In their ongoing effort to further educate motorists and strengthen the need to detect and remove those drivers who operate under the influence from our roads and highways, the Massachusetts State Police(MSP) has announced another sobriety checkpoint for this coming Friday, April 28th into Saturday, April 29th.

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Driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs is a serious offense and I know I've mentioned this numerous times but when I was younger and definitely more foolhardy, I had two car crashes here in the Berkshires that should have left me in worse condition than I ended up being in.

I could have ended up dead both times and thank my lucky stars that no other vehicles or pedestrians were involved. One accident was on Crane Avenue and one was on Route 8 between the two Berkshire Mall entrances. Both were literally minutes from my house. Needless to say, I changed my ways after that but some never get that opportunity, sadly.

The MSP is giving advance notice of the checkpoint to hopefully reduce fear and anxiety due to inconveniences to motorists. Also, the Massachusetts State Police want to stress to motorists that safety will most definitely be assured.

According to the Mass State Police's media statement, the checkpoint:

...will be operated during varied hours, the selection of vehicles will not be arbitrary, safety will be assured, and any inconveniences to motorists will be minimized with advance notice to reduce fear and anxiety.

The Mass State Police wants the general public to be aware of these sobriety checkpoints to perhaps give pause to a driver who has been drinking or otherwise impairing themselves to think about giving up the car keys.

The sobriety checkpoint is scheduled for Middlesex County this Friday into Saturday. For now, this is the only one scheduled for this coming weekend, but that may change. And I only say that because it often does.

When it comes to alcohol and/or drugs and driving, make the smart choice. And be careful out there. For more info on the sobriety checkpoint, visit the Mass State Police's Twitter page here.

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