Friday evening the Indiana State Police Lafayette Post will conduct an enforcement check point targeting impaired drivers in Carroll County. After the checkpoint, troopers will conduct roving saturation patrols aggressively seeking impaired drivers throughout the Indiana State Police Lafayette District which covers Benton, Warren, Fountain, Montgomery, Clinton, Carroll, White, and Tippecanoe counties.

Impaired driving remains one of America’s deadliest problems. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2008, 37,261 people were killed nationally in motor vehicle crashes. That same year, 11,773 people were killed in crashes that involved a driver or motorcyclist with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher. That means every 45 minutes someone died in a crash involving an impaired driver. In Indiana, in 2007, there were a total of 205,005 crashes, 9,942 of them were alcohol related.

“The goal of the checkpoint is to decrease the number of alcohol related crashes in the area.” Sergeant Dan Ziegler explains. “If we can stop one needless death by a drunk driver, a family doesn’t have to go through the grief of losing a loved one.”

Motorists are encouraged to report suspected impaired drivers by calling 911. Give a vehicle description and direction of travel. Never follow an impaired driver.