Checkpoints are expensive, intrusive and they don’t catch drunk drivers
A new report from AAA estimates that we had a record-breaking Fourth of July travel weekend.
But holiday revelry and jam-packed highways are rightly accompanied by stepped up law enforcement measures. And while getting stopped by a cop can put a real kink in your beach vacation, we all appreciate what police patrols do to keep us safe on the roadways.
That is, with the notable exception of sobriety checkpoints — those Soviet-style roadblocks in which any driver who wanders through is asked to stop and show their papers.
Putting aside the intrusive nature of these checkpoints (though it’s an awful lot to put aside), there’s the not insignificant fact that they don’t actually catch drunk drivers. Instead, sobriety roadblocks inconvenience people trying to get from here to there by creating an artificial traffic jam. The cops manning the checkpoint give people tickets who aren’t wearing their seat belts or have expired insurance — but seldom do they nab a dangerous drunk.
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12 comments:
Best way to get the drunks is to just hang out by the bars when they leave, pull them over!
Not all drunks drink at a bar. There are plenty of drunk drivers leaving from private residences everywhere.
Couldn't disagree more. Boo hoo if it ruins your travel plans. I know someone personally who was caught in a dui checkpoint and it may have saved their lives or someone elses. It's time to put the safety of others above what you think is inconvenient
10:45 AM - Does the 4th Amendment to the Constitution mean anything to you?
10:55 checkpoints have been challenged over the years and the challenges have failed
Statutory Law is not Constitutional.
Common Law is Constitutional.
We used to be free to at least hurt someone or damage property first, before the government intervened in our lives. No longer.
We live in a military dictatorship with statutory laws enforced upon us.
Illegal searches and seizures.
One day the coops will regret treating Americans this way.
One day.
I don't have the legal background to attest whether checkpoints are legal or not legal. But without question, they certainly do catch drunk drivers and get them off the road.
And that may save a life.
10:55 don't break the law and you get to go through the checkpoint. Don't be such a cry baby
11:21-Enough already NO one cares. I'll bet you are a real hoot at social functions, tirelessly parroting this same paranoid story every day all day.
1:55
The US Constitution is meaningful only for those of us who are educated.
I think we all know you want to talk about baseball and football.
Good luck with your teams. I hope they win every game.
Hey 5:23 the Gov will do what they want. May as well talk about Nascar as the Constitution, we can't do anything about either one. Love your friends and family and be glad you were born in America.
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