Georgia Police Prepare for Thanksgiving Holiday

Holiday weeks in Georgia tend to bring a lot of drivers onto Georgia roadways - more so than what is overwhelming on a daily basis. More people on the roads means more traffic violations. Holidays also mean more drinking and unfortunately - drinking and driving.

DPS commissioner stated “Reducing traffic crashes, deterring and correcting bad driving behaviors, and making the roadways safer is our job. To make this happen, troopers and motor carrier officers will be patrolling interstates and secondary roads throughout the state during this holiday period.”

As a Georgia DUI Lawyer, I know that this also means more safety checks - also known as DUI Checkpoints in Georgia. In today's post I will outline the necessary components of a legal and correct sobriety checkpoint in the state of Georgia.

A DUI Checkpoint is subject to the following restrictions:

1. The DUI checkpoint must be setup for a legitimate purpose - the checkpoint cannot be for generalized law enforcement.
2. The decision to implement the checkpoint must be made as well as approved by a police supervisor. 
3. Every vehicle must be stopped - there can be
4. The checkpoint must be well-identified and clearly marked. 
5. The officers must be trained DUI Detection. 
6. The checkpoint must not be randomly placed or a moving checkpoint.
7. The checkpoint must not create an unreasonable burden on drivers and businesses.

It is important for you to know that if you or a loved one have been arrested for DUI in Georgia as the result of a checkpoint - there is still hope for your case.

Most people believe that if they are arrested at a checkpoint, then their case might as well already be decided. This could not be further from the truth. As you can see in the list above, the standards are relatively strict for a checkpoint to be deemed as legal and acceptable. Not every checkpoint follows the procedures they are required to by law.

Practice Note

If you or a loved one has been arrested for DUI as a result of a checkpoint, call our offices now.