Pennsylvania State Police at Bethlehem said Wednesday that Lehigh Valley motorists should be aware that a DUI checkpoint will be set up somewhere in either Lehigh or Northampton counties over the Memorial Day 2016 long weekend (Friday, May 27 through Tuesday, May 31).
At the DUI checkpoint–or sobriety checkpoint–troopers will systematically stop vehicles “to briefly observe drivers for articulable facts and/or behaviors normally associated with alcohol or drug-impaired drivers,” a news release said. “The goal of a sobriety checkpoint is to reduce the number of alcohol and drug-related fatal and serious crashes, and to reduce the number of intoxicated drivers on Pennsylvania’s highways.”
Pennsylvania State Police often conduct sobriety checkpoints on major holiday weekends, and are legally required to inform the public that a checkpoint will be held during a certain timeframe within a definable geographic area.
At the conclusion of the weekend, police will typically issue a news release identifying the location of the checkpoint and how many (if any) drivers were arrested for DUI and/or other offenses.
