Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 1, 1994 TAG: 9401010066
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Authorities found the low number encouraging.
"All in all, I think the word's getting out that we're going to be out there, and people realize it's just not worth taking the chance," said Sgt. P.B. Shumate of the Roanoke Police Department.
However, Shumate emphasized the operation was conducted on a weeknight, and that publicity - including warnings of the checkpoints' approximate locations - may have steered some people away.
Police were anticipating more driving under the influence arrests Friday night and early today. On the second night of the operation, there was no announcement of where the checkpoints would be set up to catch New Year's Eve revelers on the road.
"We could be anywhere at any time," Shumate said.
Aided by a $30,000 grant from the Department of Motor Vehicles, police used about 18 officers to conduct checkpoints at two locations Thursday.
They started at 11 p.m. on 10th Street Northwest, then moved at 1 a.m. to Franklin Road Southwest for another two hours.
In addition to making three DUI arrests - all at the 10th Street location - police charged three people with driving on suspended driver's licenses. Another dozen or so people were charged with infractions such as having expired inspection stickers or vehicle equipment that was defective.
Signs notified motorists of the upcoming checkpoints, and all traffic was required to stop. Each motorist was asked to present his or her driver's license and registration to the officer.
If the officer suspected the driver was intoxicated, he or she was asked to pull over to a designated area, where police conducted sobriety field tests.
One motorist was charged with failing to obey highway signs after she drove through the checkpoint, Shumate said. She was not intoxicated and told police the signs had confused her.
The DMV grant, which came after four people died in two alcohol-related accidents last year in Roanoke, paid for officers to work overtime to stop drunken drivers.
Gene Hartsell, president of the Greater Roanoke Valley chapter of PAID - People Against Impaired Drivers, said the organization worked with police to secure the grant.
"We know and understand that money is the key factor in the whole process," Hartsell said. "I'd like to see six or seven [roadblocks] out there if it was possible."
Hartsell said PAID - a group formed in 1991 which presently has 250 members - believes checkpoints and the increased public awareness of them play a significant role in the battle against drunken driving.
Police have had extra personnel on the streets since mid-November, both with the checkpoints and special patrol officers throughout the city designated to look specifically for drunken drivers.
More than anything else, police hope that their presence will act as a deterrent.
Staff writer Todd Jackson contributed to this story.
by CNB