Sheriff Craig Webre announced the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office will conduct a DWI checkpoint and seat belt checkpoint this week in Lafourche Parish. These checkpoints are designed to help raise awareness for these types of violations and make the highways of the parish safer for all motorists.

The DWI checkpoint will take place on the evening of Wednesday, September 27, 2023. During the DWI checkpoint, deputies will be looking for drivers who are possibly impaired while checking for other traffic safety issues. The seat belt checkpoint will be conducted on Thursday, September 28, 2023, and deputies will focus on checking for seat belt and child safety seat violations.

Sheriff Webre reminds citizens to designate a driver if they 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 (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.