Anxiety Checkpoints

Sobriety checkpoints are pre-determined police operations employed to detect and apprehend impaired drivers. This countermeasure specifically targets distinct areas, days, and times which have been identified as most likely when an alcohol- and/or drug-impaired driving incidents will occur, based on crash and arrest data (NHTSA 2013). While sobriety check points can be used to detect impairment due to any substance, they are generally deployed to detect and deter alcohol impairment (NHTSA 2013). Therefore, Ssobriety checkpoints are usually conducted during times when alcohol- impaired driving is most likely to occur, usually typically on peak drinking days, such as weekends, holidays, and/or special events (NHTSA 2013). Police officers engage in these activitiesconduct checkpoints on a roadway to randomly stop vehicles randomly to check for driver impairment. …show more content…
Law enforcement officers may choose to stop: every vehicle; drivers who exhibit suspicious or erratic driving; or vehicles at some a regular interval, such as every second or thirdfifth or tenth vehicle (NHTSA 2013). After a vehicle is stopped, the law enforcement officers conducting the sobriety checkpoints will examine the driver for signs of impairment directly through observation or indirectly through passive alcohol sensors (NHTSA 2013). If the initial screen warrants, the officer may have the driver pull off of the roadway into a safe area and conduct a more thorough examination to determine if the driver is impaired by alcohol or other drugs (NHTSA 2013). Generally, sobriety checkpoints are designed to deter driving under the influence of alcohol and/or other drugs by increasing perceptions of the perceived risk and likelihood of arrest (NHTSA