The North Riverside Police Department has announced it will be cracking down on drunk drivers next week by conducting “safety/sobriety checkpoints,” beginning on Friday, April 22 at 8 p.m. and ending on Saturday, April 23 at 2 a.m.
Two checkpoints will be manned by North Riverside police officers, according to Deputy Chief Deborah Garcia, and the locations will be along high-traffic areas of the village. The locations, according to a press release, will be chosen because they “have consistently shown to be the high-traffic area for previous arrests of impaired drivers.”
Garcia said the checkpoints will operate in a fashion similar to the checkpoints the village’s police department set up in July 2015. At that time, the two checkpoint locations were in the 7200 block of Cermak Road (MB Financial) and in the 2500 block of Harlem Avenue (Costco).
Vehicles won’t necessarily be pulled over for a specific violation, although any visual violations observed by police will result in a vehicle being flagged. Other vehicles will be directed off the roadway by police who will follow an established protocol. In 2015, for example, in addition to on-sight violations, police directed every fifth vehicle into the off-street checkpoint area.
Any drivers who are pulled into the checkpoint area will have to show police their driver’s license and proof of insurance. If there are no violations, those drivers would be immediately allowed on their way. If there are violations, drivers will be directed to a secondary off-street area for processing.
The North Riverside checkpoint is being funded by a grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation.
