14 sobriety checkpoints this weekend: Here’s where

(WJW) – Law enforcement will be looking for impaired drivers in Northeast Ohio this weekend.

According to officials, OVI checkpoints are planned in at least 14 of Ohio’s 88 counties.

On Friday, Aug. 16 , the Ohio State Highway Patrol reports sobriety checkpoints planned for Wood, Greene, Tuscarawas, Mahoning, Shelby, Marion, Ross, Clinton, Wayne, and Knox Counties. One is also planned in Stark County, according to the sheriff’s office.

On Saturday, Aug. 17 , checkpoints will take place in Jackson, Crawford and Portage counties.

“Based on provisional data, there were 1,560 OVI-related serious injury and fatal crashes in 2023 in Ohio,” Lt. Brandon Spalding, commander of the Marion Post, said.  “State troopers made over 15,000 OVI arrests last year in an attempt to combat these dangerous drivers.  OVI checkpoints are designed to not only deter impaired driving, but to proactively remove these dangerous drivers from our roadways.”

Here’s what we know about the locations and times of those planned in Northeast Ohio:

• In Marion County, on Friday, an OVI checkpoint will be held from 9 p.m. until 11 p.m. on Mount Vernon Ave. east of Forest Lawn Dr. in the City of Marion.

• In Stark County, on Friday, members of the OVI Task Force will conduct two sobriety checkpoints in Perry Township. The first will take place at 7 p.m. at 515 Whipple Ave. NW. The second will take place at 9:30 p.m. at 4824 Tuscarawas St. W.

• In Wayne County, on Friday, an OVI checkpoint will be held Friday from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on State Route 585 in Wooster.

FOX 8 will update this story as we learn more details.

“If you plan to consume alcohol, designate a driver or make other travel arrangements before you drink,” read a release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol. “Don’t let another life be lost by the senseless and selfish act of getting behind the wheel impaired.”

OVI checkpoints are funded with federal grants.

In 1990, the Supreme Court upheld the use of sobriety checkpoints as long as they meet certain guidelines which include public notification.

You can learn more about the legality of checkpoints in Ohio in the video player above.

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