Sobriety checkpoints planned in Belle Vernon, Uniontown over Memorial Day weekend
Troopers at two state police stations are planning sobriety checkpoints during the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Police in the Belle Vernon and Uniontown stations said in news releases this week that they are going to be on the lookout for impaired drivers, but didn’t say where exactly.
Troopers from the Belle Vernon station will be somewhere in their coverage area, which includes Westmoreland, Fayette and Washington counties. A primary and alternate location have been selected based on past impaired driving activity.
Troopers from the Uniontown station will be somewhere in Fayette County during the weekend, according to a news release.
Members of Troop A, which includes the state police Greensburg, Kiski and Indiana stations, will be watching for distracted, aggressive and intoxicated motorists from Friday to Monday.
A 1990 U.S. Supreme Court ruling held that police have to announce checkpoints ahead of time to meet a minimal standard of consent — if drivers know there’s a checkpoint and still drive, they’re effectively acknowledging that they could run into the checkpoint and be stopped.
Renatta Signorini is a TribLive reporter covering breaking news, crime, courts and Jeannette. She has been working at the Trib since 2005. She can be reached at rsignorini@triblive.com.
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