[MMike]

Here in Quebec, the Sureté de Quebec (our state troopers), set up road blocks/checkpoints to check for drunk drivers. They do this especially around the holidays.

My wife was outraged when I told her I was stopped at one of these checkpoints the other day. She is convinced that no such thing could possibly exist in the US because it would be a violation of civil rights, and pulling someone over without any kind of probable cause is illegal bla, bla, bla-dee bla....

I'm pretty sure DUI checkpoints are not only a Canadian thing. I was certain they existed in the US....maybe it varies from state to state. She's from WA. And to be honest, in the 6+ years I was living there, I never did see one of these checkpoints....

 

[lovebunny]

yeah we have those here too

 

[Westy]

Here in Quebec, the Sureté de Quebec (our state troopers), set up road blocks/checkpoints to check for drunk drivers. They do this especially around the holidays.

My wife was outraged when I told her I was stopped at one of these checkpoints the other day. She is convinced that no such thing could possibly exist in the US because it would be a violation of civil rights, and pulling someone over without any kind of probable cause is illegal bla, bla, bla-dee bla....

I'm pretty sure DUI checkpoints are not only a Canadian thing. I was certain they existed in the US....maybe it varies from state to state. She's from WA. And to be honest, in the 6+ years I was living there, I never did see one of these checkpoints....

They have them in the states most states require them to notify the public when and where they will take place.

 

[douglas]

yup, we have them / very common around any holiday

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Vermont has 'em.

 

[sanjuro]

There is a big production right now in the Bay Area about DUI checkpoints. There are 6 or 7 every weekend night.

I am not surprised you have not crossed a checkpoint, unless you drive around the bar scene. When I lived in New Orleans, there was never checkpoints, but for an entirely different reason.

 

[-dustin]

i had never seen that until i went to San Antonio a while back. i've only seen it one time, and that was it.

 

[Echo]

Yup, they are set up at random times in random places in NY, and as far as I know there's no requirement to inform the public about them ahead of time. There is a really easy way to avoid getting DWI's though. DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE.

 

[Konabumm]

We have them here in Maryland.

 

[peter6061]

I drove past them setting one up last week. If I'd been maybe 15 minutes later, I probably would've been stopped. It looked like they were getting ready for the late dinner crowd to get out on a Friday or Saturday.

 

[I Are Baboon]

Yeah, we have them and I have no problem with that.

The last one I went through was as MBC and I were leaving a wedding reception. It's like the ONLY wedding I've been to where I didn't drink. Phew!

 

[N8 v2.0]

They have those here in LA...

 

[fiddy_ryder]

they are all over.. holiday season they have extra cops out on DUI patrol.. and the checkpoints are no joke.. ive seen em with 10 patrol cars, a substation command center RV, and tow trucks everywhere ready to tow cars away.

 

[Echo]

About 10 years ago I got about as lucky as you can get at one of those checkpoints. I was driving home from a bar with a pothead buddy of mine. He had just finished smoking a blunt. We were going up this hill and saw a cop car beside the road. Sure enough, top of the hill, big ass DWI checkpoint. Of course if you turn around, the cop that was sitting down the hill sees you and knows you are probably drunk because you tried to avoid the checkpoint.

So anyway we knew we couldn't turn around, so all the windows are down trying to air out the car. It was a really crappy night, wet snow coming down. We pull up and the cop asks me if I've had anything to drink. I did my best sober dude imitation and said I was the designated driver. He's looking around in the car, and it was obvious he knew something was up.

Right then, a cop car going the other way stopped and was talking to the dude. I think it was his relief or something. So he's distracted and I'm just sitting there. All he had to do was tell me to pull up to where they assrape people. But he was so distracted he just told me to go ahead.

Oh damn was that ever the luckiest night of my life.

 

[Rockland]

Oh damn was that ever the luckiest night of my life.

Wow. Lucky for shure. Should have made a dash for a lottery ticket.

 

[corey_rideDC]

tons here in Northern VA. went through one on friday night. although i do see the point and think it's a good idea, but i'm always surprised at the huge waste of manpower. at least 20 cops at each stop, generators, trucks, cars... everything but a live band and ferris wheel. seems like a lot of those funds are going to waste. it only takes a handful of cops to filter traffic and scare me into never driving drunk.

 

[Westy]

A friend of mine always joked that if he got pulled over and had a few beers he would jump out of the car and slam a bottle of vodka, then there would be no way they could prove he was drunk while driving the car.

Again this was a joke.

 

[Andy_B]

I got stopped last year on the way to Mtn Creek at the end of october. We were on I-80 in PA. They were stopping every 7th car.

 

[BikeGeek]

tons here in Northern VA...

Went through one on New Years Eve a couple of years ago on the southbound side of the GW Parkway. They set it up right after the second exit for National. I was a bit confused at first because the cops were just waving everyone through. Once I got through I saw in the rearview that the real check station was on the bridge over the parkway and that they were busting all the drunks that took the exit to avoid the check station they thought was on the parkway.

 

[sanjuro]

tons here in Northern VA. went through one on friday night. although i do see the point and think it's a good idea, but i'm always surprised at the huge waste of manpower. at least 20 cops at each stop, generators, trucks, cars... everything but a live band and ferris wheel. seems like a lot of those funds are going to waste. it only takes a handful of cops to filter traffic and scare me into never driving drunk.

I do think you need a large show if you want to do it right. What happens you if you catch a drunken driver, then there are 2 others right behind him? Or if one drives off?

This might be a dog-and-pony show, but I think it is worth it. I wasn't planning on driving drunk, but I going to be extra sure this holiday season.

 

[hooples3]

In NYC there are plenty all the time. I once saw one , and went to head the other direction to avoid it and a cop came out of the bushes asking me where i was going. Luckily I was not drinking and explained that I was exhausted and was trying to go around the long way to get home. He made me wait in line and made sure i was tested. He knew i wasnt drinking, he just wanted to make it inconveineint for me

 

[mobius]

I got pulled over the other night at a checkpoint in Northern VA. Luckily my drunk ass friend in the backseat was quiet and i didnt smell of alcohol

 

[Reactor]

Although I disagree, in 1990 I believe the U.S. Supreme Court upheld drunk driving checkpoints. They said if I remember correctly that the interest in reducing drunk driving over shadowed other rights in this case, They also made (again as I remember) some other provisions like it has to be during hours police have reason to believe there are a substantial number of drunk drivers, like late Friday or Saturday, or after a Philly's game. And the stops have to be effectively random, they can't pick one group to stop, or they have to have probable cause, in which case they could stop you anyway.

 

[luken8r]

Ive been through two. One in CT on the one main road from one backwoods NE CT town to another. I was with a buddy that night, having a few drinks at his house and watching DVDs. After a while we decided to head to the next town to meet up with some other dudes at a bar. By this time I had sobered up and was cool to drive, so I got behind the wheel and the two of us headed over there. Whilst at the bar, I didnt drink as to be the DD, but my buddy got liquored up along with the other dudes. So around 0100, we head back and hit the traffic stop. I told the cop that I had a drink or two earlier in the night "around 9pm" assuming he had smelled the alchy on my breath. Lying to a cop = bad. So being the truthful guy that I am, he let us go. Knowing the other guys that we were with had to take the same road back, and being not as sober as I, we called them to tell them to find a new way home. Dont know how they did get home, but they did w/o incident

The only other time I got stopped at a checkpoint was in Rome NY, where my wife grew up. We were out there visiting her folks and were bored out of our minds one night, so we did the only thing there was do to there, head to the 24hr Walmart. On the way back, we took the scenic route and came to a stop at a 5way intersection. The cop walks over to our car and asks my wife, "have you been drinking tonight". She was just pissed that we got stopped snapped at the cop and said "NO!". The cop just backed away and told us to move it along.

 

[Echo]

Although I disagree, in 1990 I believe the U.S. Supreme Court upheld drunk driving checkpoints.

Disagree? You think people should have the right to drive drunk and kill people without being impeded or inconvenienced?

 

[Ciaran]

Disagree? You think people should have the right to drive drunk and kill people without being impeded or inconvenienced?

That's not what he was saying man. Geez, there's just no middle ground with you, is there?

 

[BigMike]

The thing with DWI Checkpoints is that they have to stop EVERYONE. They don't need probable cause if they stop everyone that comes through. That way there is no profiling.

Once they have you stopped and talking to you, THEN they can get their probably cause to have you pull over.

I got stopped at one a few months ago, and my girlfriend stank of booze so much, I got to do the little sobriety checkpoint deal. I was stone sober, I think I may have had a sip of a drink to try it that night, but nothing else. I knew I was going to be driving, so I didn't drink. Thats how you are supposed to do it!

 

[Echo]

That's not what he was saying man.

I would be interested in hearing what he was saying then.

 

[Ciaran]

I would be interested in hearing what he was saying then.

I think what he was disagreeing with was the fact that the police can stop you without probable cause, not that he was OK with people driving drunk.

Though that's just what I was taking from his statement, I may have read him wrong as well.

 

[Changleen]

NZ has them too, and the UK. Driving isn't a right, and anyway it's MY right as a non drunk to drive around without getting killed by some idiot.

 

[Echo]

I think what he was disagreeing with was the fact that the police can stop you without probable cause, not that he was OK with people driving drunk.

Though that's just what I was taking from his statement, I may have read him wrong as well.

You're probably pretty close. But I have NEVER in my life heard ANYONE propose a valid solution to the problem of drunk assholes getting in cars and driving. If the police can't have checkpoints, how do they catch drunk drivers? Wait for them to wreck and kill someone?

If you're not driving drunk, you don't have anything to worry about at a checkpoint.

 

[OGRipper]

You're probably pretty close. But I have NEVER in my life heard ANYONE propose a valid solution to the problem of drunk assholes getting in cars and driving. If the police can't have checkpoints, how do they catch drunk drivers? Wait for them to wreck and kill someone?

If you're not driving drunk, you don't have anything to worry about at a checkpoint.

What if you've got a stinky corpse in the trunk?

 

[binary visions]

What if you've got a stinky corpse in the trunk?

Dude, it's a drunk driving checkpoint, not a decomposing corpse checkpoint. Why would they care?

 

[N8 v2.0]

Actually in Louisiana these checkpoints are not allowed.... Proof of insurance checks are howerver...

Check this out:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/alcohol/SobrietyCheck/caselaw.html

 

[Prechrysler]

Lying to a cop = bad.

The only reason they ask you those questions is so that when you go to court they have that you admitted to the offense if you try to plead not guilty. When a cop pulls you over for speeding and asks you, "do you know how fast you were going?", you don't tell him the truth if you want to have any chance of contesting the charge, because it's the same thing as you admitting guilt. The police aren't out there to help you because you are honest, it's just a ploy to get you to admit guilt.

 

[OGRipper]

Dude, it's a drunk driving checkpoint, not a decomposing corpse checkpoint. Why would they care?

Oh yeah that's right, they never use those checkpoints to nail people for other stuff like old parking tickets, two-day expired registrations, low tire pressure, etc., things they would never get you for otherwise.

I tend to agree with random checkpoints of other people. I just don't like them for me.

 

[GravityFreakTJ]

About 10 years ago I got about as lucky as you can get at one of those checkpoints. I was driving home from a bar ..... I did my best sober dude imitation and said I was the designated driver. He's looking around in the car, and it was obvious something was up. .........
Oh damn was that ever the luckiest night of my life.

and i quote from your earlier post.."there is a easy way to avoid DWI's.DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE."

 

[Ciaran]

I tend to agree with random checkpoints of other people. I just don't like them for me.

Now there's an honest point of view!

 

[Brian HCM#1]

They are out to protect you, they have them here in California. Just remember this. If you are stopped at a check point and maybe only had a beer 3 hours before, you never reveal you had ANYTHING to drink. By saying I had one beer 3 hours ago you automatically gave them a reason for the drunk test. One of my best friends is a local cop, I get all the good stories.


Remember this kids..............................It's the people who can't drink & drive ruin it for the people who can

 

[BigMike]

Remember this kids..............................It's the people who can't drink & drive ruin it for the people who can

I REALLY hope you are kidding