'None for the road'

Staff

Published Monday, December 22, 2003

Suffolk News-Herald

The Suffolk Police Department's first DUI checkpoint in six years late Saturday and early Sunday netted 73 offenders for violations ranging from driving under the influence and drug possession to driving without a license.

State troopers joined Suffolk officers to man the checkpoint near the scales on Route 58.

"I'm not necessarily surprised by what we found," said Suffolk police department spokeswoman. Lt. Debbie George. "We're very happy at the number of officers from the state police that were able to help us make these arrests and charges. Our cooperation with the state police was a definite plus."

The department, she added, hopes to hold other checkpoints by the end of the year.

Before the checkpoint began, participants crowded into the East Washington Police Precinct as Sgt. Steve Patterson explained the techniques of the department's 'None for the Road' program. "Politely advise (drivers) about what we're doing," he told the officers. "All of (the exchange) should take less than 30 seconds. If a person has to go digging in their trunk or their glove box for their license, ask them to pull over to the side of the road.

"When they pull up, make sure you can see their hands," he said. "If they're fumbling all over and look uncoordinated, politely advise them to pull over."

These were only two of the factors to look for when attempting to deduce whether a driver had had more than one alcoholic beverage - or something worse.

"Look for the smell of alcohol or drugs," Patterson said. "If their tags are expired, or if they hand you an expired license or a credit card, pull them over."

As the clock ticked into the final hours of Saturday and the temperature, helped along by a steady breeze, started to fall, the officers headed out to the scales area.

"It tends to be more hectic with a lot of people on the road," said state trooper Allen Williams, watching hundreds of cars head past as his colleagues set up traffic cones to get started. "People have a few drinks at a party, and they get behind the wheel thinking that they're going to be all right, but they're not.

"The number of drunk driving arrests has been steadily high in this area," he said, referring to Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk. "It's especially good to have a checkpoint like this in Suffolk, because more and more people are coming here."

During last year's Christmas holiday, 12 people were killed and 1,134 injured on Virginia's roadways.

An intoxicant won't be able to perform tasks that would be relatively easy for a sober person, he said. "I might ask them to recite the ABCs from D to Q, or the nine step walk-and-turn."

"Our goal is to ensure that no lives are lost, in our city, due to drunk or unsafe driving," Police Chief William Freeman said in a statement. "To that end, we have increased our enforcement efforts and instituted period safety checkpoints, as a reminder of the importance of safe driving practices.

"Our citizens and visitors are very important to us," he said. "One life lost due to a traffic crash is one life too many. Please obey all speed limits, wear your seatbelt, and above all, don't drink and drive."

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