The Fort Walton Beach Police Department has scheduled several DUI checkpoints in the city to coincide with the Labor Day holiday week, part of a national effort to deter drunk driving.

• The checkpoints are part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign.

“DUI checkpoints in Fort Walton Beach aren’t about making arrests; they’re about preventing them,” said Officer Seth Williams with the Fort Walton Beach Police Department. “Our goal is simple: to deter impaired drivers before they make life-altering decisions, and to keep all of our community safe.”

According to NHTSA statistics, there were 505 traffic crash fatalities nationwide during the 2024 Labor Day holiday. Of those, 170, or 34%, involved a drunk driver with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or above. Among drivers ages 18 to 34 who were killed in crashes over the 2024 Labor Day holiday, 40% were drunk, with BACs of .08 or higher.

The department said drivers who intend to drink during a Labor Day festivity should plan for a safe ride home by securing a designated driver or calling a taxi or rideshare, and should not wait until after drinking to plan how to get home. Impairment clouds a person’s judgment and endangers everyone on the road, the department said.

The Fort Walton Beach Police will conduct the following DUI checkpoints:

• Friday, Aug. 28, from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Wright Parkway and Rogers Street.
• Thursday, Sept. 3, from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Wright Parkway and Rogers Street.
• Saturday, Sept. 5, from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. at U.S. Highway 98 at Fort Walton Beach City Hall.