St. Patrick’s Weekend DUI & OVI Checkpoints in Columbus, Ohio

Whether you’re planning to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day or out driving around listening to the John Mayer song of the same title, be careful while driving around central Ohio. Columbus police, Franklin County DUI Task Force, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol have already announced OVI/DUI sobriety checkpoints and patrols that will affect you as you’re driving home.

Tonight (Friday, March 14th), the Columbus police will be conduct a sobriety checkpoint on Sawmill Road at Festival Lane, south of both I-270 and 171. This DUI checkpoint begins at 9 p.m. and will run until 3 a.m.

The Franklin County DUI Task Force will also be conducting two checkpoints this evening on London-Groveport Road (State Route 665) in Jackson Township:

• East of Young Road: 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• West of Hoover Road: 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

There will likely be other sobriety checkpoints (announced and unannounced) throughout the weekend. Police have already announced increased patrolling for drunk driving on Monday beginning at 3 p.m. that will run from Marion County to the Ohio River along Route 23, including High Street through Columbus.

What Should You Do if You’ve Been Drinking and Need to Get Home?

It’s simple – don’t drive. A DUI conviction on your record could require jail time, alcohol intervention programs, sizable fines, and a license restriction. All of these would greatly impact your ability to go to school, maintain employment, or live your life to its fullest.

We recommend the following ways of getting home:

• Ask a sober friend to drop you home.
• Uber offers flat-rate trips that don’t require tipping. You can use a credit card and you request a trip using the iPhone or Android app.
• Lyft is a car-sharing service new to Columbus.
• Call a cab.
  • Yellow Cab: (614) 444-4444
  • Orange Cab: (614) 414-0000
  • Columbus Taxi Service: (614) 262-4444
  • Blue Cab: (614) 236-4444
  • Acme Taxi: (614) 777-7777

Whatever you do, don’t drink and drive – it’s not worth the risk. Have a great weekend and be safe! If for some reason you run into trouble with law enforcement, you’re welcome to call or text us at (614) 500-3836. We’re here day or night. If you are in need of legal assistance, contact the Columbus criminal defense attorneys at Luftman, Heck & Associates today.