You would think that law enforcement out to catch drunken drivers wouldn’t want to announce where they’ll be stationed and when. Yet every year notices are sent out about the latest OVI checkpoints.
Why? Because it’s the law.
In 1990, the United States Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that OVI checkpoints were constitutional as long as they are publicized ahead of time. If the police didn’t announce the checkpoint and you were stopped, it could be considered a violation of your Fourth Amendment rights.
Even with the announcements, checkpoints continue to catch impaired drivers while also serving a higher purpose, Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Craig Cvetan said.
“It’s not just about catching impaired drivers, it’s about educating the public about the dangers of drunk driving,” Lieutenant Cvetan said. “With everybody that comes through, we give a handout that talks about why we do checkpoints and why impaired driving is an issue still.”
In 2018, enforcement efforts across the state nabbed 26,614 drivers on suspicion of impaired driving, Ohio State Highway Patrol numbers show.
That same year, there were 13,364 OVI-related crashes on Ohio roadways, resulting in 402 deaths. At least 488 of those crashes occurred in Lucas County, making it the fifth-worst county for drunken driving crashes in the state, behind Franklin, Cuyahoga, Hamilton, and Montgomery counties.
While 2018 crashes did decrease by about 8 percent from 2017, fatalities remained relatively unchanged.
Checkpoint locations are selected based on where statistics show drunken driving is most prevalent.
First Published August 2, 2019, 6:33 p.m.
