DUI checkpoint. File photo.
DUI checkpoint. File photo.

Signal Hill police will be on the lookout for drunk and drugged drivers at a DUI checkpoint Friday night.

The department didn’t disclose exactly where in the city it would be, but the checkpoint will run from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m., police said in a news release.

“In California, alcohol-involved collisions led to 1,155 deaths and nearly 24,000 serious injuries in 2014 because someone failed to designate a sober driver,” SHPD said. “Over the course of the past three years, Signal Hill PD officers have investigated 65 DUI collisions which have claimed 1 life and resulted in another 31 injuries.”

A DUI doesn’t just mean alcohol, the department added.

“In recent years, California has seen a disturbing increase in drug-impaired driving crashes,” police said.

In fatal crashes, 30 percent of drivers had one more more drug in their system, police said, citing studies on the topic.

According to one study, more drivers tested positive for drugs than alcohol, with the most common drug being marijuana, police said.

High-profile checkpoints like this one are intended as a deterrent to anyone who might drive while drunk or high.

Officers will also be screening drivers for valid licenses as they pass through the checkpoint, police said.

Jeremiah Dobruck is managing editor of the Long Beach Post. Reach him at jeremiah@lbpost.com or @jeremiahdobruck on Twitter.