Staff Reports

Eastvale/Norco – Nine people were arrested at recent Driving Under the Influence (DUI)/Driver’s License Checkpoints that took place in Eastvale and Norco.

The first checkpoint was on Friday, August 2, on Hamner Avenue and Third Street in Norco between 7 pm and 3 am.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Norco Station, arrested two people for driving under the influence of alcohol and one person for a felony arrest. Five Field Sobriety Tests (FSTs) were conducted, 14 citations were issued for unlicensed drivers, and two vehicles were stored and impounded, out of the 551 vehicles screened.

The second checkpoint took place on Friday, August 16 on Schleisman Road and Archibald Avenue in Eastvale between 7 pm and 3 am.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Jurupa Valley Station, arrested five people for driving under the influence of alcohol and one for a miscellaneous misdemeanor. Thirty-eight Field Sobriety Tests (FSTs) were conducted, 23 citations were issued for unlicensed drivers, and six vehicles were stored or impounded out of the 1,106 vehicles screened. Seventy-four vehicles were also subjected to a secondary screening.

“DUI checkpoint locations are determined based on reported incidents of impaired driving-related crashes,” according to a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department news release. “The primary purpose of DUI checkpoints is to promote public safety by taking suspected impaired drivers off roads.”

Both the Norco and Jurupa Valley stations remind 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. Drivers charged with a first-time DUI face an average of $13,500 in fines and penalties, as well as a suspended license.”

This checkpoint was funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.