| DWI patrols find few offenders in Saint Robert, many driving in Waynesville |
By: Darrell Todd Maurina
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Posted: Monday, May 10, 2010 1:26 pm
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PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. (May 10, 2010) — Recent efforts to reduce drunk driving seem to have been effective in St. Robert, but stepped-up enforcement efforts in Waynesville resulted in 27 people being cited for a variety of violations.
Sgt. Butch Hohman of the St. Robert Police Department reported Sunday that a sobriety checkpoint on Saturday on Highway Z led to one person being arrested out of 235 vehicles that passed through the checkpoint. That arrest was for being a minor in possession of alcohol.
“There were no other violations found during the checkpoint, however, there were a lot of taxicabs out and a lot of designated drivers,” Hohman said in a prepared statement. “I must applaud the responsible drivers for their efforts in not drinking and driving.”
Waynesville Police Chief Bob Carter said his department’s enforcement efforts from 10 p.m. Friday night to 2 a.m. Saturday morning resulted in 32 traffic stops with 27 citations and 17 warnings.
Unlike St. Robert’s enforcement efforts which focused on one specific area, Waynesville’s efforts were spread throughout the entire city.
“St. Robert does a checkpoint; we are all about saturation,” Carter said. “We had 10 officers in a four-hour period and all cars on the road, so we had five cars doing a saturation patrol. We did get a felony arrest for drugs. It’s mainly driving while intoxicated that we are looking for, but we are also looking for other things.”
While both St. Robert and Waynesville have locations for checkpoints, Carter said checkpoints aren’t his department’s preferred way to enforce traffic laws.
“We do saturations because of what happens with everybody out in scannerland,” Carter said. “Once we set up a checkpoint and someone goes through it, what happens? They call all their buddies and tell them where it is. With saturation patrols, it’s spread all over within the city limits.”
According to statistics provided by Carter, Waynesville police issued two citations for driving while intoxicated, nine for speeding, six for insurance violations, two for driving with a suspended license, and one each for following too close, a signal violation, and a non-moving violation, and five for other moving violations. The department also made one felony arrest and one drug arrest.
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