PIERRE, S.D.(Press Release) – South Dakota’s Department of Public Safety says 21 sobriety checkpoints will held throughout South Dakota during July.

The monthly checkpoints, held at various times and locations, are designed to discourage people from drinking and then driving. The checkpoints are funded by the South Dakota Office of Highway Safety and conducted by the South Dakota Highway Patrol with the help of local law enforcement.

July checkpoints are scheduled for 16 different counties. They are: Beadle, Bennett, Brookings, Butte, Charles Mix, Codington, Hughes, Jackson, Lincoln, Meade, Minnehaha, Pennington, Spink, Union, Walworth and Yankton.

Officials remind drivers not to drink and drive regardless of whether there is a checkpoint planned in their county. People who have been drinking are urged to designate a sober driver or take an alternate form of commercial or public transportation.

Both the Office of Highway Safety and the Highway Patrol are part of the Department of Public Safety.