DUI checkpoint, license plate readers are coming to Miami Beach. Here’s where and when
Miami Beach is ramping up enforcement efforts as more schools in Florida and nationwide begin spring break.
This means more people are about to descend on South Beach and one thing crowds can expect over the next couple weekends are traffic jams, DUI checkpoints and license plate readers.
READ MORE: Think South Beach is hard to navigate now? Wait till spring break. Here are new rules
Here are the locations of planned sobriety checkpoints and license plate readers. Depending on how things go through the rest of March, city officials, Florida Department of Transportation and local police may add more checkpoints or restrictions.
“We will work with our partners at FDOT to assess the situation and handle accordingly,” Christopher Bess, a spokesman for Miami Beach Police, told the Miami Herald.
Sobriety checkpoint
Where: A DUI checkpoint conducted by Florida Highway Patrol will be in place along Fifth Street, a prime location in South Beach’s entertainment district.
When: The sobriety checkpoint will be in place from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday March 8-9 and the same days on March 15-16, according to Bess.
License plate readers
Where and when: Miami Beach police will have license plate readers in the eastbound lanes of the MacArthur and Julia Tuttle causeways on Friday to Sunday, March 8-10, and the same weekend days on March 15-17. Miami Beach police will also have a license plate reader set up along the Fifth Street corridor from Friday to Sunday, March 22-24.
Fewer traffic lanes: Both the MacArthur and Tuttle causeways will be limited to one lane apiece eastbound during the duration of the high-impact weekends, Bess said. Expect significant traffic.
READ MORE: As Miami Beach spring break begins, ‘law and order’ plan exposes political tensions
What Florida is doing
On Tuesday at the Miami Beach Convention Center, Gov. Ron DeSantis said that he would be sending about 60 state troopers to South Florida, about 45 of whom would be concentrated in Miami Beach, to assist law enforcement agencies with anticipated spring break crowds.
For more details of the city’s spring break plans, go to miamibeachfl.gov/breakup.
