Sheriff Craig Webre is reminding residents that the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office will conduct checkpoints on April 5, 2019 in Lafourche Parish. A seat belt checkpoint will be conducted during the evening hours of Friday, April 5, followed by a DWI checkpoint which will continue into the early morning hours Saturday, April 6.

During the seat belt checkpoint, deputies will be checking motorists for seat belt and safety seat violations, as well as for proper inspection tags and other potential violations. During the DWI checkpoint, deputies will be looking for drivers who are possibly impaired while checking for other traffic safety issues. These checkpoints are designed to help raise awareness for these types of violations and make the highways of the parish safer for all motorists.

Sheriff Webre reminds citizens to designate a driver if you are going to drink. Motorists suspected of DWI who refuse to submit to a breathalyzer test will lose their driver’s license for one year on the first offense. For a second offense, the penalty increases to two years. Anyone convicted of a DWI offense while their driver’s license is suspended because of another DWI offense will face automatic prison time. Lafourche Parish is also a “No Refusal” parish, meaning if a suspected drunk driver refuses a breathalyzer test, deputies will seek a search warrant to have that person’s blood tested.