[Editor’s Note: The story in the video player above is from 2020. Police held a sobriety checkpoint honoring the family of a man killed by a drunk driver.]

(WJW) – Both Summit and Stark Counties have announced plans to hold sobriety checkpoints over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

The Summit County OVI Task Force will conduct checkpoints during the night of Friday
March 17 and into the early morning hours of Saturday, March 18, 2023.

The Stark County OVI Task Force will conduct their checkpoints on Friday, March 17 in both McKinley Township and Canton Township.

According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol sobriety checkpoints are intended to be a tool to reduce alcohol-related crashes.

“Although a large number of OVI arrests are not expected, there is a greater perceived risk of arrests because of awareness efforts,” officials state on the OSP website.

During the last five years, impaired driving has led to 219 crashes in Ohio with 128 injuries on St. Patrick’s Day, according to the State Highway Patrol.

According to American Addiction Centers, St. Patrick’s Day is the fourth-largest drinking holiday.

Motorists can call #677 to report unsafe or impaired drivers.