With Covid restrictions easing, we saw more locals and visitors celebrating and thus more alcohol consumption. In addition we had Indian Wells Tennis Tournament partying for the last few weeks. As covid restrictions eased, DUI arrests rose. In other words they are inversely proportional, as one goes down the other goes up.
If you are asking………..YES, DUI sobriety checkpoints are legal and not a 4th Amendment illegal search and seizure violation… if they comply with all the regulatory rules. Turning onto a side street or turning around before passing through a checkpoint is generally not against the law. Turning around should not, in and of itself, give the police a reasonable suspicion to make a DUI stop. However, the officer may be able to stop you if he observes any driving that would be sufficient for reasonable suspicion. Thus, slow or erratic driving, straddling the line or making an illegal turn could attract the officer’s attention, and he then could stop your car.
Did you encounter a St Patrick’s Day DUI Checkpoint? To address all holiday drinking, Checkpoints are implemented to meet the increased number of people who will be drinking and driving…..A word of advice, Use a Taxi, Uber or Lyft. They are a lot cheaper than having to call me the next morning. Thank God this week is the IW Art Festival. We don’t see a lot of drinking and partying from that.
Checkpoints: What You Need To Know!
- Sobriety checkpoints are a technique by which law enforcement officials evaluate drivers for signs of alcohol or drug impairment at specific points on the roadway.
- Vehicles are stopped in a specific sequence. The average stop time is about the length of a cycle at a stoplight.
- Checkpoints are typically publicized in advance…SO LOOK BEFORE EVERY HOLIDAY!
- The primary goal of a sobriety checkpoint is not to arrest people, but rather to deter people from committing a DUI. The publicity from checkpoints reminds people who drink that drinking and driving don’t mix.
- Sobriety checkpoints help stop drunk drivers who would likely remain under the radar.
- Checkpoints reduce drunk driving crashes and fatalities by 20% on average.
- Research shows that for every dollar invested in checkpoints, communities save between $6 and $23 in costs from alcohol-related crashes.
- The annual cost of alcohol-related crashes to society is over $100 billion.
- Research shows that checkpoints, if done correctly, can be effective with as few as three to five officers.
In the Coachella Valley, few realize we have more DUI FATALITIES…per capita, than anywhere else in California. That makes DUI Checkpoints and Saturation Patrols essential to save lives……the drivers and ours. A saturation patrol is a large number of law enforcement officers making their presence known by conducting stops, targeting inebriated, distracted, aggressive and speeding drivers, as well as those with seatbelt or cell phone violations….the whole nine yards of traffic violations.
Remember: Silence is Golden and Handcuffs are Silver so DON’T TALK to the POLICE without your lawyer’s permission. Remember the preliminary breath test at the scene is optional as is the Field Sobriety Tests (FST). At the station you must take a blood of breath test and I would recommend Blood.
Though often referred to as a DUI criminal defense lawyer, I choose to not view my DUI clients as “criminals”. I prefer to view them, and more importantly to treat them, as good, honest people that have found themselves in a scary and unfortunate situation after screwing up.
I look upon my job as protecting the Constitutional Rights and dignity of every American who drinks, drives and gets arrested for a DUI and I obtain maximum compensation for injury ACCIDENT victims.
I do however “Change Hats” when I SUE Drunk Drivers for damages to my Injured or Deceased (Wrongful Death) clients.
REMEMBER: DRINKING AND TEXTING BOTH CAUSE DUI INDUCED ACCIDENTS OR MAKE A DRIVER LESS LIKELY TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT, THAT WOULD NOT BE THEIR FAULT. BEING INTOXICATED, IS JUST AS SERIOUS AS BEING INTEXTICATED. A DRIVER MUST DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO AVOID AN AT FAULT ACCIDENT. THE BOTTOM LINE IS “DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE OR TEXT AND GET A DUI OR ACCIDENT… CALL A TAXI, LYFT OR UBER….THEY ARE A LOT CHEAPER THAN CALLING ME”
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DALE GRIBOW
REPRESENTING THE INJURED AND CRIMINALLY ACCUSED
“TOP LAWYER” – California’s Prestige Magazine, Palm Springs Life (PI/DUI) 2011-22
“TOP LAWYER” – Inland Empire Magazine
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