Roadblocks scheduled for weekend
Roadblocks will be held in Warren County over the New Year’s holiday as part of a statewide crackdown on drunk drivers.
According to the Tennessee Department of Safety, alcohol played a part in 57 of the fatal crashes during last year’s holiday observance counting Christmas and New Year’s. A total of 35 motorists were killed during the holiday season last year.
“We’ve planned for aggressive enforcement methods,” said Tennessee Highway Patrol Colonel Lynn Pitts. “Troopers will remain highly visible and conduct sobriety and driver’s license checkpoints in various communities across the state.”
The announcement includes Warren County where the state has filed advance notice of sobriety checkpoints occurring both on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. The roadblocks may be held on any state highway and are generally of the floating variety where the blocks are moved to different locations throughout the evening.
According to McMinnville Police Captain Bryan Denton, lawmen will be out in force over the New Year’s holiday given its reputation for drinking and driving.
“We’re seeing a decrease in drunk drivers over New Year’s but we’re going to remain vigilant to make sure we don’t go backwards on this trend,” Denton said. “Used to, New Year’s was real bad where there was a drunk driver every few cars. Now we have more designated drivers and folks know they will go to jail if they are caught drinking and driving. We hope folks will continue making the right decisions this year.”
In addition to the New Year’s roadblocks, the THP has announced a continuing string of checkpoints in the coming months including a pair of driver’s license roadblocks on Jan. 28 and Feb. 25.
DUI
Driving Under the Influence (DUI) includes not only alcohol, but any intoxicant, narcotic drug, or other drug producing central nervous system effects — including prescription drugs.
Minimum penalties for a first conviction DUI include a $350 fine, 48 hours in jail and a one year driver’s license revocation.