Posted on 12/28/2009 6:33:55 AM PST by relictele
FRESNO, Calif. -- In a ritual nearly as familiar as Santa Claus and crowded stores, police agencies have again stepped up enforcement of drunken-driving laws this holiday season.
Studies have found sobriety checkpoints reduce alcohol-related crashes because they create awareness about the risk of arrest.
But some public-safety officials say that message might be lost on the group most at risk - young drivers. Trying to elude arrest for drunken driving, young people use technology to keep each other informed about the location of sobriety checkpoints, said Sgt. Dave Gibeault, head of the Fresno Police Department's traffic unit.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Before the 'DUI affected me' posts come out of the woodwork nobody is supporting, advocating, defending or excusing drinking and driving. But as the vast majority of us say on other posts the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are not a cafeteria plan therefore the 4th Amendment is as valid as the 1st or the 2nd.
The courts approved the checkpoints with the stipulation that their location must be announced in advance. Police and 'civic-minded' newspapers play cat-and-mouse with this requirement by delaying the notifications until the last minute and burying the notices in an obscure corner of the paper. The notices are always accompanied by a quote from some tinhorn justifying the practice.
In the end, then, the use of technology to advise our fellow citizens of checkpoints is simply a 21st Century method of achieving the same result as listing them in a newspaper. The police don't like it because it exposes these checkpoints for what they are: lazy, ineffective and a excuse to stuff budgets with overtime.
You waive you rights when you sign your driver liscense.
“Studies have found sobriety checkpoints reduce alcohol-related crashes because they create awareness about the risk of arrest. “
Interesting statement. I always thought they were about catching drunk drivers. Apparently the real reason to to enforce the notion that we live in a police state.
Hmmm...you may want to avoid your local checkpoint.
A friend recently got stopped by one of those. The police told him that they were going to move his car to another location “to keep it safely out of traffic” and if he refused permission they would bring him downtown to the jail to perform those sobriety tests and have his car towed. So much for the fourth amendment’s protections.
“Interesting statement. I always thought they were about catching drunk drivers. Apparently the real reason to to enforce the notion that we live in a police state.”
I’d say the real reason is neither. The real reason is to pump up the public coffers with money from drinkers. The mad mothers got their way, but .08 is too strict, and checkpoints should be illegal.
This is enough to get me to buy a blackberry type phone so I can get twitter. I’m not a big drinker, but also not a fan of being stopped because I may have done something.
So true. You can be pulled over any time any where. Every vehicle has a broken tail light, or will have when the car is impounded. Say good-bye to your nice watch and any cash you have in your pocket. They won't make it to the property inventory.
If you want to drink then drive...that’s your business....but you face the consequences if you wreck. If you kill someone in a drunk wreck...then life in prison would be the least I would expect.
With you on this. Further I think we have reached near hysteria with the drunk driving issue.
Cabs work really well to avoid 10 grand and a bunch of hassles. they are only about 50 bucks around here. Ya gotta be really dumb to drive and drink.
Well put.
I didn’t give up any rights.
I’m getting old and cranky and alcohol doesn’t suit me very well much anymore but I would use Twitter just to be informed about any possible strong armed tactics, especially if I have some form of mechanically condition on my vehicle, and one can never be too careful, there may be a decade old arrest warrant for something minor that you were unaware of, and suddenly on your way home after a swing shift they run a check on you and voila!
In the slammer you go!
I believe that in the same session that found random drunk-driving checkpoints to be constitutionally permissible, the SCOTUS also gave it’s blessing to flag burning as a form of protected free speech.
Were it not for my respect for the flag, I would be sorely tempted to pull up to the nearest drunk driving checkpoint, step out of the car and set fire to Old Glory. It would tie our entire Federal Court system in knots for the next 19 years while they figured out what do to with me.
Dui checkpoints do not work. We had one recently where they stopped over 800 vehicles and netted 1 arrest. Typical patrols produce better results. The police should be doing their job patrolling the street looking for crime not creating safety hazards on our streets.
Crush a stink bomb just before rolling down the window.
The old traveling about freely (driving) is a privilege canard.
Indeed.
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