Never been arrested, don't drink, but I get "checkpointed" on a regular basis, and am sick of it.
The other part is that I am one of many who believe that MADD has done more damage to this country and our Constitution than any terrorist attack or combination of attacks ever could.
This frantic rhetoric tells me all I need to know - you're either a ideological fanatic, or you actually do drink and drive, but are just smart enough not to admit it on the internet. But your obssession with DWI - this being the second post by you about DWI's, and I haven't been stalking you - is clearly abnormal.
Spend some time looking at the damage done by DWI, and you'll see the compelling need for harsh DWI penalties. I've seen enough of the damage to know that it is a crime that needs to be taken more seriously. It maims the innocent, leaving the guilty unharmed.
As regards the checkpoints, they are only a minimal intrusion to the privacy rights of the innocent. You're stopped for maybe a minute. Only those who have something to hide have anything to fear from them. The average person, innocent of any wrongdoing, would consider being stopped at a checkpoint to be at most a minor inconvenience. Weighed against the compelling government interest in maintaining highway safety, DWI checkpoints are well-justified to all but the ideologues.
Used to drink heavily and drove when I probably should not have but thank God, I never hurt anyone or myself though I did crumple a fender one. (Just for full disclosure.)
I agree with you on the checkpoints. It's a huge expenditure of money and manpower that could be put to much better use without violating the Constitution. And .08 is simply ridiculous. The problem area is at about twice that level.
They took a good idea that promoted awareness and now just use it as a revenue generator without regard to the financial devastation to an individual who did no harm.
Truly drunk drivers should be pulled over and ticketed and the fines should be severe. Checkpoints net approximately 2 or 3 people drinkers out of every 100 vehicles stopped. Not only is that unacceptable, but roving patrols catch more drunk drivers than checkpoints.
Would you mind elaborating on that? How is MADD responsible for about 3,000 deaths of innocent civilians?
Agreed.
MADD is not about impared driving; they are about abolition.
Really? Where do you live? I've been driving for 30+ years and have been to 46 of the lower 48 states as well as Hawaii and I've never been "checkpointed ". It must suck to be you, eh?