Lawmakers want sobriety checkpoints mandatory in Texas

Posted By Law Offices of Jeffrey C. Grass || 12-Dec-2012

Texas lawmakers are trying to reduce drunk driving accidents by making sobriety checkpoints mandatory throughout the state.

While the number of fatalities caused by drunk driving accidents has declined in Texas, lawmakers and safety advocates say that drunk drivers are still a major threat to the public and something needs to be done to reduce these types of accidents.

How do sobriety checkpoints work and why do some think it would reduce drunk driving accidents? Sobriety checkpoints allow law enforcement to stop vehicles driving on public roads. Once stopped, law enforcement officers are able to investigate to see if the driver is too impaired to safely drive. If an officer suspects that a driver is drunk, he may use a breathalyzer test to see if the driver is legally intoxicated. Depending on the test results, a driver could face serious charges and be sent to jail.

Most sobriety checkpoints occur late at night or early in the morning, usually to try and catch people leaving restaurants and bars. Most drunk driving accidents occur at night or early in the morning.

While lawmakers and law enforcement officials think mandating sobriety checkpoints would help reduce drunk driving accidents, opponents feel it would be an invasion of privacy. Opponents also said that having a law that mandates sobriety checkpoints throughout Texas may allow police to manipulate and abuse their power during these checkpoints.

In addition to the mandatory sobriety checkpoints proposed by Texas lawmakers, others in the state have said that law enforcement should add more "no refusal" weekends to help reduce drunk driving accidents. "No refusal" weekends allow law enforcement to require drunk driving suspects to have a blood test if they refuse a breathalyzer test. While supporters say this would also help catch more drunk drivers, it was not included in the lawmaker's recent proposal.

Source: News Channel 10, "Push to make sobriety checkpoints mandatory in Texas," Ashley Paredez, Dec. 4, 2012

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