MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL
a division of the
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Troop E Headquarters - 4947 Highway 67 North - Poplar Bluff, MO 63901


News Release

For further information please contact: Sergeant Clark D. Parrott
(573) 840-9500, ext. 3532
E-2
February 29, 2016

EMPHASIS: Troop E Officers To Conduct Sobriety Checkpoint

Captain George E. Ridens, commanding officer of Troop E, Poplar Bluff, announces that sometime during the month of March 2016, a sobriety checkpoint will be held in Dunklin County, in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies. Motorists will be contacted for the limited purpose of determining if they are impaired by alcohol or other drugs. All efforts will be made to keep the process as brief as possible. If the officer suspects a driver to be under the influence of intoxicants and/or drugs, they will be asked to submit to a field sobriety test(s).

In 2015, 872 people were killed in traffic crashes on Missouri roadways. Preliminary statistics indicate almost one-fourth of these deaths were a result of impaired driving. Sobriety checkpoints are just one method the Missouri State Highway Patrol utilizes to combat preventable injury and death caused by impaired drivers.

Captain Ridens said, "Driving while impaired continues to be a major contributing factor of traffic crashes in Missouri, and we are committed to protect the public from these drivers."

Approximately 63 percent of Missouri fatal crash victims who are required to be restrained are NOT at the time of the traffic crash. The Patrol urges motorists to protect themselves and their passengers by making sure everyone in the vehicle is properly restrained in a seat belt or child restraint. Join us in supporting the Drive to Zero Highway Deaths. Watercraft operators should ensure that everyone in the vessel is wearing an approved life jacket. Click It 4 Life And Wear It!!
(###)