COLUMBUS — Richland and Ashland counties are among 14 around Ohio selected for OVI checkpoints on Thursday evening.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol announced the counties on Wednesday morning via an emailed press release regarding what had been announced as a “statewide OVI checkpoint.”
Exact locations for the statewide checkpoints will be announced Thursday morning, the patrol said, indicating the stops would be conducted between 7 and 10 p.m.
Other counties conducting OVI checkpoints on Thursday will be Lucas, Wood, Marion, Medina, Geauga, Portage, Jefferson, Tuscarawas, Butler, Warren, Jackson and Scioto.
The OSHP in Columbus announced the “statewide checkpoints” in a news release on Sunday, which said the stops would be conducted on Friday, May 15. That release made no mention of Thursday checkpoints.
A spokesman for the OSHP in Columbus on Wednesday morning said the statewide checkpoints are being done over a three-day period and not every county would be done on the same evening.
The statewide OVI checkpoints, paid for by federal grant funds, are planned to deter and intercept impaired drivers, according to the patrol.
“Troopers see far too many people let one bad decision to drive impaired impact their lives and the lives of others traveling on Ohio’s roadways,” said Col. Charles A. Jones, patrol superintendent.
“OVI checkpoints are designed to not only deter impaired driving but to proactively remove these dangerous drivers from the road,” Jones said.
OVI checkpoints OK’d by state, federal courts
The legality of OVI checkpoints in Ohio has been approved in both state and federal judicial decisions.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in the landmark case of Michigan v. Sitz (1990), determined the benefits of sobriety checkpoints in deterring drunk driving outweigh the minimal intrusion on individual privacy.
This ruling permits DUI checkpoints under the U.S. Constitution by balancing the state’s interest in preventing drunk driving against the level of intrusion on individual drivers who the police briefly stop.
In Ohio, the Supreme Court has also affirmed the legality of DUI checkpoints, stipulating certain conditions to ensure they comply with constitutional standards.
These conditions, as outlined by the Ohio State Highway Patrol in Policy Number OSP-200.21, include:
— The site of the checkpoint be selected by an official other than those who will conduct the checks.
— The law enforcement agency planning to conduct a checkpoint to demonstrate that there is a significant alcohol crash problem at the location chosen for the checkpoint. The site of the proposed checkpoint must have a significant history of alcohol-related crashes and impaired driving violations. The time and day of the checkpoint must parallel the peak periods of alcohol crash involvement.
— The site selection process must consider the safety of motorists and officers.
— The site must allow officers to divert vehicles out of the traffic stream without creating a hazard or traffic backup.
— The checkpoint commander will determine the random sequence of the stops and specify the method used to indicate which vehicles are to be stopped.
— The checking officers will greet the driver, screen him/her for the required articulated signs of impairment and either release the vehicle or have the vehicle diverted to the screening area.
— Should the initial observation of the driver give probable cause of a violation of 4511.19 ORC, the driver will be diverted to the screening area.
— The driver will be screened for alcohol impairment in the same manner as any OVI suspect.
