DUI, seat belt checks set for Tulsa area
BY SARA PLUMMER World Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is setting up the first of several summer DUI checkpoints in the Tulsa area beginning in May.
"We are focusing efforts on DUI prevention, specifically designed to deter alcohol related collisions during the high school graduation times," said Troop B Commander Jerry Reagan in a news release.
The checkpoints will focus in Tulsa, Creek, Okmulgee and Rogers counties, the coverage area for Troop B.
May 24 will be the first of several DUI checkpoints held in those counties during the summer.
The first checkpoint will be at southbound U.S. 75 near the Seventh Street exit between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m.
In 2011, OHP Troop B reported nine fatalities, but to date in 2012, there are have already been 10 fatalities in that same four-county area.
On Friday, OHP and other law enforcement agencies across eight states are participating in the "Get Your 'Clicks' on Route 66" seat belt crackdown.
Highway patrol and state police officers from Oklahoma, Arizona, California, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico and Texas will be enforcing seat belt laws along the famed Route 66.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 13,000 people are saved each year by seat belts and child restraints. Drivers are also 75 percent less likely to be killed in rollover crashes if wearing a seat belt.
Associated Images:
Two men wait in a police van after being arrested at a checkpoint at the I-44 off ramp at 49th West Avenue in Tulsa in July 2011. The first summer 2012 DUI checkpoint is scheduled for May 24. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World
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