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Not to mention the invasion of privacy and unconstitutionality of these checkpoints, but you have state workers being forced to take furloughs, huge budget deficits, and falling tax revenue.
Is it really a wise thing to spend millions of dollars setting up DUI checkpoints across the state? State taxpayers are spending $6000 for every one of the 236 towns taking part in this. Plus on the local level, you are paying thousands of dollars in overtime for police.
It's not right. This money can be used in far better ways
Well, these checkpoints often make money - however they usually fail miserably in their intended purpose. When I worked for the newspaper, we got all the stats from the checkpoints held in the local towns. Often, they wouldn't arrest a single drunk driver, however they made a killing in overdue registration, lapsed insurance, unpaid traffic fines, etc. Some seat belt and/or cell phone tickets were thrown in as well.
I'm personally not a big fan of checkpoints. I feel that police should detect drivers genuinely driving in an unsafe manner and pull them over and cite them appropriately. While I don't condone drunk driving, I don't think someone should be arrested unless they are driving in a manner that is legitimately unsafe.
So many of our local/state governments stated intentions have covert intended consequences as clearly stated by Vdan.
My problem with DDcheckpoints is their ineffectiveness, wasted manpower and flush of taxpayer money under the guise of a misleading public safety law or program.
Are there clear statistics available to show the effectiveness of a DDcheckpoints ? To do nothing but announce the operation of a checkpoint would probably be as effective as operating one.
If statistics and economics can justify checkpoints as an effective tool it would be more difficult to argue against.
Rather than stopping cars, police should filter the traffic through a maze of orange cones. Stop anyone who knocks a cone over.
The random location of checkpoints reduces the effectiveness of finding DDs. People "get drunk" either at a bar or a private home for the most part. Fishing where the fish are not is a poor strategy for success. Unless that success is measured in terms of cash for local town. If that is the case, then move forward with checkpoints advertized to enforce rules and regs most likely to be violated.
You want cash for your town just stop the texters and cell phone users. They are now claimed to be as hazardous as DDs. The safety equivalence is there to justify vigorously stop cell phone users.
Not to mention the invasion of privacy and unconstitutionality of these checkpoints, but you have state workers being forced to take furloughs, huge budget deficits, and falling tax revenue.
Is it really a wise thing to spend millions of dollars setting up DUI checkpoints across the state? State taxpayers are spending $6000 for every one of the 236 towns taking part in this. Plus on the local level, you are paying thousands of dollars in overtime for police.
It's not right. This money can be used in far better ways
Simple as this, do not drive when drinking alcohol. I am sure you know of the Taconic Mom killing all those people including her children. The rest of us that drive responsibly deserve to get home safe.
Simple as this, do not drive when drinking alcohol. I am sure you know of the Taconic Mom killing all those people including her children. The rest of us that drive responsibly deserve to get home safe.
You missed the point completely. Did DUI checkpoints deter her?
Uh, most DUIs are usually caught on Friday and Saturdays. DUI checkpoints usually don't go up on a Sunday afternoon on a major highway.
Besides, the DUI checkpoints are a setup of the US D.O.T., not just local LE thinking it's a good idea.
How does this relate to my point?
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slight of hand
