Troopers varying checkpoints to catch drunk drivers

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — They’re not just your typical check points any more. To crack down on drunk driving, state troopers are targeting different areas throughout New Hanover and Brunswick Counties. As the temperature rises, so do the number of Highway Patrol check points in Southeastern North Carolina.

“We try to do something during the summer months, when there’s a lot of activity out here, traffic is heavy and we have an increase in alcohol-related collisions,” 1st Sgt. A.E. Morris said.

Some drivers feel that by avoiding main roads like Market Street in New Hanover County, they can avoid checkpoints, but Highway Patrol says that’s not the case because they do their checkpoints on many different roads at many different times.

“I think they’re better on the side roads anyway, because then they don’t block up traffic on the main roads and we can get to where we need to go in a quicker fashion,” Morris said.

Last week Highway Patrol gave out more than 100 DWI citations at checkpoints in Brunswick and New Hanover Counties. Some of the stops took place on major roads like US 17. Others on side streets like Airlie Road.

“Often when we have check points we’ll have a secondary location set up off the major location we’re at,” Morris said.

Thanks to an increase in alcohol-related enforcement, New Hanover and Brunswick Counties have seen alcohol related accidents decrease by 25-percent over the past two years. Not only are Highway Patrol checkpoints changing locations, they’re also changing times. Morris says they’re setting up check points throughout the day and night to get drunk drivers off the road.