DUI Checkpoint Planned In Santa Monica This Week

SANTA MONICA, CA — The Santa Monica Police Department will ramp up drunken-driving enforcement on Friday with a DUI checkpoint, the department announced.

Police will conduct the checkpoint at an undisclosed location in the city between 6 p.m. Friday and 2 a.m. Saturday morning.

The DUI checkpoint location targets an area with a record of impaired driving-related crashes and arrests, police said.

"SMPD reminds the public that impaired driving is not just from alcohol. Some prescription medications and over-the-counter drugs may interfere with driving. While medicinal and recreational marijuana are legal, driving under the influence of marijuana is illegal," the department said in a release.

Drivers charged with a first-time DUI face an average of $13,500 in fines and penalties, as well as a suspended license, according to the SMPD.