Those who drive under the influence of alcohol continue to account for an unacceptable number of serious accidents resulting in injury and death to other innocent vehicle occupants. The average number of DUI fatalities in Mississippi exceeds the national average. The number of motor vehicle related fatalities caused by drunk drivers has lingered at approximately 35 percent in recent years. Mississippi ranks much lower when the number of DUI accidents per number of miles driven is factored into the calculation. This substantial risk of being involved in a serious car accident with a driver under the influence of alcohol makes the use of sobriety checkpoints an important countermeasure for vehicle safety in Mississippi.
There are a great number of critics that believed DUI sobriety checkpoints have limited effectiveness in preventing alcohol related car accidents. Critics of sobriety checkpoints contend that relatively few drunk drivers are actually arrested for DUI at a sobriety checkpoint. Those who believe that sobriety checkpoints are an effective countermeasure to prevent DUI fatalities counter that the key benefit of a DUI sobriety checkpoint is that it acts as a deterrent to potential drunk drivers. It is probably reasonable to assume that DUI sobriety checkpoints serve as a deterrent to moderate and social drinkers but probably have minimal impact on habitual drinkers.
Critics of sobriety checkpoints claim that less than two percent of drivers that pass through sobriety checkpoints are actually arrested for DUI. This contention is misleading for a couple of reasons. First, the purpose of DUI checkpoints is not to arrest drunken drivers but rather to encourage those who might otherwise choose to drive while intoxicated to make alternative arrangements if they will be drinking. Second, given the millions of people that pass through DUI sobriety checkpoints, even a small percentage of DUI arrests amount to tens of thousands of drivers under the influence that are removed from roadways.
Another key factor that is rarely considered when the effectiveness of sobriety checkpoints is analyzed is that many motorists removed from the road do not have a valid driver’s license. Drivers who are operating a motor vehicle without a valid driver’s license may never have satisfied the requirements to attain a driver’s license or may have had their driver’s license privileges suspended or revoked because of accidents, traffic violations or DUI convictions. When considering the effectiveness of sobriety checkpoints, the reality that a substantial number of the motorists removed from the road are driving without a valid license must also be considered part of the safety benefits of sobriety checkpoints in Mississippi. While checking to see if drivers have a valid license cannot be the focus of the sobriety checkpoint, it is a secondary benefit.
While it is debatable whether the economics of sobriety checkpoints make them the most cost-effective means of preventing drunken driving accidents in Mississippi, there can be little doubt that many drivers are removed from the road for both driving under the influence and driving without a license, which makes the roads of Mississippi safer. If you have been injured in a Mississippi car accident with a drunken driver, the experienced Mississippi DUI car accident attorneys at Barrett Law diligently represent DUI accident victims throughout the state so call us today at 662-834-2376 to see how we can help.