DUI checkpoint

About midnight Friday night I was driving on Bardstown Rd and saw a sign "DUI check .. no U-turn". All cars on Bardstown Rd were being stopped and license, insurance and expired tags were being checked. I saw a couple of cars turning off Bardstown Rd into local streets and immediately chased by cop cars.

They were using St Raphaels parking lot (between Taylorsville Rd and I-264) as a holding area for cars already stopped. Even had lanes with signs in the parking lot with about six police in the lot. About twenty five or more cops around. They indicated that this was going to happen in various locations.

I have never seen anything close to this size operation before. Use care.

As someone who almost died in a DUI involved car wreck a few weeks ago, I actually don't mind this. I know it looks like police state 1984 crazy stuff but as freaked out as I now am about drunk drivers, a big part of me says go get'em.

Warning!! Rant coming! Warning! (Cue appropriate klaxon horn)

Maybe if we quit treating drunk driving as a minor annoyance and treat like the life-threatening and life-altering offense that it is, we would not see so many roadside "memorials". EMS, FD and PD would not have as many nightmares about the horrible scenes they have dealt with. Families would not be mourning as many lost members. Less folks would spent the rest of their lives living with handicaps. Millions of dollars could be used for other things beside insurance, medical bills and funerals.

Adam - I am SO glad you survived your accident, I have seen way too many that have not in my time. I honestly believe that DUI should never be called an "accident", they did it "on purpose" and should pay the price.

Steps off soap box.....back to your normal programming.

[Robin Garr]

Steps off soap box.....back to your normal programming.

I think we can generally agree that DUI is a dangerous crime and should be prosecuted.

But I don't know that we can find similar agreement on mass roadblocks as an appropriate and proper way to stop it.

Steps off soap box.....back to your normal programming.

I think we can generally agree that DUI is a dangerous crime and should be prosecuted.

But I don't know that we can find similar agreement on mass roadblocks as an appropriate and proper way to stop it.

Correct, and correct.

I wonder if that is the same thing I saw on Hurstbourne last night. I couldn't tell if there was a wreck or not, given there were an unbelievable amount of cop cars, but I know they were blocking off traffic coming one way. Was also around midnight. Probably just a wreck, but weird timing if they were doing that on Bardstown, too.

Can we also set up a checkpoint and arrest everyone who has texted since they entered their vehicle? Arresting every pedestrian walking in the center lane of Preston Highway after dark would significantly cut down on DUI convictions. Just because the majority believes in one specific flavor of police state doesn't make it any less of a police state.

Adam - I am SO glad you survived your accident, I have seen way too many that have not in my time. I honestly believe that DUI should never be called an "accident", they did it "on purpose" and should pay the price.

This line of reasoning can be extended to encompass a lot of things that you probably do not intend for it to. A DUI should be punished, but perspective is always healthy in every debate, and unless you want the penalties for other choices people make (e.g. looking at their phone while driving, a person who chooses to drive to work after 3 or 4 hours sleep, etc.) to have as severe of consequences, you should be very cautious in encouraging the state to strip law-abiding citizens of, alternately, their time or their rights. Right now it's something you approve of stopping; historically, we allow the state to do the same until they have encroached on everyone. This is why there are so many resorts to, "For the children!" or "If it saves just one life!" -- it has worked, over time, despite the loss of understanding of the larger picture.

Additionally, there is a very valid concern about police using roadblocks to target specific groups under the pretense of checking for DUIs. While it may not harm whatever demographic you are in, there are other groups that get unjustly harmed. Additionally, the police do not have the right, in many area, to stop people en masse with no reasoning.

Roadblocks are an implicit attack upon the populace for the purposes of giving the appearance of safety, drumming up revenue, and keeping small, but very loud, groups happy They are far less effective at preventing road deaths than good policies, education, and mandatory re-testing of drivers' acuity on a semi-yearly basis. Additionally, they do nothing to stop the incredibly senseless majority of traffic deaths that occur due to poor decision-making by drivers who are not intoxicated.

I would prefer we focus our resources on the biggest problems, not just the ones that are easiest to throw scorn upon.

Yes, I know people who have died in senseless accidents caused by others, and I understand the anger. But anecdotal one-offs are not the basis for good policy.

I actually NEVER said I approved of the roadblocks, far from it. But too many DUIs are treated as a minor offense and when they really hurt someone it is too late. Is it any wonder why the powers-to-be set up those roadblocks? Guess who gets the major part of the blame whenever a "frequent flyer" kills someone? There really is not an end-all, be-all answer, just attempts to stop the carnage. Like Adam said, once you experience the close call, it changes your perspective. BTW - may be anecdotal, but I spent 30 years of my life working on ambulances, so I have seen a LOT of MVAs and the majority still involve DUIs. Maybe because I worked the night shift most of my career....

Having spent a few years in ERs - there's no shortage of stupid behavior that results in human pain and suffering, a large amount is self inflicted and doesn't involve a motor vehicle at all. In a free society we struggle where to draw the lines to respect liberty but ensure security and safety. I personally find road blocks one step from having to present my "papers" to a law enforcement official.

I actually NEVER said I approved of the roadblocks, far from it. But too many DUIs are treated as a minor offense and when they really hurt someone it is too late. Is it any wonder why the powers-to-be set up those roadblocks? Guess who gets the major part of the blame whenever a "frequent flyer" kills someone? There really is not an end-all, be-all answer, just attempts to stop the carnage. Like Adam said, once you experience the close call, it changes your perspective. BTW - may be anecdotal, but I spent 30 years of my life working on ambulances, so I have seen a LOT of MVAs and the majority still involve DUIs. Maybe because I worked the night shift most of my career....

Fair enough.

I don't agree with the "too many DUIs" part, though. DUIs are rarely treated as minor offenses anymore. In fact, they're often punished more harshly than a host of other crimes which are far more dangerous and pernicious, when the details are examined. I think we, perhaps, all have differing opinions of the scope of the DUI itself. When people sit with, "Any alcohol!" they lose me as an advocate -- and, in fact, you do not have to be above .08 to be charged with intoxicated driving. Someone with a .08 or below is no more impaired (actually less so) than someone who is texting, someone who is putting on makeup, someone who is elderly, or someone who is on a host of medications that millions take. Does it make it wise to drive after a few beers? No. But it also doesn't make one a moving weapon designed to cause murder and mayhem. Nor is it an indication of pre-meditation to kill, nor lack of care about the safety of oneself or others.

So when the hammer comes down on people with .08 (and sometimes even below) and they lose their jobs (and, in today's economy, their homes) over having had two or three beers, I become somewhat uncomfortable. The typical, "It lowers reaction time!" is true of so many other activities that we allow that occur far more regularly than drinking that it smacks of a hidden mentality of prohibitionism still below the surface of our culture.

When people begin driving with multiples of our legal limit, I have no issues with the hammer being dropped on them. I personally would love for there to be a penalty free way for bars and restaurants to let a patron know what their BAC is, and be forced to call the person a cab if they refuse to stay if it's over a reasonable limit. But, having worked in a bar before, I know that would pretty much destroy the ability of the staff to do their jobs.

I agree with the rest of your point, though. I do not have any wonder that the powers-that-be do things that are not all that well-considered, because their goal is, normally, to address problems that exist, not to work towards making sure those problems never exist in the first place. I also think it would be useful if our culture could find a way to convince everyone to have more openness in telling people they know they should not drive.

Thanks for working in an ambulance for so long. That is a job I could not do myself, and I know you all are historically under-compensated for the hard, and necessary, work you do.

If I had read that sign, I'd instantly flick on the turn signal...

If I had read that sign, I'd instantly flick on the turn signal...

And one of the cop cars would have turned on their lights, just for you.

If I had read that sign, I'd instantly flick on the turn signal...

And one of the cop cars would have turned on their lights, just for you.

+1

If I had read that sign, I'd instantly flick on the turn signal...

And one of the cop cars would have turned on their lights, just for you.

I'd like to see them prove I was avoiding their checkpoint.

If I had read that sign, I'd instantly flick on the turn signal...

And one of the cop cars would have turned on their lights, just for you.

I'd like to see them prove I was avoiding their checkpoint.

Officer: Sir, what are you doing this evening?
Me: I'm looking for a home to buy.

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Officer: Sir, what are you doing this evening?
Me: Oh, I've just always wondered what Winston Ave. was like.

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Officer: Sir, what are you doing this evening?
Me: I'm enjoying a nice evening drive. Wonderful evening, ain't it? Is there a reason you stopped me? I did use my turn signal back there, didn't I?

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[Edit to add]

Officer: Sir, what are you doing this evening?
Me: Well, I'm sober, and properly licensed, and here's my insurance, so, you know, I wasn't really interested in waiting through that checkpoint.