DUI Checkpoint In Newtown This Weekend

A DUI checkpoint is planned this weekend in Newtown Township.

The Bucks County District Attorney has announced the Bucks County DUI Task Force will cap the July 4 holiday week with a checkpoint along the Newtown Bypass on Saturday night into Sunday morning.

Authorities released the following details on the checkpoint:

• From 10 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday, 21 officers from eight municipal departments and the Pennsylvania State Police will operate the checkpoint in the northbound lanes of the bypass near the Sycamore Street intersection.
• Participating municipal departments include Bensalem, Doylestown, Middletown, New Britain, Newtown, Plumstead, Warrington and Warwick Townships.
• Officials said a similar checkpoint held last July 7 resulted in six DUI arrests, one narcotics arrest, two citations for underage drinking and two citations for traffic violations. Six additional drivers who showed signs of impairment, but were not sufficiently intoxicated to be charged, were picked up and transported from the checkpoint by sober drivers.

Officials say they hope the DUI checkpoint contributes to the downward trend of alcohol-related crashes during the July 4 holiday. In Pennsylvania last year, nine people died in alcohol-related crashes on Independence Day and the surrounding weekends, down from the 2016 total of 13 for the same period.

“With so many great alternatives to driving while impaired, there is no excuse for anyone to do it. Have fun, but don’t drink or do drugs and drive. Let’s all be safe," Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said in a press release.

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