Patrols out in force looking for drunks

XENIA, Ohio (WDTN) - St. Patrick's Day is Sunday, March 17 and while many of you will be celebrating, area law enforcement will be cracking down on drunk drivers.

Several OVI checkpoints are planned throughout the weekend, including one in Greene County that will be announced Saturday morning.  There is also one planned in Clay Township.

Clark County Sheriff's deputies wasted little time on enforcement.  They held a sobriety checkpoint in Enon Friday night looking for impaired drivers and offer this advice:

- Designate a sober driver before you go out to drink.

- If you become impaired and don’t have a designated driver, call a cab, a friend or a family member to drive you safely home.

- If you see a driver on the road that is driving impaired, call the law.

Stats say here were 11,281 OVI-related crashes on Ohio roads in 2012 resulting in 419 deaths and 6,555 injuries.

Lieutenant D. L. Eck, commander of the Xenia Post said. “State troopers make an average of 25,000 OVI arrests each year in an attempt to combat these dangerous drivers.  OVI checkpoints are designed to not only deter impaired driving, but to proactively remove these dangerous drivers from our roadways.”

Most local police departments also plan increased patrols through the weekend watching drivers.