Troopers to hold Friday OVI checkpoint in Mineral City
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (July 7, 2023) – The State Highway Patrol has announced the site of its local sobriety checkpoint for this evening.
New Philadelphia Post Sgt. Jennifer Makris says it will be going on from 7-10 p.m. tonight at State Route 800 and Grant Street in Mineral City.
“The location is selected based on statistical data based on prior OVI arrests in the area and crash data,” said Makris.
Makris says vehicles are waved through the checkpoint where a trooper will ask to see a license and speak with the driver while looking for signs of drinking.
“It’s a very brief interruption in their travel unless they’re suspected of impairment,” she said.
Drivers suspected of OVI are then diverted to another area for a field sobriety test.
Makris says the goal of publicizing checkpoints is to prevent drunken driving in the first place.
“The biggest reason we even do them is for public awareness and education,” she said.
Makris says promoting the checkpoints in advance also keeps them legal.
“We announce the location and time of a checkpoint as a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision from 1990 that determined checkpoints are constitutional as long as they are publicized ahead of time,” Makris said.