PIERRE, S.D. (Press Release) – Another year of sobriety checkpoints starts throughout South Dakota in January.

The checkpoints are done each month in different counties as a way to discourage drivers 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.

As 2019 came to a close, there were 158 checkpoints conducted statewide. That included 12,710 vehicles checked, 169 DUI arrests made and 84 alcohol citations issued.

Counties that have checkpoints scheduled for January are: Beadle, Brown, Butte, Charles Mix,  Codington, Day, Fall River, Hughes, Kingsbury, Lincoln, Lyman, McCook, Meade, Minnehaha, Pennington, Stanley, Walworth, and Yankton.

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