HoCo Police Announce DUI Checkpoint

The Baltimore Sun has the news today that the HoCo Police will be setting up a DUI checkpoint this week.

Howard County police plan to conduct a sobriety checkpoint this week, though they did not say where.

Police said in a news release that eight people died in alcohol-related crashes last year and that 1,340 people were charged with DUI in Howard. So far this year, police said, eight people have died and 801 have been charged.

In publicizing checkpoints, "police hope that by promoting awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving, the number of drivers under the influence will decline," the release said.

I do not endorse drunk driving. It costs lives needlessly when there are a lot of options out there.

In Maryland, though, officers must provide an opportunity for drivers to turn around and avoid the sobriety checkpoint. Further, an officer at said checkpoint cannot use that action as grounds to pull over a car. (Not true in some other states.) So, people could see the lights and signs and just turn right around - causing more damage.

Add to that the fact that they infringe on 4th Amendment rights, despite William Rehnquist's findings in Michigan State Police v. Sitz (1990). The SCOTUS remanded the decision back to the Michigan State Supreme Court, which eventually deemed checkpoints illegal. It does not seem that the SCOTUS has made a ruling on the legality of sobriety checkpoints since - at least of real significance.

Interestingly enough, I had found a number of examples in which the number of DWI/DUI arrests has dramatically increased because of these checkpoints. There is a critical balance to keep in mind, though - the obvious civil desire to stop drunk driving while not violating civil liberties to act without suspicion.

This is an aside to the larger point that the police have told you that they're coming to get you some night this week. So, in the spirit of Embracing Hostility Against Your Civil Liberties, if you're going to get smashed, make sure you can either walk, bicycle, or cab it back home. This way, you don't maim anyone, and you don't get arrested through Draconian law enforcement tactics.