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Sobriety Checkpoint: Response to "Folsom Police To Conduct DUI Checkpoint"

By Sarah Longwell  

The sobriety checkpoint planned for Folsom this Memorial Day weekend will serve to funnel limited state and federal grant money away from measures that have proven to be most effective in combating drunk driving ("Folsom Police To Conduct DUI Checkpoint," May 22).

Because they are highly visible by design and publicized in advance, roadblocks are all too easily avoided by the chronic alcohol abusers who comprise the core of today's drunk driving problem.

Conversely, the number of DUI arrests made by roving patrol programs is nearly 10 times the average number of DUIs made by checkpoint programs, according to testimony by a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation official.

By focusing scarce law enforcement resources on roadblocks, the Folsom Police Department will strip California's roadways of their most valuable tool for catching drunk drivers. Folsom residents and taxpayers would benefit from employing the most effective tactics to catch drunk drivers: roving police patrols.

Sarah Longwell
Managing Director
American Beverage Institute
1090 Vermont Avenue NW, #800
Washington, DC 20005

See Also: Folsom Police To Conduct DUI Checkpoint
Folsom Police Run a DUI Checkpoint
Folsom Police Take DUI Drivers Off The Street, Make One Drug Arrest

judythpiazza@newsblaze.com