Some local police officers may have felt like those old-timers who used to pan for gold in the mountain streams around Mono and Inyo Counties after they screened 800 vehicles and made only one arrest.

To be fair, Walnut Creek police also wrote ten traffic tickets, including both moving violations and driving on a suspended license. Oddly enough, officers insisted that the low arrest total meant that the checkpoint worked, because motorists heard about it in advance and therefore did not drink and drive.

Statistically, there are almost twice as many “drugged drivers” on the road as “drunk drivers.”

Stepped-Up Enforcement

In many parts of the country, saturation enforcement campaigns are only up and running during December and maybe one or two other high drinking-and-driving holidays, like the Fourth of July, Memorial Day Weekend, and Labor Day Weekend. Even in California, roadside checkpoints usually only appear during these times, because checkpoints are so expensive to operate. Instead, supervisors pull officers off their normal shifts and beats, then redirect them to a particular area and tell them to write a certain kind of ticket, all the while avoiding the “ticket quota” label.

These informal campaigns almost always target speeders, and that results in a lot of speeding tickets that probably should not have gone to court, mostly because the evidence is weak. So, it is rather easy to get the charges reduced and the fine and/or points lowered during pretrial negotiations.

Getting Legal Help

The aggressive attorneys at Bigger & Harman, APC, are committed to giving individuals a voice when dealing with speeding and traffic tickets. Call today at 661-349-9300 or email attorney@markbigger.com to receive the personal professional attention you deserve. En español, llame al 661-349-9755.