The Checkpoint Strikeforce
campaign of the
District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia (along with
the mid-Atlantic
states of Delaware, Pennsylvania
and West Virginia) is a highly
focused, zero tolerance, continuous, state-to-state effort
to bust drunk drivers and bust them good.
Every week from July 4, 2009 through January 4, 2010,
DUI checkpoints will be conducted by law enforcement officials
on designated roadways throughout the mid-Atlantic region.
In addition, and as a means of supporting this unprecedented
public safety effort, the Washington
Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) is coordinating a more
than three-quarters of a million dollar
public education
campaign
in DC, MD and
VA.
Checkpoint Stikeforce is the impaired driving mobilization
campaign for NHTSA Region 3. NHTSA's national impaired driving
mobilization campaign is Drunk Driving — Over the Limit. Under Arrest.
Even A Police Chief Can Get Nailed for Drunk Driving
Former Alexandria Police Chief David Baker speaks to the consequences of drinking and driving
in this 2-minute PSA about Checkpoint Strikeforce.
Virginia Drunk Drivers: No One is Above the Consequences
(Virginia Kickoff Press Release -- September 2, 2009) Statewide Initiative Decreases Alcohol-Related Fatalities
RICHMOND – In the heart of Richmond’s popular bar district, Shockoe Bottom, Virginia Attorney General William C. Mims joined law enforcement officers to kick off the Commonwealth’s 2009 Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign. As summer fun gives way to tailgates and frat parties, the anti-drunk driving initiative is back in action with stepped-up law enforcement activities, including sobriety checkpoints. Last year in Virginia, alcohol-related traffic fatalities were among the lowest in the past decade. Data issued by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles shows a six-percent decrease in the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities from 378 in 2007 to 354 in 2008. However, 43-percent of Virginia’s total traffic fatalities remained alcohol-related last year. Read more
NTSB SAFETY ALERT: Nation Stuck in 'Decade-Long' Plateau of Drunk Driving Deaths (November 1, 2007) In 2006, 17,602 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes. NTSB Chair Mark Rosenker said that "hard core drinking drivers" — those who drive with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.15 percent or greater, or who are arrested for driving while impaired within 10 years of a prior DWI arrest — are involved in about 54 percent of those fatal crashes. Read more
