DUI Checkpoint Effectiveness
Though Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) promotes
DUI checkpoints as an effective preventative measure to
curb the occurrence of driving under the influence,
various studies have shown that DUI checkpoints are much
less effective than other police methods.
According to a report in the
Arizona Daily Star,
the high cost of DUI checkpoints is unjustified by the
low arrest rate. Consider these statistics, which were
discovered by an investigation conducted by the Star.
- Between 2005 and 2007, more than 46,000 drivers
were stopped. Less
than 1% of these were arrested, and
fewer than half of those were convicted.
- On July 4th, 2007, a DUI checkpoint
arrested less than .1% of the more than 1,239
drivers who passed through the checkpoint.
- Statistics show that DUI arrest and conviction
rates have shown no decrease since 2005. It seems
the educational benefits of DUI checkpoints
are minimal, if there's any.
- Conviction rates for DUI checkpoint arrests tend
to be lower than regular DUI arrests because
DUI lawyers often challenge the
constitutionality of DUI checkpoint arrests.