Police Checkpoint Yields Several

Motor Vehicle Violations

By Andrew Gorosko

Although a sobriety checkpoint conducted by police on South Main Street on the night of Saturday, August 25, and early morning of Sunday, August 26, did not uncover any drunken drivers, police issued a variety of other motor vehicle charges and warnings. (See police reports.)

Ten police officers positioned themselves along South Main Street near Borough Lane in the seven-hour checkpoint, which stopped an estimated 1,000 motorists traveling both northbound and southbound on South Main Street, also known as Route 25.

Police stopped each vehicle that passed by and also pursued some motorists who on seeing the checkpoint had made U-turns in trying to avoid it.

The checkpoint was the second of three checkpoints planned for this summer.

On stopping the vehicles, police queried motorists on whether they had been drinking alcoholic beverages or using illegal drugs.

During the course of the checkpoint, police charged one man with possession of drug paraphernalia. They also issued two misdemeanor summonses to motorists who were driving with suspended licenses.

Police also issued four infraction tickets to motorists who were operating unregistered motor vehicles.

One driver received an infraction ticket for driving without a license.

Police verbally warned 14 motorists for various motor vehicle offenses. They issued five written warnings to motorists whose automotive emission stickers had expired.

The sobriety checkpoint was the fifth such effort conducted by town police since May 2000. Police held past checkpoints at the intersection of Trades Lane and Wassermann Way at Fairfield Hills, and also on Hawleyville Road near Covered Bridge Road in Hawleyville.

The purpose of such publicized checkpoints is finding motorists who are driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, as well as deterring such intoxicated motorists from driving. Police enforce the state’s laws on the use of seatbelts and child safety restraints at checkpoints.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe said recently the checkpoint program has proved to be an effective device to combat drunken driving. The sobriety checkpoints are partially funded through a law enforcement grant program. The grant funding is effectively spent in such programs, making a clear impression on the motoring public that police are serious about enforcing drunken driving laws, the chief said.

Police typically talk to motorists for less than a minute at such checkpoints. Motorists about whom police have concerns are held at the checkpoint longer, and may be warned or charged depending on the circumstances.

If police suspect that a motorist has been drinking alcohol, based on the smell of alcohol and slurred speech, they conduct what are known as “field sobriety tests,” which involve observing a driver’s horizontal gaze, having a driver perform a “walk and turn” test, and also a “one-leg stand.”

Quantitative results on alcohol consumption are available through breath testing at the police station, in which a person blows a breath into an electronic device which measures the alcohol content in expired air. If a person refuses to take a breath test, he or she receives an automatic 180-day driver’s license suspension.

The presence of drugs in a driver’s system may be checked through urine and/or blood testing.