Park Rangers Plan Sobriety Checkpoint for Saturday |

Park rangers at the Lake Mead Recreation Area will be looking for people driving under the influence this weekend.

The rangers will be conducting a checkpoint from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. along Lakeshore Road in the area of Las Vegas Bay. Rangers will be joined by Hoover Dam Police, Boulder City Police, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and Nevada Highway Patrol.

It is a federal crime to operate a car or boat while under the influence in a national park. Despite the law, rangers arrest an average of 200 people for driving under the influence in the park each year.

"What is most disconcerting about the DUI’s we see in the park is that more often than not the car is occupied by family and friends," Chief Ranger Mary Hinson said. "We do these checkpoints because impaired drivers are not only a danger to themselves. They are a danger to everyone on the road."

Penalties include fines of up to $5,000, a maximum of six months in jail and up to five years probation.