A new year means another year of sobriety checkpoints held in South Dakota as a way to discourage people from drinking and then driving.
There are fifteen sobriety checkpoints planned in different counties statewide during January, including Yankton County.
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.
The monthly 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.