DUI checkpoint!

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

shafferpilot

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2007
Messages
1,579
Reaction score
17
Location
Cincinnati OH
No complaints, cause I aced the BS testing procedure. just wanted to brag a bit. Reality is that I was probably close to the .08 limit. I pulled up to the checkpoint and rolled down the window after telling SWMBO "just follow my lead and if they take me out of the car DON'T tell them ANYTHING about what we did tonight!!! Just say, you'll have to ask him, or I don't know." Well the patrolman asked me if I'd had anything to drink. I said, "Sure, I had 3 beers with dinner about 3 1/2 hours ago. We went to a movie afterwards, Sweeny Todd. It was awesome."(BTW it was a walk to the theatre from the restraunt) He says, "How 'bout you" and motions to SWMBO. She says, "I had two with dinner". I have no doubt he smelled beer, so I wasn't about to say, "no". "Can you please step out of the car and follow me? This officer will drive your car over there," he says. "Sure, no problem" I say. I know how to deal with these guys, I've got plenty of experience(don't ask). So through a swampy, muddy ravine and over two tall curbs we go, into a parking lot. I'm steady as a rock, and I know this guy is already convinced that I'm good. 'Time to sweeten the deal' I'm thinking to myself. "I'm not gonna lie, this is pretty cool; I've never seen one of these checkpoints before. Ha ha." Oh yeah, I got him eating out of my palm. We have to stand there and wait for the poor drunk sap in front of me. He's clearly wasted and currently blowing the little plastic dildo.... er, breathalyzer for all he's worth. They lead the guy away and have to change video tapes before it's my turn. Obviously, that guy is going to have a REALLY long night! Officer 'Time Waster' makes me do the whole 'follow the pen' thing for like a solid minute. My eyes were starting to sting from the cold air, but I'm keeping my cool. "Alright, you can go. Have a safe night." He tells me, clearly a little dissapointed that I wasn't drunk like he thought. I shake his hand and say, "Make sure you nab all those drunkies tonite!" I'm sure he didn't notice the sarcasm that was spinning in my head:) Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating drunk driving by any means, but the standards that have been outlined by our government are rediculous and subjective to the -enth degree! So I get back in the car and SWMBO is bouncing off the walls nervous! In the coolest, John Travolta voice I tell her, "Chill baby, no big deal." And we head home. Now I'm high as a kite for how well I delt with all this. Not that I think I fooled anyone, because I really wasn't drunk at all. Honestly, if he had asked me to blow, I'm quite sure I'd have been under the limit. The high is really coming from how 'in control' of myself I was. Ten years ago, I'd have been quoting civil rights cases to the guy, and begging for trouble. Now I can just chuckle at the whole thing, and PLAY THE GAME.... I guess that's what growing up is.
 
In the UK if you get stopped you get tested.
They even do it randomly no need for reasonable suspicion.
I agree with catching DDs but I'm sure the law states reasonable suspicion must be present. Just saying well 5% are drunk so you might be should not be enough.
 
Driving under the influence = one sip or more you can get charged and it dose happen. I got Actual physical Control charge for having the cage parked at the curb with the keys in the ignition playing the Radio, I was in the front yard playing football. It was a keg party, I'd been there a couple hrs( drinking), it was after 9pm and I might have been a little hard on the Officer( not to smart sometimes). Live and learn. While going to alcohol school there was a mom in there for DUI, she blew.03 and was charged. The dance just builds a case for the DA ( it was designed by them) Try and do it sober.
 
When SWMBO and I go out to dinner, ONE of us drinks (if at all), the other one drives.

Why take the chance? It is common knowledge that the laws are designed to crack down on drunk drivers, whether or not we consider them fair. It has also been proven that it only takes one drink to impair a driver.

I wonder how someone who has lost a loved one to a drunk driver would feel about the "fairness" of these checkpoints?

I'd also like to add that this forum, while being about beer, generally tends to advocate responsible drinking.
 
Flyin' Lion said:
When SWMBO and I go out to dinner, ONE of us drinks (if at all), the other one drives.

Why take the chance? It is common knowledge that the laws are designed to crack down on drunk drivers, whether or not we consider them fair. It has also been proven that it only takes one drink to impair a driver.

I wonder how someone who has lost a loved one to a drunk driver would feel about the "fairness" of these checkpoints?

I'd also like to add that this forum, while being about beer, generally tends to advocate responsible drinking.


That makes extra sense for you. You're a commercial pilot, am I correct? One conviction and you lose your livelihood.

Personally, I am dead-set against these damned roadblocks. I am not advocating drunk driving, but I believe there should be probable cause for getting pulled over. And just being on a certain road at a certain time is NOT probable cause. It's just not right.
 
Bernie Brewer said:
That makes extra sense for you. You're a commercial pilot, am I correct? One conviction and you lose your livelihood.

Personally, I am dead-set against these damned roadblocks. I am not advocating drunk driving, but I believe there should be probable cause for getting pulled over. And just being on a certain road at a certain time is NOT probable cause. It's just not right.
I'm really not in the mood to deal with this but I'm throwing the BS flag right now!
It is plain and simple!
DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE!
No matter how well you think you can handle your alcohol.
You are worried about being hassled at a check point? Give me a break! How the hell do you think a family of someone killed by a drunk driver feels? I'm sure they would trade places with you any day!
 
Obviously you are indeed not in the mood. Sorry I blew up. Who said anything about me WANTING to drive drunk? All I said was I don't think that I should get pulled over just because I am in my car after a certain hour. I certanly agree that you shouldn't drive drunk, but I also believe that there are rights that are being infringed upon by this practice, and allowing this infringement can lead to worse things. It all happens one step at a time. I'm sorry if I hit a nerve, Rich, It's just the way I feel about it.
 
I have one thing to say, if you are going to say not to drink a drop and drive, then why not start enforcing eating/makeup/cell phone/tomtom(or any screened entertainment device/being tired/the radio/to many to list that are way worse than being under .08 blood alcohol. Most drunk drivers in accidents have way higher than .08, and everyone that saw them get into their car knew they were to wasted to drive. I do feel for families of DD accidents, but try to get those people to avoid the stated other distractions I mentioned. If they killed someone while driving and talking on their cell phone it would just be an accident, not their fault. A guy getting rear ended at a stop light after he has had a couple of beers and is legally under the limit shouldn't get a DUI, he didn't cause any accident. The person behind him did (drinking or no).
 
RichBrewer said:
I'm really not in the mood to deal with this but I'm throwing the BS flag right now!
It is plain and simple!
DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE!
No matter how well you think you can handle your alcohol.
You are worried about being hassled at a check point? Give me a break! How the hell do you think a family of someone killed by a drunk driver feels? I'm sure they would trade places with you any day!


WTF?? Read whole posts before respondingNo one has said that they have the right to drive drunk. The problems that have been listed are in the style of enforcement. EVER HEARD OF THE FOURTH AMENDMENT? It's called search and seizure without due cause. Now let me be extremely clear on this. I LOST A FRIEND TO A DRUNK DRIVER!!!! But I will NEVER advocate a POLICE STATE.

How about this:
People grow pot in their houses, so I'm going to send officers on rounds searching each person's house from top to bottom once a week. If you protest at all, he'll arrest you. You don't like that idea? Well I'm betting a mother whose kid became a pot-head, dropped out of school, lives in the ghetto and never calls her feels it's worth it!
 
7949~Unicorn-Lovers-Posters.jpg


Peace12312312312
 
Flyin' Lion said:
I wonder how someone who has lost a loved one to a drunk driver would feel about the "fairness" of these checkpoints?

If they checked the statistics, they would be pissed off. It takes 25 officers to run one. On average in the state of ohio, they arrest 5 people a night. Those same 25 officers would arrest 20 or more REAL DUI offenders if they were on patrol, pulling over weavers!! Check you state's highway patrol website out for the specifics. Idiots like MADD have convinced the Fed's to spend our federal tax dollars on this crap:confused:
 
I was stopped at 1 of those Check Points in NC once in a damn Semi I had to deliver it High Point and got stopped and they made me follow the pen and stand on 1 foot for 30 seconds, The whole time I just didnt Understand why they would single me out especially bein in a truck, But Later I talked to my Bro In Law who lives down there and he just laughed and said it was because I was a Yankee, lol No Harm done They were just doin there job.
 
Once everyone gets comfortable with these checkpoints and soon they will be coming to your house to look for your stash & check you computer for porn. :confused:

You should have told the guy in front of you about the anus motion!
 
Funny thing about these checkpoints in Illinois (Lake County), is the requirement by law to announce them publicly.


Not that they often occurred, but when they did I was always glad I read the paper.
 
I think this was said earlier, but when the wife and I go out, if one of us drinks, the other doesn't, the majority of the time the wife ends up driving us home, not b/c i'm drunk, but I just don't want to ever run the risk of getting pulled over and blowing even a fraction of anything... my job doesn't allow for us to be sloppy like that.
 
Driving is a priviledge, not a right. If people didn't drink and drive, then there would be no need for these checkpoints, right?

I fully endorse enforcement of other distractions as well (cell phones etc.). The amount of drivers in the past ten years has increased exponentially. We don't need to add to the problem with distractions and impairment.
 
I hate how strick the drunk driving laws are. If you live in a city, sure have dinner, with a couple of drinks, and hop a cab. If you live in the rest of the country, what are you supose to do, get a motel in town so that you can have 2 drinks with dinner.

I also hate infringment on civil rights just to make it 'look' safer. That's the only reason they do those check points, so people can see how hard they're 'cracking' down on DUIs. Just like when the national guard was at the airports with M-16s It had nothing to do with security. No one ever tried to 'storm' the airports, it was just so people would see the gov. doing something.

Or the fact that you can't buy cold medicin over the counter, because of meth (here in Montana anyway). Well, the guys making meth with this stuff are buying/steeling it by the case. Not one bottle at a time.

Not to mention, as with every other civil right breaking BS law, it only sets the standard for the next thing that is unpoplular, or becomes a political issue. People get killed by drive by shootings, so maybe we should have check points to see if anyone has any guns in their car.

People get killed by rage road drivers, so lets poll people over to see if they're in a good mood or not. And, if they get pissed that they are being pulled over without cause, then that's a good enough reason to arrest them. And yes, I'm sure some mother that had their child killed by road rage, would think it is a good enough reason.

I leave on this note: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=445662&postcount=24
 
Flyin' Lion said:
Driving is a priviledge, not a right.

I couldn't agree with this statement more. BUT there IS a right to privacy, and a checkpoint is a violation of that even if our ultra-conservative, republican supreme court says otherwise. Pulling someone over for being drunk is completely different, and is important to the public's safety. Checkpoints are a way of pooping on the Constitution and that is EXTREMELY important to all of us.
 
Jesse17 said:
I hate how strick the drunk driving laws are. If you live in a city, sure have dinner, with a couple of drinks, and hop a cab. If you live in the rest of the country, what are you supose to do, get a motel in town so that you can have 2 drinks with dinner.

I also hate infringment on civil rights just to make it 'look' safer. That's the only reason they do those check points, so people can see how hard they're 'cracking' down on DUIs. Just like when the national guard was at the airports with M-16s It had nothing to do with security. No one ever tried to 'storm' the airports, it was just so people would see the gov. doing something.

Or the fact that you can't buy cold medicin over the counter, because of meth (here in Montana anyway). Well, the guys making meth with this stuff are buying/steeling it by the case. Not one bottle at a time.

Not to mention, as with every other civil right breaking BS law, it only sets the standard for the next thing that is unpoplular, or becomes a political issue. People get killed by drive by shootings, so maybe we should have check points to see if anyone has any guns in their car.

People get killed by rage road drivers, so lets poll people over to see if they're in a good mood or not. And, if they get pissed that they are being pulled over without cause, then that's a good enough reason to arrest them. And yes, I'm sure some mother that had their child killed by road rage, would think it is a good enough reason.

I leave on this note: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=445662&postcount=24

I have to disagree, Road Rage does not impair your ability to drive nor slow your reflexes or affect your depth perception, And I dont want someone running into my wife and kid one night and killing them because they wanted to have just one more. I drink at home or at dinner when someone else is driving no questions asked rather I have 1 or 10.
 
There is a guy that works for the bank and travels daily about 40 miles up and down the same road. So, Sheriff Buford T. Justice pulls him over one day and has the audacity to say, "Sir, the reason I am pulling you over is that I have noticed your car several days in a row." So, politely the worker asks if he is under arrest or is getting a ticket/warning/etc. The cop says, "No, but I would like permission to search your car." The worker asks, "If I say yes, can I get a written warning with the reason you pulled me over before the search?" The sheriff immediately said, "I don't think a search will be necessary after all, you just drive safe." Then the worker ask, "Well since I have to explain to my boss why I am going to be so late, and will probably get into trouble, can you at least write me the warning for why you pulled me over so I can prove that I didn't break any laws and have a legitimate excuse for being late?" The cop just looked at him and said, "You have a nice day sir." Wanker cops prey on people who are ignorant to their rights. If you politely stand for your rights and leave the cop no alternative but to potentially get into trouble themselves, they will leave you alone. Get an attitude and you deserve whatever happens, lol.
 
RICLARK said:
I have to disagree, Road Rage does not impair your ability to drive nor slow your reflexes or affect your depth perception, And I dont want someone running into my wife and kid one night and killing them because they wanted to have just one more. I drink at home or at dinner when someone else is driving no questions asked rather I have 1 or 10.
First off, Road Rage DOES impair your ability to drive, or make rashonal decisions, people run lights because they're pissed and refuse to stop, they also cut people off, refuse to yeild right of ways, usually speed, etc.

Second off, that was just an example of a STUPID reason to violate our CIVIL RIGHT to protection from search without DUE CAUSE. Just like DUI check points are a violation of our Civil Rights.
 
Disclaimer:
This was along time ago I dont need any lectures not advocating anything.

I talked an officer out of searching my car in high school after someone spotted people smoking some gonga in a car that matches my description. After getting pulled over high as a kite I told the officer that he did not have probable cause. He backed off and drove away! This made me pretty bad ass to everyone I knew for the rest of high school.
 
Doesn't this in a way coincide with metal detectors and checkpoints at airports...?? They may be inconveniences for some of you and me, but I am happy they're in place because it's for our own safety and everyone else's...

To the OP, you honestly consider a sobriety test a game...? You said you were grown -up, this just shows me you have a lot of growing up to do... Go get a DUI and sit through a victim's panel and tell me how fun the game is...
 
IBTL!!!:ban:

This can only get better!

The irony of all this is that the news on the TV while I type this is about a head-on collision last night from a drunk driver going the wrong way on a divided highway and the resulting fatalities.

...Of course, those folks & their familes prb don't see the irony or humor of "playing the game" like an adult.
 
wortmonger said:
How is a metal detector and a DUI stop even remotely the same thing?
Both are helping to eliminate a possible hazard...

What's the difference if someone kills you with a bomb on a plane, or with their car drunk on the road...?
 
wortmonger said:
Everyone riding the plane has to go through the metal detectors making it part of flying, they don't pull everyone driving over?
Well, isn't that what this topic was primarily about, people getting pulled over at DUI checkpoints, whether they've been drinking or not...?

My point is that I don't think it's a violation of any liberties... do the crime and you do the time.
 
Come on, stop the whining.

These checkpoints are there to sort out the regular offenders that hold their alcohol/drugs well, and drive anyway. Or drive with a suspended license. They will most likely not get caught by a pullover.
The officers are sifting out the unwanted elements from the public roads so your kid will not loose a parent or two because some jerk did not have the reflexes to stop at the red light and swiped you sideways 50 mph.
If you are not DUI, just play along knowing that someone is actually trying to make a safer environment for you and your loved ones.

Cheers, and have a safe drive home.
Jakob
 
Reidman said:
Well, isn't that what this topic was primarily about, people getting pulled over at DUI checkpoints, whether they've been drinking or not...?

My point is that I don't think it's a violation of any liberties... do the crime and you do the time.


I can't say that I interpreted that from the first post...the fifth post, yes.
 
I see it as, if everyone has to do it, it is fine. If just a few have to it is a violation. I look young and get carded at 32 for beer, yet I have seen kids younger than 21 that look older than me not. Card everyone and I don't have a problem. Pull everyone over and I don't have a problem. One street, one night, and nothing to show but a few DUI's out of how many poeple inconvenienced not to mention the huge taxpayers expense of officers not on patrol and in one spot is a violation on so many different levels.
 
These checkpoints are there to sort out the regular offenders that hold their alcohol/drugs well

The officers are sifting out the unwanted elements from the public roads so your kid will not loose a parent or two because some jerk did not have the reflexes to stop at the red light

So you want to sift out what you consider an unwanted element under the pretense that they are bad drivers even though they may in fact be capable of driving at a standard that is acceptable. May be someday they will come up with a quick and easy test that actually shows someone’s driving ability. There are a bunch of people on the road who scare me a lot more then a guy who has a couple of drinks with dinner ever night and can still function up to legal standards.
 
Jesse17 said:
First off, Road Rage DOES impair your ability to drive, or make rashonal decisions, people run lights because they're pissed and refuse to stop, they also cut people off, refuse to yeild right of ways, usually speed, etc.

Second off, that was just an example of a STUPID reason to violate our CIVIL RIGHT to protection from search without DUE CAUSE. Just like DUI check points are a violation of our Civil Rights.

This is turning into a political conversation? However, You feel that it is your civil right to drink and drive? Reguardless of how many you have had and how you feel, the bottom line is that it is Against the law...I can drink 12 and still feel fine to drive but I dont in respect for everyone around me not to mention if I loose my license I loose my Lively hood.
 
My opinion: If a checkpoint catches just one driver who had the potential to kill someone, even if 20 cars were stopped, the whole thing was a success.

Personally, if I got stopped at one of these checkpoints (sober), I'd just play along and thank the officer afterward for being there doing the job.
 
RICLARK said:
This is turning into a political conversation? However, You feel that it is your civil right to drink and drive? Reguardless of how many you have had and how you feel, the bottom line is that it is Against the law...I can drink 12 and still feel fine to drive but I dont in respect for everyone around me not to mention if I loose my license I loose my Lively hood.
Again I will say, that I'm talking about the right for protection againts "search without probable cause"...Not the "right to drink and drive"!
 
Reidman said:
Doesn't this in a way coincide with metal detectors and checkpoints at airports...?? They may be inconveniences for some of you and me, but I am happy they're in place because it's for our own safety and everyone else's...

To the OP, you honestly consider a sobriety test a game...? You said you were grown -up, this just shows me you have a lot of growing up to do... Go get a DUI and sit through a victim's panel and tell me how fun the game is...


You clearly didn't READ everything I wrote. I WAS NOT DRUNK!! Three beers three and a half hours earlier. If you've been through a victims panel because of a DUI when you WERE drunk, then YOU, sir, need to grow up. It definitely IS a game. I was pulled out of my car and tested after showing NO signs of intoxication. I didn't start the game, idiots like MADD started it. I/We have NO choice but to play. And the reality is that hundreds of drunks get away scott free, because officers are wasting their time with these checkpoints, instead of patrolling and catching the drunks that check the newspaper before heading out the bar to get hammered.
 
brewt00l said:
IBTL!!!:ban:

This can only get better!

The irony of all this is that the news on the TV while I type this is about a head-on collision last night from a drunk driver going the wrong way on a divided highway and the resulting fatalities.

...Of course, those folks & their familes prb don't see the irony or humor of "playing the game" like an adult.

Pay attention to the conversation before you comment. I WAS NOT DRUNK. Drunk driving is not the game. The game is fooling the public into thinking checkpoints are more effective than patrols to stop habitual DRUNK drivers. The statistics confirm this clearly. In my state the average arrest rate for a checkpoint in 5 per night per checkpoint. It takes 20 to 30 officers to administer a checkpoint. How many DUI arrests would those officers log if they could patrol all over ALL of the roads instead of one little spot on one road with 24 hours of warning given to the idiot drunk drivers?
 
Back
Top