Friday, March 12, 2010

Are DUI Checkpoints Useful?


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Drinking and Driving has always been unsafe but those who drink hardly care for a DUI checkpoint when they are drunk. They might be of the view that a DUI checkpoint is no big deal but even a little carelessness from your end can lead to a DUI arrest. And once caught, it gets difficult to find a DUI Attorney.

It is a general practice of the policemen that they put a roadblock and usually at late nights, check every vehicle for a soberness check. They check whether the driver is intoxicated or not. At many places, they even conduct a breath test to find out on the spot whether it is allowable for the person to drive.

At the same time putting every driver on a breath test would mean an impractical thing. There are other screening processes which are undertaken in case the policemen feel suspicious. These sobriety tests are even more complicated in nature. If the driver fails to pass through the field sobriety test then the breath test can be done to get an idea about the alcohol content in the blood.

Recently it is been seen that many states have outlawed the DUI checkpoints in response to constant disapproval for them. Many founded unlawful but the US Supreme Court in 1990 opined that it is constitutionally permissible to have checkpoints.

There have been many studies undertaken to find the effectiveness of DUI checkpoints. Surprisingly the DUI checkpoints prove to be not much of a help as states which do not have checkpoints at all have fewer roads accidents caused by drunken driving. Besides it is found out the regular policemen on patrol duty are more capable of keeping the drunk drivers off the road.

The reason behind the ineffectiveness of DUI checkpoints is that there are prior notices about the checkpoints being set up which makes it very easy to avoid them. But to some extent these notices are helpful in reminding people that there is a constant effort to reduce the danger of drinking and driving.

In most of the studies, the data has revealed that there are better ways of curbing the drunken people from driving but still wherever it is possible, the DUI checkpoints are still functional. After getting noticed by them, though all you need is the best DUI Attorney possible.

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