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Can you legally avoid a sobriety checkpoint?

On Behalf of | Sep 30, 2024 | Criminal Defense

The police will sometimes announce that they are planning to set up a field sobriety checkpoint. They may also call it a DUI checkpoint. For these to be legal, the police typically have to tell people when and where the checkpoint is going to be established. You can sometimes find these notifications in the local news.

If you see that the police are going to set up a checkpoint, you certainly may want to avoid driving in that area so that you don’t have to interact with the officers. But what if you don’t know that the checkpoint exists in advance, and you just see it ahead of you as you’re driving down the road? You may not be intoxicated or impaired at all, but you still don’t want to go through the checkpoint. Can you avoid it at this point or not?

Follow all of the rules of the road

Yes, you can avoid the checkpoint, but it is critical that you follow all of the rules of the road and all pertinent traffic laws. If you don’t, the police will have reason to pull you over, and you could be arrested. 

For instance, one of the most common mistakes drivers make is that they decide to do a U-turn. But a U-turn, even on an empty street, is often illegal. If the police see you do a U-turn and drive away from the checkpoint, an officer may follow your vehicle and pull you over. But if you just turn on your blinker and then turn left or right at the next cross street, there’s nothing illegal about seeking a different route so that you can avoid the checkpoint.

If you do get arrested, then it’s important to look into all of your defense options before you talk to the police. 

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