Local law enforcement agencies working together will hold a sobriety checkpoint tonight from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. as part of a partnership with ONE Bulloch, a “fairly new community-led initiative working to reduce impaired driving,” said Charlotte Spell, project coordinator.
    Statesboro, Brooklet, Portal and Register police, as well as Bulloch County Sheriff’s deputies and Georgia State Patrol troopers, will take part in this event, she said.
    The locations will not be disclosed, and will be county-wide, she said.
    “As a community, we all support law enforcement efforts to protect us from theft, burglary and assault,” she said. “Yet, many otherwise law-abiding citizens continue to view impaired driving merely as a traffic offense. Don’t be fooled. Impaired driving is no accident nor is it a victimless crime.”
    Between 2002-2008, 24 lives were lost in Bulloch County due to drunk driving, she said.” During this time, there were 741 alcohol-related traffic crashes in Bulloch County, with the majority taking place within Statesboro’s city limits.”
    The goal in publicizing sobriety checkpoints is to deter people from ever getting behind the wheel after drinking, Spell said. “If the public knows there are road checks, then hopefully, they will choose to use a designated driver or alternate transportation. Our goal is prevention.”
    The locations of the sobriety checkpoints are not disclosed so drivers won’t be able to avoid them, she said. “That would defeat our purpose of prevention.”
    By increasing the number of road checks throughout the year, ONE Bulloch hopes to decrease the number of impaired drivers on the road, she said. “It is exciting to see all of our law enforcement partners pull together to work toward this goal. We look forward to more similar activities in the near future.”