Sheriff Craig Webre announced the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office will conduct a seat belt checkpoint and a DWI checkpoint on Friday, August 19, 2022, 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.
A seat belt checkpoint will be conducted Friday evening in Lafourche Parish, and deputies will focus on checking motorists for seat belt and child safety seat violations. A DWI checkpoint will begin Friday evening following the seat belt checkpoint and will continue into the early morning hours of Saturday, August 20. During the DWI checkpoint, deputies will be looking for drivers who are possibly impaired while checking for other traffic safety issues.
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.