Sheriff’s department stops nearly 300 cars
The sheriff’s department will conduct monthly sobriety checkpoints.
Published Sept. 3, 2010
The Boone County Sheriff’s Department conducted a sobriety checkpoint on Old Plank Road East in Columbia on Saturday, resulting in nine DWI arrests, 15 arrests for adult liquor law violations and two zero tolerance violations. The department stopped about 299 vehicles during the checkpoint.
These numbers were not unforeseen, said Deputy Nikki Antimi, who carried out the checkpoint.
“I don’t know that we knew what kind of numbers we were going to get,” Antimi said. “Obviously, if we had gotten zero that would be best, but we didn’t really have any expectations.”
The checkpoint's location was chosen based on past statistics such as accidents and previous DWI arrests, as well as other factors.
“(Old Plank Road) is an area that we have a lot of traffic go through, and it’s close to the city,” Antimi said. “One way that we pick locations is to look through past statistics to try to go to those areas that have been problematic.”
Although the checkpoint coincided with the beginning of the academic year, Antimi said the timing was not necessarily related to the opening of the university. The department has conducted a checkpoint every month throughout the summer and plans to continue this fall.
Antimi encouraged students to help reduce the number of DWI arrests by taking advantage of Stripes and taxi services.
“All you have to do is call, and you get a ride,” Antimi said. “If someone chooses to drink, they need to use these other options. Contact your resources or call a taxi and get a safe ride home.”
According to a news release from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, a checkpoint conducted in Camden County and Miller County yielded 13 DWI arrests, or nearly one misdemeanor charge for every 21 vehicles stopped.
Antimi hopes the checkpoints will encourage drinkers to stay off the road.
“It was a safe evening," she said. "No one got hurt. We worry about that. It went smoothly and we got several intoxicated drivers off the road. We hope people learn from it and make better choices next time.”