Jalisco’s Salvando Vidas (Saving Lives) campaign to keep drunk drivers off the road will continue through the holiday period in the Guadalajara metropolitan area, the state Traffic Department (Semov) has announced.
Motorists approaching the Salvando Vidas DUI checkpoints will notice that some vehicles are waved through to proceed to their intended destinations, while others – selected completely at random – are directed to pull over to undergo the breathalyzer exams. Submitting to the test is not optional. Drivers who refuse are detained on the spot.
Each person being tested blows into a digital breathalyzer apparatus equipped with a single-use disposable mouthpiece. His or her alcohol level appears on the gadget’s screen.
With a register under 0.25 milligrams per liter of exhaled air, the driver is free to continue travel. Testing in the range of 0.25-0.40 mg/lit is motive for issuance of a traffic ticket. The sliding scale of fines is based on the going minimum wage, cut to half the amount if paid within ten working days.
Drivers caught at higher levels are punished with lock up in the Curva drunk tank, along with towing and impoundment fees and time-consuming red tape procedures to retrieve their vehicles. Repeat offenders may lose their licenses.