DUI Checkpoint Planned For Friday Before Christmas In Loudoun

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office announced Friday it plans to conduct a sobriety checkpoint tonight to crack down on drivers who are under the influence. The sheriff's office didn't say where the checkpoint will be but that it will begin soon after 10 p.m.

"The sobriety checkpoint is a reminder to residents to make the smart choice, don't drink and drive," Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman said Dec. 20 in a statement.

The sheriff's office conducts sobriety checkpoints once a month and always announces the checkpoints the morning of the checkpoint. Announcing the checkpoints beforehand is considered to be "best practice" based on various court rulings, Loudoun County Sheriff's Office spokesman Colin Whittington said in an email to Patch.

The Supreme Court has found that temporary DUI checkpoint stops do not violate the Fourth Amendment rights of drivers, although several states (not Virginia) have statutes that prohibit sobriety checkpoints. Whittington also emphasized that getting the word out to the public in advance adds to the sheriff's office objective of holding the checkpoints, which is to discourage impaired driving.

A month ago, the sheriff's office announced that it planned to conduct a sobriety checkpoint somewhere in the county on Friday, Nov. 15 that would begin shortly before 10 p.m. At the November checkpoint, 217 vehicles passed through the checkpoint area and one driver was arrested for driving while intoxicated, Whittington said.

Members of the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office Auxiliary Unit and volunteers from the Loudoun Chapter of MADD will help with the checkpoint. Along with providing assistance to deputies, MADD is on site to provide reading materials that explain the dangers of driving if drivers request them.