Aug. 26, 2003 – Over the approaching Labor Day holiday weekend, police will be staffing "sobriety checkpoints" on St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John.
The purpose of the checkpoints and the Police Department's "sobriety initiative" is to ensure that Virgin Islanders "have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend with the numerous activities planned throughout the territory," a Police Department release distributed on Tuesday stated.
More specifically, it said, the checkpoints are intended to bring to motorists' attention "the need to decrease the use of alcoholic beverages while driving."
While police are being non-specific about where checkpoints will be set up on St. Croix and St. John, the department provided a list of a dozen locations for St. Thomas.
Those locations are: the Cyril E. King Airport road, Julian Jackson Drive, Crown Bay Road, Veterans Drive, St. Peter Mountain Road, the Magens Bay road, Weymouth-Rhymer Highway, the Bovoni road, the Bolongo Bay road, the Frydenhoj road, Smith Bay Road and the Red Hook road.
On St. Croix, the department will be "saturating police patrols in various areas to enforce traffic laws on the roads in particular," the release stated. Officers will be looking for "drinking and driving, [lack of] seat-belt and passenger-restraint usage, speeding and other traffic violations."
On St. John, "similar efforts will be taken," the release said.
The checkpoints will be in operation from 6 p.m. Friday through 6 a.m. Tuesday.
"Let us make this an accident-free and injury-free holiday," the release stated. "Remember, when you drive drunk or impaired, you lose."
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