RIPON — A DUI checkpoint, focused on cracking down on impaired drivers in Ripon is set for tonight from 7 p.m. until 3 a.m. Sunday.

Ripon Police First Sergeant Steve Merchant said his officers will also be looking for motorists on the road without drivers’ licenses in their continuing effort to lower the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol related crashes.

A major component of the checkpoints, beyond taking dangerous drivers off the road, is to increase awareness of the consequences of impaired driving and to encourage the use of sober designated drivers, he said.

Funding for the operation is provided through a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety and through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.