Cape Girardeau Police Department to run sobriety checkpoint

Police are cracking down on drunken driving, the Cape Girardeau Police Department reported Thursday.

The department will have a sobriety checkpoint as part of the statewide youth driving-while-intoxicated enforcement campaign, which runs through May 12.

According to a department news release, 231 people were killed and 841 suffered serious injuries in alcohol and drug-related crashes on Missouri roads in 2012.

"We want to remind everyone that getting behind the wheel drunk is a terrible idea," police chief Wes Blair said in the release. "Unfortunately, not only does drinking impair your ability to operate a vehicle safely; it also impairs your judgment and good sense about whether you can or should drive."

Blair advised people who are uncertain of their sobriety to refrain from driving.