'Tis the Season for DUI Checkpoints!

The holidays are here and DUI Checkpoints are EVERYWHERE!  And they aren’t just being conducted on weekends and holiday dates, either.  Across the country, money is being made available in the form of grants to law enforcement agencies to conduct an ever-increasing number of DUI, DWI, or Sobriety Checkpoints.  There are checkpoints being held somewhere every day this holiday season. 

With so many checkpoints going on, you’d think that people might drink and drive less, but the results of checkpoints prove otherwise.  In fact, no matter how heavily promoted a DUI checkpoint is, drunk people will still be caught in it.  Try Googling News for “DUI checkpoint results” sometime. 

A new DUI checkpoint strategy is to include a giveaway for those successfully passing through the checkpoint.  Giving people something as they pass through the checkpoint makes the event more memorable or even more educational.

In New Mexico, the Department of Transportation teamed up with MADD to give away lip balm and wristbands.

A memorable DUI checkpoint giveaway that will surely be talked about at some Thanksgiving dinner tables is this one in Salinas County, California.  See?  If they don’t arrest you, they’ll give you the bird!

Some law enforcement agencies don’t like to advertise where or when they will be having a checkpoint in advance, while others feel getting the message out will have a wider impact than just the people passing through the checkpoint.

Indeed, getting the message out can be Vital.  Here’s a checkpoint where the head of the local OVI Task Force is saying, “We’re not looking for DUIs,” and stresses the use of checkpoints as a deterrent factor.  This is for a historically deadly stretch of road.  Raising awareness among the drivers of this road is a central benefit of conducting a DUI checkpoint.

This holiday season, the DUI checkpoints are plentiful and in many places, penalties for drunk driving have increased since last year.  There has never been a better time to make the commitment to not drink and drive, to always plan for alternatives to driving after drinking, and above all, to always help each other.

There will be many people arrested for drunk driving over the next six weeks who will be caught upon leaving a family or workplace get-together.  This year, let’s make a promise to not let our friends, family, and coworkers drive after drinking.