DUI Checkpoint Tows 15 Cars

A Field Sobriety Checkpoint was set from 6 p.m. to midnight on April 13 on the southbound side of the Berlin Turnpike south of Deming Road.

A total of 1,685 vehicles were directed through the checkpoint during the detail where vehicles were briefly detained and interviewed by officers. Of the 1,685 vehicles passing through the checkpoint 21 motorists were flagged by the contact officers for DUI testing or other investigative interviews. The results are as follows.

Two (2) motorists were briefly detained for DUI assessment.  There were no arrests for DUI.

Three (3) motorists were cited for possession of drugs

Three (3) motorists were cited for operating motor vehicles without insurance

Fourteen (14) motorists were cited for operating unregistered motor vehicles

One (1) motorist was cited for Operating without a License

One (1) motorist cited for operating a vehicle under suspension

Fifteen (15) motor vehicles were towed.

This DUI enforcement is funded by a grant from the Connecticut Department of Transportation's Highway Safety Division to support increased DUI detection and enforcement efforts. This enforcement program runs from Thanksgiving 2011 through Labor Day 2012. The grant provides 75 percent reimbursement of the overtime costs related to these efforts. The grant helps to provide funding to staff additional DUI patrols as well as roadside sobriety checkpoints.  Roadside sobriety checkpoints have been shown to be the most effective method to detect and apprehend under the influence drivers.