If you have ever driven to a concert, raceway, sports event, state fair, or gone practically anywhere over a holiday weekend, chances are you have encountered a sobriety checkpoint on the road. These checkpoints are roadblocks where law enforcement personnel stop vehicles to identify, potentially impaired drivers. Checkpoints can be set up to stop each vehicle one at a time. Sometimes officers only check vehicles at certain intervals, such as every fifth car. The bottom line is that when a particular event is accompanied by alcohol consumption and attended by large crowds, these sobriety checkpoints are considered an ounce of prevention against DUI.
What happens at a sobriety checkpoint? Often, a portable Breathalyzer test will be administered to a driver. Occasionally, a driver may be asked to exit the vehicle and take a roadside sobriety test. It is important to note that while you may respectfully refuse to take a sobriety test under normal circumstances, roadside checks may be an exception to this. In this state, if the locations and times of upcoming checkpoints are announced, posted, or disseminated online by law enforcement, taking the sobriety test is required.
Obviously, one can appreciate some other important objectives that sobriety checkpoints hope to achieve. Officers may be able to detain people being sought for other crimes. It is also gives the State an opportunity to inspect and check vehicles for license plate violations, up-to-date or expired tax stickers, and driving without a license.
Should you encounter a problem related to a DUI charge, whether or not it was at sobriety checkpoint, call an experienced attorney at Zachary Law Group. We offer a FREE 30-minute case evaluation, along with our own proprietary way of handling your legal problem: we “Zach-It!” Let us go to work on your behalf to assert and defend your legal rights. Give us a call at 1-855-Zach-law.
