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Story on the front page of today's Union Leader stating that checkpoints by Manchester PD have only yielded 3 DWI's in 3 years.That was with 7 major checkpoints with hundreds of cars stopped.They got a few other petty violations and wrote a few warnings but it seems to be a total waste of taxpayer $$.
Officers all get overtime pay from $49.55 to $75.92...........no wonder they love doing it.
The goal was to reduce inpaired driving accidents by 10%....but it went UP a whopping 19% which proves that they are ineffective.
What exactly do the cops do at a sobriety checkpoint? Do they just look for people who seem obviously drunk? Surely they don't make everyone do a breathalyzer test?
It also strikes me as to how many bars, & restaurants that serve alcohol, there are in Portsmouth.....
Also, how many drinks does it take for most people to be over the limit? One? Two? (I know there are a lot of variables).
What exactly do the cops do at a sobriety checkpoint? Do they just look for people who seem obviously drunk? Surely they don't make everyone do a breathalyzer test?
It also strikes me as to how many bars, & restaurants that serve alcohol, there are in Portsmouth.....
Also, how many drinks does it take for most people to be over the limit? One? Two? (I know there are a lot of variables).
Some are brief if a lot of traffic.
They do "smell" the interior of car. They do look inside (from the outside) looking for anything and everything. Not sure what sophisticated electronic "sniffing" devices used nor if all is on video cameras.
Some use a License Plate Reader also.
Note: They usually have a van/truck with a mobile laboratory. And sometimes a mobile "court". To quickly take away the "usual suspects".
Make sure your inspection sticker is up to date. And check all of your exterior lights.
Again, all is posted before the road blocks. Time to read the local newspapers again.
If it's truly not working it's time to try something else. I would have to get the data from multiple police jurisdictions to believe it, though. I've seen too many political news stories that intentionally omitted key information to take them at face value anymore.
I'm not a fan of stopping drivers without cause, but something needs to be done about drunk drivers. Stiffer penalties would probably work, but there doesn't seem to be much support for that, from my observations. I would favor it.
If it's truly not working it's time to try something else. I would have to get the data from multiple police jurisdictions to believe it, though. I've seen too many political news stories that intentionally omitted key information to take them at face value anymore.
I'm not a fan of stopping drivers without cause, but something needs to be done about drunk drivers. Stiffer penalties would probably work, but there doesn't seem to be much support for that, from my observations. I would favor it.
You and me both, except I am probably more hardcore I believe in jail time for the first offence if there was an accident , I believe in jail time for the second offense regardless of whether there was an accident or not with strict adherence to serving out the full sentence in both case. I believe leniency needs to stop, however I believe that strict scrutiny is done by the justice system in the legitimacy of the charge. I hate to say this but DUI's are very profitable to the state and to the lawyers, and insurance industry..but then that could be part of the reason there is only lip service to the problem.
I've said this before and many will disagree but .08 is nowhere near drunk.You are really not impaired, just relaxed.
I have tested scores of friends over the years with a calibrated meter just for the fun of it at they are astonished to find they are over .08 after two glasses of wine.Tolerance depends on ones size but most women and even men in the 120/150lb range are usually over the limit.
These limits were lobbied for by well meaning advocacy groups and lawmakers did not dare stand up to them and most of the people caught in these checkpoints are not a danger to anyone.
The deadly DWI accidents you read about are not caused by the casual drinker coming home from a dinner after a few drinks...they are caused by hard core drinkers ....people you cannot reason with when they are drinking..Nothing persuades them not to drive when they are wasted and I don't see a way to stop them because there is no pattern.They could be drunk at noon or 7 in the morning and you're not apt to catch them in a check point on a major road.
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