The Pima County Sheriff's Department held a DUI checkpoint last Saturday on South Cardinal Avenue near West Valencia Road, but Arizona DUI attorneys and even some law enforcers are now questioning the effectiveness of such a roadblock. Arizonians are aware of the many AZ DUI checkpoints.
The Arizona Daily Star reports that 499 drivers passed through the checkpoint from 8:25 p.m. to 11:15 p.m. But of these drivers, only six people were asked to go through field sobriety tests and only three people were actually arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. In addition to the arrests, the sheriff's department issued an additional 12 citations for charges ranging from open alcohol containers to suspended driver's licenses and outstanding warrants.
Fifteen sheriff deputies, one sergeant, and six volunteers conducted the DUI checkpoint. After officials closed the checkpoint, the department sent out saturation patrols that searched for impaired drivers throughout the county. Yet shortly after the DUI checkpoint, a man who was believed to be intoxicated was involved in a head-on collision on South Oak Tree Drive near Midvale Park. This was just a mile or two down the road from the checkpoint location.
Because a serious drunk driving crash occurred near the checkpoint's location, Sheriff's Sgt. Douglas Hanna told Arizona Daily Star that the checkpoint a "failure." The whole purpose of a DUI checkpoint is to reduce the number of drunk driving accidents on the road. That is why there are AZ DUI checkpoints.
In the month of May, Pima County residents can still expect to see a large number of AZ DUI checkpoints in the area. The Sheriff's Department hopes that checkpoints will minimize the number of drunk drivers on the road on Cinco De Mayo and after graduation celebrations.
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