For Release: Aug. 28, 2007
Contact: J. Tucker Martin or David Clementson
Email: tucker.martin@oag.state.va.us or dclementson@oag.state.va.us
Phone: 804-786-2071
McDonnell, Virginia Leaders Launch Next Round of ‘Checkpoint Strikeforce’ in Virginia
Six-Month Law Enforcement Mobilization Increases DUI Checkpoints in Virginia
RICHMOND – Overlooking I-95 in Richmond, Attorney General Bob McDonnell joined other state leaders this morning to launch an intense six-month mobilization of DUI checkpoints across Virginia.
Virginia motorists can expect a checkpoint somewhere in the Commonwealth conducted every week between now and the end of the year, McDonnell said, as local and state police set up sobriety checkpoints through coordination with DMV in this year’s “Checkpoint Strikeforce,” the 6th year of the successful anti-drunk driving program.
Joining McDonnell at today’s announcement were: Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner D.B. Smit; Virginia State Police Major George Daniels, Jr.; and Kurt Erickson, head of the Virginia-based Washington Regional Alcohol Program
“We need to stay vigilant in combating drunk driving,” McDonnell said. “Labor Day weekend is the nation’s third deadliest holiday for traffic fatalities, and it should remind us of the importance of preventing drunk driving in the Commonwealth. This crack down on drunk driving will save lives from such a preventable tragedy.”
Erickson remarked, "Strengthening Virginia’s drunk driving laws has long been a key interest of Attorney General McDonnell dating from his tenure as Chairman of Virginia’s House of Delegates’ Courts of Justice Committee, when the Commonwealth passed sweeping reforms of its DUI laws in an action hailed by CNN and others as establishing some of the toughest drunken driving laws in the nation.”
As a legislator, Attorney General McDonnell helped craft a 2004 reform package which included: mandatory minimum incarceration for certain drunk driving offenses, extended license revocation, stiffer blood-alcohol content jail sentences, and tougher penalties for repeat offenses.
Virginia law prescribes one-year license revocation for drivers with a blood-alcoholic content of at least 0.08; up to a year in jail for the first DUI offense; and jail time for adults aiding minors in obtaining alcohol.
“Checkpoint Strikeforce” was first initiated in Virginia on June 28, 2002, running through New Year's Day 2003. More than 700 checkpoints resulted in 9,086 citations including: 1,731 DUI arrests, 198 juvenile DUI arrests and 480 seatbelt/child safety seat citations. Each year since, the number of checkpoints has grown, with the Strikeforce becoming a year-round program in 2005. Last year, the group conducted 1,533 checkpoints, with 5,051 DUI arrests.
After Tuesday morning’s press conference, a mock sobriety checkpoint showed the process of a driver being stopped, questioned by an officer, submitting to a field breathalyzer and sobriety test, and being handcuffed and arrested.
DUI Convictions in Virginia
Click here for more information on “Checkpoint Strikeforce.”
