Jones, Stanley, Hughes counties all scheduled to have sobriety checkpoints this month

The South Dakota Department of Public Safety has announced plans for 22 sobriety checkpoints in 18 different counties during the month of October.

Checkpoints are scheduled for the counties of: Hughes, Jones, Stanley, Charles Mix, Lincoln, Brookings, Pennington, Butte, Brown, Codington, Minnehaha, Roberts, Spink, Lawrence, Meade, Fall River, Davison and Jerauld.

The monthly checkpoints are designed to encourage people to not drink and drive. The checkpoints are funded by the South Dakota Office of Highway Safety and conducted by the South Dakota Highway Patrol with the help of local law enforcement.

Officials remind drivers not to drink and drive regardless of whether there is a checkpoint planned in their county. People who have been drinking are urged to designate a sober driver or take an alternate form of commercial or public transportation.

Both the Office of Highway Safety and the Highway Patrol are agencies of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety.