DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend, police have arrange numerous OVI checkpoints so as to catch drunk drivers and hold folks secure.
One such checkpoint occurred Monday night time, on the precise St. Patrick’s Day vacation. Deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Workplace arrange the checkpoint in Washington Township on the intersection of Paragon Street and State Route 725.
Police say whereas catching drivers underneath the affect is a plus of this sort of checkpoint, their final purpose is to discourage drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel within the first place.
Whereas some might even see OVI checkpoints as an inconvenience, the sheriff’s workplace says it is necessary to discourage drunk drivers.
“It solely takes a second to alter folks’s lives,” mentioned Main Andy Flagg, MCSO.
Maj. Flagg is likely one of the a number of dozen with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Workplace and Dayton Police Division manning the checkpoint and patrolling the roads. The checkpoint on OH-725 will course of between 700 and 800 vehicles in 4 hours.
“If we will get to somebody, get them off the road earlier than one thing occurs, earlier than any person will get damage, earlier than any person goes to jail, that is what we wish to do,” mentioned Flagg.
Simply on this specific space of Washington Township, Flagg says they’ve arrested 22 folks for drunk driving to this point this 12 months, with 88 arrested final 12 months and 33 in 2023.
It is a pattern Flagg says he — and individuals who dwell close by — hope is not going to proceed.
“I am glad they’re doing it. Folks do not should be ingesting and driving,” mentioned Sarah Oulkhir, native resident. “If there’s checkpoints out, hopefully they’d not drive whereas ingesting.”
One man 2 NEWS spoke with off digital camera mentioned he would not thoughts the inconvenience — if this protects only one life, it could be sufficient.
One other resident says they agree with the strategies, however feels they may’ve picked a greater space.
Officers say they picked this space as a result of excessive variety of arrested they’ve made prior to now, whereas additionally making an attempt to not impede site visitors an excessive amount of of their mission to fight drunk drivers.
In the course of the checkpoint, deputies checked 585 vehicles leading to a number of citations for different elements however no OVI arrests.
