A DUI checkpoint in the Smyrna area over the holidays resulted in several DUI arrests and a number of other violations.
The location for the December 27 checkpoint was chosen based on crash data in recent years. As law enforcement officers worked the checkpoint, they discovered a number of violations.
“There were 472 cars that came through the checkpoint, with five DUIs, and then over 32 traffic tickets were issued," said Meghan Niddrie with the Delaware Office of Highway Safety.
Niddrie says while checkpoints like the one in Smyrna are useful tools to discover impaired drivers and other lawbreakers, they also serve another purpose.
“It's important to get impaired drivers off of the road, but this is also a great opportunity for law enforcement to have a positive interaction with the public and to educate people and remind them of the alternatives that they have," she said.
The DUI checkpoint was part of a multifaceted strategy addressing impaired driving over the holidays. State agencies also ramped up awareness and education campaigns, and the Office of Highway Safety teamed up with popular ridesharing services to offer $20 vouchers to help people get home safely on New Year’s Eve. Niddrie says the rideshare vouchers were a big hit.
“We found the rideshare program to be very successful over New Year's Eve," she said. "We had over 300 ride shares claimed and used, so that was over 300 people that got a safe and sober ride home.”
