Sobriety Checkpoint To Be Held Friday In Cuyahoga County

BROOK PARK, OH — A sobriety checkpoint will be held in Cuyahoga County on Friday, the Ohio State Highway Patrol announced. The location of the checkpoint will be announced on Friday morning.

“Based on 2018 data, there were 33 impaired driving-related fatal crashes last year in Cuyahoga County”, Lieutenant R. Gable, commander of the Cleveland Post, said. “State troopers make on average 25,000 impaired driving arrests each year in an attempt to combat these dangerous drivers. Sobriety checkpoints are designed to not only deter impaired driving, but to proactively remove these dangerous drivers from our roadways.” “In 2019 provisional data reveals impairment continues to plague the area. So far this year Cuyahoga County already has 32 fatal crashes that resulted from impaired driving.”

The Highway Patrol said sobriety checkpoints are designed to both intercept drunken drivers and deter impaired drivers from ever taking the road. Local law enforcement will assist in conducting the checkpoint.

Residents are asked to designate a sober driver or make other travel arrangements if they plan on drinking, the Highway Patrol said. "Don't let another life be lost for the senseless and selfish act of getting behind the wheel impaired," the Patrol said.

Police departments in Ohio are required by law to announce sobriety checkpoints and their locations prior to the operation. If law enforcement did not announce the checkpoints, residents could argue their Fourth Amendment rights had been violated.

Sobriety checkpoints are meant to serve as a deterrent to drunken driving as much as a means of catching impaired drivers. Announcing checkpoints allows police to send a strong message — don't drink and drive, we'll be out there looking for you.