Monday, May 20, 2013 - 8:15pm
UPDATE: Would sobriety checkpoints solve the D.W.I. problem in Texas?
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POSTED: Thursday, November 18, 2010 - 10:00pm
UPDATED: Friday, November 19, 2010 - 6:48am
TYLER - The National Transportation Safety Board ranks Texas as one of the ten states that does the least to prevent DWI-related crashes.
The study released this week says only six states are doing enough to prevent alcohol related crashes.
Officials with Smith County D.P.S. say drivers who are arrested for D.W.I. drive drunk on average eighty times per year.
Law enforcement officials say it's difficult to catch these offenders because there are so few officers and so many drivers on the road, but the law also comes into play.
The idea of sobriety checkpoints has been presented numerous times in the Texas Legislature, and it's been shot down each time amid privacy concerns.
However, some studies reportedly show those check points can reduce alcohol-related crash deaths by 20-percent.
Comments News Comments
Sobriety check-points were once an effective measure to randomly pick-off the DUI driver, but today's communications thwart this type of search. Check-points are easily avoided by the use of cell phones. The days are gone when police could set-up around the corner from someones holiday party and make multiple arrests. Today's police have a person inside local bars reporting patrons as they leave. Probable cause; tell that to the judge at your trial when a laugh is needed to ease the tension.
Sobriety Checkpoints (and any other forms of random checkpoints) are a violation of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The 4th Amendment protects all Americans from illegal searches and seizures. Law enforcement cannot pull you over and test your sobriety, or ask for your license and proof of insurance, etc., without probable cause.
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