To answer the question of whether DUI checkpoints in Florida are legal, the answer is simply yes. They are. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, there are about 15 to 20 checkpoints throughout the state of Florida each month. Some of these checkpoints are called permanently located manned checkpoints, while others are set up in random locations where they cannot be observed as they approach traffic until it is far too late to withdraw. While Florida views DUI checkpoints as a method of combating drunk driving, it is often argued that these checkpoints are a violation of our constitutional rights. If you have been charged with DUI after a sobriety checkpoint, contacting a Florida DUI attorney can ensure that your rights and freedoms are protected. Sobriety checkpoints are approved in 38 states and the District of Columbia (NHTSA, [2008g] [see Table B.3]), but few states perform them frequently. According to the GHSA ([2014b]), only 13 states conduct checkpoints on a weekly basis. The main reasons why checkpoints are not used more frequently are lack of law enforcement personnel and lack of funding ([Fell, Ferguson, et al., 2003]). (UNC Center for Road Safety Research, 2011, pp.

1-18) Since sobriety checkpoints are designed to deter impaired driving, an appropriate measure would be the number of impaired drivers deterred, but this is not easy to identify. Instead, traffic authorities track changes in alcohol-related accidents, injuries, and deaths. Measures may also include the number of stops and the number of arrests per checkpoint, or awareness or perception of checkpoints determined by investigations. To improve the visibility of their enforcement actions, some jurisdictions combine checkpoints with other activities, such as saturation patrols. For example, some law enforcement agencies conduct both checkpoints and saturation patrols on the same weekend. Others take turns at checkpoints and saturation patrols on different weekends as part of a broader enforcement action for impaired driving. As simple as a “yes” answer may be, it becomes a little more complicated when the legal policies and procedures of a DUI checkpoint, also known as a “sobriety checkpoint,” need to be considered. You are allowed to bypass a DUI checkpoint in Florida, but only by performing lawful traffic maneuvers.

You can`t turn around illegally to avoid a checkpoint, as this can cause you to be arrested. Sobriety checkpoints were first introduced in Scandinavia in the 1930s (Elder, Shults et al., 2002) and became common in the United States in the early 1980s (Hedlund and McCartt, 2002). In 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the constitutionality of sobriety checkpoints; However, debate over checkpoints has continued, and some state courts have declared them illegal for violating state constitutions (IIHS, 2012). In Pennsylvania, a DUI checkpoint is a well-marked and stationary roadblock that is operated by police for several hours. Ground officers make short, suspicious stops to look for driver poisoning, using a predetermined objective standard to determine which cars to stop. These roadblocks are announced in advance and are located in road locations where drunk driving is known to have occurred in the past. In short, this means you may not know a DUI checkpoint until you encounter it along the way. Police websites, local newspapers and news websites, as well as local television news channels are often the best source for inquiring about drunk driving checkpoints before driving. While the law allows drivers to avoid impaired driving checkpoints, they must ensure the safety of everyone else on the road before doing so.

For example, drivers are not allowed to turn around illegally to avoid the checkpoint or accelerate to pass it. However, they can turn into a side street or turn around before reaching the checkpoint. Those who decide to go through a DUI checkpoint should remember that law enforcement officers can only perform DUI tests if the driver completely passes the checkpoint and the office selects him at random or on the basis of reasonable suspicion.