Georgia "Safety" Checkpoints
Summer means increased use by the police of traffic stops or checkpoints, to check for alcohol use, vehicle registration and safety equipment, like headlights and brake lights.

August 11, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Summer is here and the time is right for trips to the beach, parks and camping. Thousands of Georgians head out to hundreds of recreation spots. Most people drive their car or motorcycle and usually the trip is uneventful.

But, some types of stops are unplanned. A stop drivers may not plan for is operated by the Georgia State Police or local law enforcement agencies.

The stops or checkpoints, which go under a variety of names, such as Safety Checkpoints, Sobriety Checkpoints or DUI Checkpoints are operated by the police and law enforcement to check for alcohol use, vehicle registration and safety equipment, like headlights and brake lights.

Summer Checkpoints

They are often used around major summer holidays, like Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day, but they can occur anywhere at any time in Georgia.

While checkpoints have been permitted by the U.S. Supreme Court since the early 1990s, they are not without controversy. Five states don't permit them at all.

The Governors Highway Safety Association website notes that Georgia conducts sobriety checkpoints weekly.

The checkpoints, however, are often used for purposes other than alcohol, such as checking for valid driver's licenses and insurance. The checkpoints have been criticized as not being very effective. Some police defend them, even if they don't generate many arrests.

They argue the advance notice of some checkpoints keeps people from drinking or encourages the use of designated drivers.

Improving Safety or Fourth Amendment Violation?

In Georgia, motorcyclists have been protesting the recent use of motorcycle-only safety checkpoints. The checkpoints where funded by a $70,000 grant from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). They targeted many riders heading to Daytona Beach this spring.

Georgia motorcyclists claim the checkpoints do not improve motorcycle safety and do little to reduce accidents and instead merely single out motorcyclists. Many see them as violations of the Fourth Amendment, and are illegal searches.

During the recent Fourth of July celebration in Savannah, it wasn't only checkpoints where the police were watching drivers closely. The police were out in force near firework sites, looking for any type of traffic violations, including Georgia seat belt requirements, to stop drivers.

The Georgia State Patrol reported 20 traffic-related deaths and 322 crashes that resulted in 254 injuries across the state for the holiday weekend of the Fourth of July.

July Fourth is generally one the top holidays in terms of DUI arrests. Troopers used concentrated patrols and road checks as enforcement measures during the holiday travel period.

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