Are you ready for Checkpoint Strikeforce?

Checkpoint Strikeforce is a multi-state law-enforcement initiative to get drunk drivers off the road.  Last year, police in Delaware, Washington D.C., Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia stopped over 400,000 drivers at sobriety checkpoints.

Checkpoint Strikeforce spreads its message with high-visibility sobriety checkpoints combined with paid advertising.  The goal is to educate the public about the dangers of drinking and driving – and the consequences.

Every year this initiative takes place around Labor Day.  This year Checkpoint Strikeforce is running from August 21 through Labor Day.

Has the program been successful?  Police like sobriety checkpoints because they stop impaired drivers and get them off the road before they can hurt themselves or somebody else.  Many states use a “zero-tolerance” approach and arrest all drivers found with a BAC above the legal limit of 0.08.

Checkpoints work because not only are people caught when they drink and drive, but they are also deterred from getting behind the wheel if they know that there’s a chance they’ll be stopped.  According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, alcohol-related traffic deaths can be cut down by up to 20 percent with sobriety checkpoints.

As an added bonus, these checkpoints can also nab other law-breakers, including wanted felons and fugitives, drivers with suspended licenses, and people not using restraints (including car seats) correctly.