By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – State and local law enforcement officials hope a new tactic might discourage more drivers from getting behind the wheel after indulging in alcoholic beverages this holiday weekend.

With cooperation from State Police, sheriff’s deputies from St. John the Baptist, St. Charles, Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes are set to enforce a “no refusal” order on blood-alcohol content tests for any driver suspected of impaired driving this weekend. The effort, which began last night at 6 p.m., will carry on through Labor Day weekend and expire at 6 a.m. Tuesday.

“This is the last big party weekend of the year,” said State Police Supt Mike Edmonson. “We are not trying to discourage having a good time; we just want to encourage responsible driving habits.”

State Police often enforce anti-drunken driving campaigns on the Labor Day weekend, but this year will mark the first full-scale application of the “no refusal” component, aimed at suspected impaired drivers who refuse to take the blood-alcohol concentration tests.

“For those individuals suspected of impaired driving and refuse to submit to a chemical test, a search warrant for a blood and/or urine sample will be obtained,” said State Police Troop B spokeswoman Melissa Matey. “Troopers and local authorities will be in contact with judges who can sign off on warrants on the spot.”

Under state law, first-time offenders who refuse to submit to chemical tests typically face a six-month suspension of their driver’s license. Matey said many drivers often prefer that over more severe penalties coming from a drunk driving conviction.

“Alcohol consumption increases around the holidays, and we find that more and more people take that chance of getting behind the wheel drunk,” Matey said. “This is about maintaining safety on the roads and decreasing the number of incidents statewide.”

According to figures from the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, in 2009 five of 12 Labor Day weekend highway fatalities in the state were alcohol related. The commission reported 409 alcohol-related accidents statewide in 2009.

The commission has contributed about $1.2 million in grants to law enforcement agencies to pay the overtime involved in enforcement checkpoints. One of those checkpoints is happening this evening in St. John Parish.

Capt. Troy Cassioppi, traffic division commander for the St. John Sheriff’s Office, said Friday the department was still finalizing an exact location, but he said it would likely be a high traffic area in LaPLace.

“It will be a 12-hour checkpoint starting at 6 p.m.,” Cassioppi said. “Every vehicle will get screened.”

Cassioppi said deputies would have an e-mail link to a parish judge, who will authorize a warrant for any refusals. He said drivers that refuse will be taken to the parish jail, where a medical technician will take a blood sample. This is the first time St. John has participated in a “no refusal” initiative.

“We don’t get many refusals,” he said. “On a given night when we are doing a checkpoint, we probably conduct maybe 12 sobriety tests. Out of that 12, we sometimes get as many as three DWI charges.”

Authorities in St. Charles Parish are initiating a similar checkpoint system this weekend.

“The bottom line is just being careful,” Cassioppi said. “Don’t let one stupid decision ruin your life or someone else’s.”