A sobriety checkpoint in Grantsville City saw plenty of vehicles and several violations on Friday night, as the city combats a sharp rise in driving under the influence arrests.
The checkpoint, which began around 8 p.m. on Main Street near the Cooley Street intersection, presented only a minor delay for motorists while officers searched for signs of impairment.
Grantsville City police organized the checkpoint with support from Utah Highway Patrol, Tooele County Sheriff’s Office, Stockton Police Department and Adult Probation and Parole.
The state Division of Motor Vehicles was also on scene, using license plate readers to check the plates, registration and insurance of drivers.
“We know it’s effective because in the first 30 minutes we already have a DUI and I think some open containers,” said Grantsville City Police Sgt. Mike Jones.
By the end of the night, 491 cars passed through the checkpoint with contact made with 335, as the warrant only allowed police to stop 10 cars total at one time. There were four DUI arrests, including a Class A misdemeanor due to unrestrained children, as well as five drug-related arrests and eight traffic violations including no insurance or attempting to avoid the checkpoint.
According to Grantsville City Police Det. Lydon Allred, one of the vehicles stopped for a DUI was a fully-loaded semitrailer with a very intoxicated driver.
Motorists only stopped briefly at the sobriety checkpoint but it is enough time for trained law enforcement officers to spot impairment, Jones said. The driver’s eyes, speech patterns and general interactions can all serve as indicators.
“Things we’re looking for are those bloodshot eyes, slow and slurred speech,” he said. “We’re also looking for the odor of an alcoholic beverage, for the odor of narcotics, whether that be marijuana or something else.”
Both Jones and Allred cited a recent rise in DUI-related arrests as motivation for the checkpoint. In 2016, there were 53 DUI arrests in Grantsville — an increase of 32 from the previous year — and a number of factors are contributing, according to Jones and Allred.
The Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice report on DUIs found arrests decreased statewide by 47 in fiscal year 2016 to 10,755.
Jones said a lot of DUI problems are the result of drug-related impairment. A K-9 handler, Jones said both of the department’s K-9 officers were on hand for the checkpoint to search vehicles for narcotics.
Allred said driving under the influence of marijuana has become more prevalent as debates surrounding legalization have reached nearby states.
“Ever since the states surrounding us legalized marijuana, we’ve seen a huge increase in marijuana DUIs,” he said.
Allred also said the vast majority of juvenile DUIs have been related to marijuana and prescription drug abuse. He said change in culture around marijuana seems to be fueling the rise in arrests.
“I can actually say in my last year of being on this department, I’ve seen more juvenile DUIs than I’ve ever seen,” he said. “It’s been out of control.”
In 2016, 17 percent of all DUI arrests by Colorado State Patrol involved marijuana. In a 2016 Colorado Department of Transportation survey, 55 percent of respondents said they believed it was safe to drive under the influence of marijuana.
It’s not just recreational drug use causing DUIs, according to Allred. Some prescribed medication can cause impairment and it is illegal to drive with those drugs in the motorist’s system.
“It used to be a very consistent age group that you would see a lot of DUIs in,” Allred said. “Now we’re seeing them completely across the spectrum. Where your elderly crowd typically isn’t out drinking and driving, you’re starting to see a lot more of it related to drugs.”
Jones and Allred also discussed the .05 blood alcohol content law passed by the state Legislature, which will go into effect at the end of 2018.
For the average person out for a drink with dinner, there shouldn’t be a concern of exceeding the .05 limit, Jones said. He also reminded motorists that not driving after you drink is the best policy.
“So we want people to drink responsibly, we want them to go out and enjoy themselves, but we want them to be responsible while they’re doing it,” Jones said.
Allred said the majority of DUI arrests he sees are two or three times the current .08 legal limit, so he doesn’t see the .05 limit as a major change.
“People drink and then they get the false sense of, ‘Oh, I can handle this,’ because they’re so intoxicated,” he said. “At .05, you have the ability to think it through.”
Jones said the department has been working additional DUI shifts with UHP and checkpoints like the one last Friday are designed to keep drunk drivers off the road. He said most people are glad to see the checkpoint and didn’t mind the minor delay he compared to a traffic light.
“Basically we just want everyone to be safe on the roads,” Jones said.
Allred said the checkpoint sends a message to anyone who might drive impaired that law enforcement takes DUIs seriously.
“It shows them we’re out here, its shows them that we’re proactive, it shows them that we have zero tolerance for DUI, whether it’s drug or alcohol related,” Allred said.