Berks County police prepare for ‘Black Wednesday’

Thanksgiving Eve, sometimes referred to as “Black Wednesday”, is unofficially considered the busiest bar night of the year, which means it’s also the biggest night of the year for drunk driving.

Thanksgiving weekend is the most traveled holiday period of the year with almost 90% of those traveling doing so by car. This combined with the busiest bar night of the year is a deadly mix. The North Central Regional DUI Enforcement Program will be conducting DUI enforcement for the Thanksgiving Holiday beginning Friday, Nov. 16, thru Sunday, Nov. 25.

Berks County police departments will be conducting Roving Patrols and Sobriety Checkpoints on area roadways throughout the county looking for impaired drivers. Sobriety Checkpoints may be set up on any roadway within Berks County including but not limited to Routes 12, 61, 222, 422, 183, 22, 737, 100, 10, 176, 73, 662, 501 and 419.

The North Central Regional DUI Enforcement program equips, funds and coordinates the municipal police DUI enforcement in the following counties: Northumberland, Schuylkill, Berks, Snyder, Union, Columbia, Montour, Berks, Monroe and Pike.

Sobriety Checkpoints and Roving Patrols are funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).