Even Mother Nature seemed to back the cause Friday night.
The sky barely drizzled as 700 cars were stopped at the Gilroy
Police Reserve Officers sobriety checkpoint between 8:30 p.m. and
1:15 a.m. Friday night and Saturday morning on Leavesley Road near
Forest Street.
GILROY – Even Mother Nature seemed to back the cause Friday night.
The sky barely drizzled as 700 cars were stopped at the Gilroy Police Reserve Officers sobriety checkpoint between 8:30 p.m. and 1:15 a.m. Friday night and Saturday morning on Leavesley Road near Forest Street.
But just as the three full-time officers, six reserve officers and eight members of the Explorers began packing up the cones and shutting down, the heavens opened and rain poured.
By then, however, officers had made three arrests – two for driving under the influence and one for marijuana possession – and had informed countless others about the dangers of drinking and driving.
“Last year we had one fatal drunk driver accident,” said Cpl. Rosa Quinones, the Gilroy Police Department representative for the Avoid the 13 program. This Santa Clara County drunken driver prevention program began in 1973 with 13 county police agencies. “We’re trying to make sure we don’t have any this year.”
Last year Gilroy Police stopped more than 500 cars and made three drunken driver arrests at its annual checkpoint. Avoid the 13, which was now grown to 17 agencies, began Dec. 13 and will run through Jan. 1. Using a combination of sobriety checkpoints, DUI stings, DUI warrant serving deliveries and educational events, the county’s 28th annual campaign ends Jan. 2.
Through Friday, Santa Clara County’s police agencies have arrested 444 drunk drivers and there has been 15 DUI-related injury accidents. There have been no DUI-related fatalities.
During the 19 days of Avoid the 13 last year, 850 DUI arrests were made in the county – 75 on Gilroy’s streets and highways. Twenty-six injury accidents attributed to alcohol were recorded during the same period, and one fatality took place in the CHP’s Gilroy jurisdiction.
But according to officers, using checkpoints is not so much about how many drivers are arrested but how many people get the word to be safe during the holiday season.
“We’re reminding them to not drink and drive during the holidays. If they do, we’ll arrest them,” Quinones said. “We understand people want to have fun and may want to have a drink; we just want to make sure they have a driver.”
Gilroy Mayor Tom Springer and City Council member Criag Gartman came out to show appreciation for the efforts of the police and volunteers. Gartman said he visited the sobriety checkpoints even before he became a councilmember.
“I like to come out and show my support,” he said. “I would’ve bought them pizza, but the’ve already taken care of that.”
The Gilroy police officers and volunteers could stop four cars at a time Friday night. The average driver might not have suspected that they were being checked. Drivers were instructed to stop at the checkpoint and roll down their windows. A police officer then would give them flyers on drunk driving and asked them if they had had anything to drink.
The process took about 10 seconds, but in that short time officers could quickly look for signs of drinking.
“While we’re (talking to them), we’re smelling for alcohol on their breath,” Quinones said.
Another officer would shine a flashlight inside the car from the passenger side to search for open alcohol containers. But there are several other signs that alert officers that a driver may be impaired.
“We’re looking for the classic symptoms of a drunk driver,” Officer Frank Bozzo said after officers made their first arrest at 9:30 p.m. “The biggest thing would be the breath … or as in the case of this driver, he was non-responsive to conversation.”
Other signs of a drunk driver include bloodshot eyes and slurred speech.
Suspect drivers were asked to take a roadside test, which included making the drivers stand and touch the tips of their fingers to their noses and taking a breathalyzer test.
If a driver failed that test, they were taken to the Gilroy Police Department and their cars were towed.
As parents with children drove through the checkpoint, officers gave children small teddy bears and gave out keychain flashlights.
“We’ve had very positive comments,” Quinones said. “Some people are driving by twice. They circle around to see what we’re doing.”
