This paper documents a research project investigating the effects of various DWI checkpoint setup scenarios on overall traffic operations. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 13,470 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes in 2006. Of the 13,470 fatalities, 64% involved drivers with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08 or higher. For this reason, state and local police departments tend to conductDWI checkpoints during the night where police officers detain vehicles traveling on a roadway and interviewing drivers to determine suspicion of alcohol use. For planning and budgeting purposes, police departments need tobe able to effectively plan a setup for DWI checkpoints. The goal of theproject is to provide police departments with data and methodologies to analyze the impact of their checkpoints on traffic operations. Seven scenarios were investigated based on interviews with several police departments. (1) One officer stopping every vehicle; (2) One officer stopping every second vehicle; (3) One officer stopping every fifth vehicle; (4) One officer stopping every tenth vehicle; (5) Two officers stopping every vehicle; (6) Four officers stopping every vehicle; (7) Four officers stopping everysecond vehicle. Each scenario was varied to include 50, 100, 150, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, and 800 vehicles per hour (or vehicles per hour perlane) to obtain a wide range of limiting values after which DWI checkpoints would cause extraordinary amounts of delay. The paper includes the results for each scenario which can be used by police departments to recognize the potential impacts on vehicle delay.
Abstract