DUI checkpoints during holiday weekend

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - As they do every holiday weekend, local and state police are cracking down on drunk drivers in the Bay State.

22news reporter Julie Tremmel reveals why after years of embarking on the same campaign, it appears the message is really starting to sink in here in western Massachusetts.

Driving under the influence could cost you your life, your license or even jail time. At Samuel’s at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, some customers say it's to a point right now where it's simply not worth it to get behind the wheel intoxicated, exactly the reaction state and local police were hoping for.

“We don't go out very much any more, we usually go to friend’s house and we don't have children, so we typically just go over and stay at their house overnight and go home the next day,” said Tracy Burn’s, a Samuel’s customer from Holyoke.

“I’m drinking a nice glass of ice water, it's a beautiful night outside in Springfield, um and I’m not a big drinker myself personally, and usually I’m the designated driver for all of my friends and everybody in my group always has a plan about how they're going to get home if they're going to have a few cocktails,” said Timothy Maughan a Samuel’s Customer from Chicopee.

Executive office of public safety and security has funded 780,000 thousand dollars in federal money just for these additional patrols that go through Monday. That includes the efforts of 240 local police departments, and there will be 330 extra troopers out on the road.

Samuel's owner says the liability is so high for the bar where over-serving is concerned, that it's something they've been cracking down on for years now.

Labor Day weekend is a celebration weekend, so it seems different to everybody, but it's a weekend like that in a place like this, so we have to be vigilant on a regular basis,” said Eddie Grimaldi, Samuel’s Owner. “All of our bartenders are trained in alcohol awareness, I am, and my managers are.”