Category/Practice Area: Criminal Defense Can you turn around if you see a DUI trap?

On Behalf of | Jun 10, 2022 | Criminal Defense |

Officers have the legal ability to set up DUI traps, or DUI/sobriety checkpoints, at almost any point along the highway. Not only do they sometimes have no obligation to announce the checkpoint itself, but they also do not have to provide alternative routes around it.

However, that does not necessarily mean that a driver has to go through no matter what. It is possible for them to find an alternative route on their own.

What are checkpoints for?

LifeSafer discusses the purpose of DUI checkpoints, which often dot the highways of the state. These checks exist to help target and remove potentially intoxicated drivers from the road, thus improving the safety of the road itself and protecting other drivers on it.

In some states, officers must declare their DUI checkpoints in advance. In others, they even have to give drivers an alternative route. But this is not always the case.

Avoiding checkpoints legally

However, in the way that DUI checkpoints are legal in the first place, it is also legal for drivers to avoid them. But they must do so in legal ways. In other words, a driver cannot drive recklessly, cut off other vehicles, make illegal turns or U-turns, cross solid lines or speed.

Even if a driver abides by the laws when turning, however, officers will likely keep an eye on them due to potential suspicious behavior. In this case, officers might find other reasons to pull a driver over, such as expired plate stickers.

Since getting pulled over by an officer may lead to a BAC test, drivers who turn away from a DUI checkpoint should feel confident that they will not get stopped.