Sobriety checkpoint this weekend

The North Dakota Highway Patrol, Southeast Region will conduct an alcohol saturation event Friday and Saturday in Barnes County. In conjunction with the alcohol saturation event, a sobriety checkpoint will be conducted at an undisclosed location and time in Barnes County, on Friday.

In 2009, 45 people lost their lives in alcohol-related crashes in North Dakota. In 2010, three people have lost their lives. Historically, approximately 45 percent of all fatal crashes are alcohol related, which ranks the use of alcohol as the largest contributing factor, the patrol said.

The purpose of the checkpoint is to deter and detect impaired drivers and not to make a large number of arrests.

Additional troopers, working on their days off, will be patrolling in and around Barnes County during this saturation event.

The sobriety checkpoint will be conducted in accordance with state and federal guidelines. The delay for motorists traveling through the check point, who have made the responsible decision not to drink and drive, will be minimal. Once the checkpoint is completed, troopers will patrol the area looking for impaired drivers.

Tags: north dakota, news, sobriety, checkpoing, barnes, county, alcohol