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Law Enforcement Says A DUI Checkpoint Could Be Anywhere, Anytime

DENVER (CBS4) - Law enforcement officers across Colorado are cracking down on drunk driving this summer. The "100 Days of Heat" campaign is under way this holiday weekend.

DUI checkpoints will be hard to avoid as officers in every county in Colorado will be setting up the checkpoints as part of the campaign that runs through Labor Day.

Four people were arrested Friday night at a checkpoint in Lakewood.

"DUI is a huge problem in our community; in any community," Sgt. David Baldwin with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department said.

DUI checkpoints in the metro area this summer will be focusing on the worst spots for intoxicated drivers.

"In the area we picked tonight we've had over 12 DUI arrests in just that area," Baldwin said.

Memorial Day weekend is the beginning of the statewide crackdown on drunk driving. The Colorado State Patrol says more than 150 people are killed every year from an alcohol-related crash.

"If you have a couple drinks and you think you're okay to drive that car and you get behind the wheel and you have some level of impairment, you're in many ways more dangerous than someone who is falling over drunk who gets into a vehicle and passes out." Detective John White with Denver police said.

About 25,000 people are arrested every year in Colorado for a DUI. Law enforcement says it's one of their most important campaigns of the year.

"We can never control how many drunks drive into our checkpoints. We always anticipate a busy night," Baldwin said.

Drivers who go through checkpoints are given pamphlets with information and statistics about drinking and driving.

Police say they could set up a checkpoint anywhere. The idea is to scare drivers into thinking they could run into a checkpoint at any time.

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