Massachusetts DUI Attorney Blog

Authorities continue to tout DUI checkpoints as a way to reduce drunk driving while opponents maintain they are an inefficient law-enforcement tool rife with abuses and government overreaching.

Anyone stopped and charged with Massachusetts OUI at a law-enforcement roadblock or so-called "sobriety checkpoint," should contact a Quincy, Massachusetts defense lawyer to discuss their rights.

Such roadblocks must follow strict rules and many times evidence can be successfully challenged by a Boston criminal defense attorney experienced in fighting Massachusetts drunk driving charges. Such roadblocks are subject to abuse; even the mere fact that law enforcement is specifically targeting suspected drunk drivers can mean they are predisposed to file OUI charges.

As we reported recently on Massachusetts DUI Attorney blog, in a post regarding the apparent increase in DUI among young women, about one-third of fatal Massachusetts car accidents (124 or 363) involved a drunk driver in 2008.

ABC3 in Palm Springs reported that more than 1,000 people will die in drunk driving crashes in California this year. Police in Palm Springs spent $100,000 conducting eight DUI checkpoints last year. This year, they plan to spend $236,000.

The American Beverage Institute contends it is an inefficient use of tax dollars. "There's a far less expensive more effective mean called roving patrols that puts police officers out on the streets looking for negligent drivers of all kinds, speeding or drunk," spokeswoman Sarah Longwell said.

In one recent checkpoint, the department staffed a roadblock with 12 officers for 5 hours; they checked 533 drivers and arrested just 4 for DUI.

Last year, the California Highway Patrol screened 100,377 drivers across California and made 458 DUI arrests -- or less than .4%.

The American Beverage Institute contends DUI checkpoints catch moderate responsible drinkers, not the heavily intoxicated ones.

"What we want is targeted enforcement, police officers on the streets looking for dangerous drivers of all kinds, not pulling police officers off the streets, putting them in one spot in the hopes that a drunk driver might wander through, that is not a good use of taxpayer dollars," Longwell said.