Weekend Sobriety Checkpoint Yields Seven Arrests
Police charged one person with driving under the influence after stopping 647 vehicles.
Howard County police made seven arrests at a sobriety checkpoint over the weekend in Ellicott City.
According to a statement from the department, officers established a post on US Route 40 at Governors Run in Ellicott City from Saturday night through Sunday morning.
Of the 647 vehicles that passed through the checkpoint, one driver under the influence of alcohol was arrested, according to the Howard County Police Department (HCPD). Police also made six other arrests.
HCPD provided the following arrest statistics from its Dec. 3–4 checkpoint:
- 1 person was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol
- 1 person was driving without a license
- 2 drivers were in possession of marijuana
- 3 people were driving on a suspended license
Earlier in the week, the department announced that it would be holding a sobriety checkpoint to curb holiday crashes, stating that five people are killed in impaired-driving crashes between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day on average in Maryland.
Sobriety checkpoints are part of a campaign supported by funding from the Maryland Highway Safety Office, said HCPD.
Maryland State Police joined Howard County officers and Mothers Against Drunk Driving in stopping vehicles and providing a handout with information about drunk driving, according to a statement from HCPD.
This article has been corrected to reflect that five people are killed in impaired-driving crashes between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day in Maryland, not in Howard County.
Kim Dixon
12:20 pm on Monday, December 5, 2011
Need to put it at route 1 and leavening Ave
or route 1 and Montgomery Rds. Fun times
Nonlinear
5:19 pm on Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Need to stop it, 1 out of 670 is a really bad number, when those cops could have been anywhere else and done better individually.
Keith B.
8:05 am on Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Nonlinear. Are you one of those arrested in the checkpoint that removed 5 people from the road that had no business driving, Driving drunk, no license, and driving while suspended? You did read the same story?
Keith B.
8:08 am on Wednesday, December 7, 2011
P.S. Nonliner. Other officers were out elsewhere removing other drivers for the same offenses. Howard Count Police does have more than 5 Police Officers. lol
Frank in Elkridge
8:39 am on Wednesday, December 7, 2011
It seems to me that Howard County police are not quite as busy as cops in other counties, which is a good thing. I'm grateful that they were out there and did catch 5 dangerous drivers. Who knows - they may have prevented a serious accident or traffic fatality by getting those people off the road. It's also good to know that only five out 670 needed be taken off the road immediately.
Matt
9:30 am on Thursday, December 8, 2011
Howard County police ARE every bit as busy as other jurisdictions, and while the crime stats appear small, they are proportionate with other areas when you compare the size of the county and its police dept. to say Balto. Co. and its police dept.
Frequently they put calls on hold, especially in Columbia, Elkridge and Savage/Jessup areas due to the call volume they handle.
They also do a great job of not letting many of the incidents ov violent crime make media reports.
Mark Shrader
5:07 pm on Thursday, December 8, 2011
The reason they didn't catch more is because EVERYONE knows it is stupid to drink and drive in Howard County. The sobriety checkpoint is actually overkill. The HCPD will pull you over for just driving after 10pm. They are pitbulls who NEVER let you go for any reason. And God help you if you have been drinking and driving.
Nonlinear
8:51 am on Saturday, December 10, 2011
Lack of education "morales". Tell hubby to stay on topic and not to get personal, I did not say a thing to him, until he insinuated I was a drunk driver.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family.
Valerie Geiger
7:57 pm on Saturday, December 17, 2011
I have seen these checkpoints pull in more than seven drivers in one night. There is a lot of work that goes into making these checkpoints a success and getting the people that are NOT breaking the law through them quickly and painlessly. If a person is breaking the law, then they deserve to be punished. Being impaired, suspended, or not having a license is just sheer stupidity on the part of the person operating a vehicle. They are not just putting themselves in danger, they are putting the lives of innocent people that choose to obey the law in jeopardy. Way to go Ho. Co. PD and other police departments and the towing companies that work together to keep the roads safe in Howard County and throughout the state safe.