Well, we have check points at times during the holidays around where I live. Usually only for DUI checks. But they are usually well advertised on the media so the drunks find a different route. It is more of a prevention effort.
So tell me, how do you feel about Canada's system of checks you described?

 

It's pretty rare to get stopped. In 25 years of driving I've maybe only been stopped a dozen times. Usually they just set up for an hour at a time in one location to minimize the impact of word getting out and the drunks taking a different route. I don't really have a strong opinion one way or the other and I suspect most Canadians don't. I don't think we have the same depth of polarized opinion on this side of the border. It's the way they do their job, so we just put up with it.

 

Quoted by Vman:
I also don't think dui checkpoints should be allowed.Let them go out and catch the bad guys.
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IMO, these ARE the bad guys.


AFAIC, Get them all off the road !

Please explain this thinking.... to people who have lost loved ones to drunk drivers

 

Many of you are forgetting one huge piece of the puzzle.

As an LEO, I have an obligation to enforce the law (whether I particularly agree with it or not). In the case of a violation (not a Misdemeanor or Felony), I do have some discretion as to whether to issue a Warning, or cite for the violation.

I'm not going to be drawn into a debate on how many cops are good, bad, or any of that.

If a person is given a ticket, they either have the option of paying it, or they take it to COURT. The Judge makes the determination as to whether the law was violated or not. The Officer attests to the fact that "More Likely Then Not" - in other words, (Probable Cause) the individual committed the violation, or broke the law.

The Court decides.

All these rants on "I was traveling 45 in a 40 zone and that cop had the nerve to stop me", is tiresome. Frankly, I'm beginning to think that some folks are just looking for an excuse to wear a tin foil hat.

A license is not a right. It's a privilege the state extends to those who operate within certain parameters. The state has an obligation and a responsibility to remove the license and deny the use of the roads and streets to individuals who fail or refuse to operate within those parameters.

 

Something wrong like speeding?

 

police enforce the laws, not make them!!! i picked my friends little brother up from a party once at a hotel, i was outside waiting for him when bam!! police show up, and they cite me for underage drinking!! so i went to court, explained to the judge and he let me off.

i was always "anti-cop" until i did a few years of military police duty, now i understand mostly and now greatly appreciate what police go through, its really hard to tell whats going on in the police mind until you actually been in the mindset they have. i am not at all for police harrassment, but everyone must look at both sides of the picture, we would be praising the cop who pulled over a car with his license plate a little covered and had that wanted felon in it. and we will be cursing the cop that pulled us over for the same reason, thats life!!!

 

There are cops of every temperment, some times they make me mad and I think they went too far, other times I think they didn't go far enough and other times they were right on. Thank you guys for the job you do. I couldn't tolerate some of what they have to. I would not want their job. I have been stopped for a lot of different reasons, including check points. There were 2 times that were not right, once in Ohio for speeding and I was not, and had a local HP who had a personal issue with me he tried to take care of by stopping me everytime he saw me. I paid the ticket in Ohio it was the cheapest and the easiest, took care of the other through talking to his superiors and other law enforcement officers I knew. Just my opinion.

 

The CDC defines a heavy drinker as someone who consumes more than 2 drinks per day and a binge drinker as someone who consumes more than 5 drinks in a sitting. They also consider the use of alcohol in hazardous situations (and they specifically mention driving a car) as a sign of alcohol abuse. Furthermore, they state, and many studies confirm, that even one drink impairs driver reaction time significantly.

Claiming to be able to drive just fine after 6 beers isn't a bragging right, its good a sign that either a person drinks too much and has a high tolerance level as a result, or they're in denial about their impairment with that much alcohol in the blood.

 

Oh, it's really easy to drink a 6-pack and still be able to drive. Here's how you do it. Drink a beer, finish it, wait 90 minutes. . . Drink another beer, wait 90 minutes. . . Drink the 3rd beer, wait 90 minutes. . . Drink the 4th beer, wait 90 minutes. . . Drink the 5th beer, wait 90 minutes. . . Drink the 6th beer, wait 90 minutes. . . Go drive. And there you have it. The secret to being able to drink a 6-pack and drive.

 

Some of what I said was a generalization,not particular to this.If federal law allows speedos to be off by 5mph,LEO ought to take this into consideration when pulling someone over for a few above.Quite frankly I got stopped in some long dui checkpoints when driving truck and being late on delivery,lost my job.Granted that guy wasn't worth working for,but If they want to sit on the side of the road and look for someone driving erratic,that's great.Checkpoints are a nuisance to all the rest of the responsible drivers.I'm sticking to that.Fate is fate,if someone you know gets hit by a drunk driver,don't think checkpoints are the cure all.I've known a few drunks that got really good at avoiding them.

 

This just ate up 9 hours of my lunch hour. Yep... Makes sense to me

 

I wish you are the only one that feels that way. I'm a cop (but don't blame all these problems on me!) Everyone is fine to drive. If you don't beleive me, just ask them ...if you can understand their slurred speech!

People get killed every day because someone in the other car was "fine to drive".

 

Ken's right - either his tolerance is so high from alcohol abuse or he's not aware of how drunk he is.

 

45 in a 40 is speeding, reason enough to pull someone over. After pulling the vehicle over from behind the officer notices the decal, there you go. The officer was doing his job.

 

Another Massachusetts Democrat. Sorry, but if yer gonna pull me over, you need a REAL reason to do so. The last time I checked, it wasn't illegal to be on the highways in the middle of the night. From my experience, if the suspect is really drunk or high, it will be obvious that they need to be stopped without having to lie about the reason for the stop.