Some of the strangest DUI stories originate in the great country of Australia. The latest involves the arrest of a man found asleep in his motorized wheelchair. The suspect, who was also a senior citizen was charged with operating a vehicle while impaired. Such an arrest raises interesting issues with respect to the rights of disabled persons.
Seminole County’s recent sobriety checkpoint yielded arrests for very few drunk drivers, however, generated almost 100 tickets for various driving infractions along with an arrest of an individual for carrying a concealed weapon. The Florida Highway Patrol still maintains that these checkpoints are necessary to keep Florida roadways safe despite the fact that they consistently yield an average of four to less arrests for DUI. In Fort Myers last Saturday morning, over a thousand vehicles were detained in some manner while passing through a checkpoint established on North Cleveland Avenue. Although a little bit better than the Seminole County checkpoint, Fort Myers still yielded very few DUI arrests compared to the number of traffic citations issued. This law firm has consistently maintained that sobriety checkpoints are an absolute violation of our constitutional rights. The limited number of arrests resulting from these roadblocks consistently verifies this to be the case.
I have stated before that the crime of DUI is politically charged. Every year with increased legislation, private companies flourish financially due to the fact that those convicted are forced to attend certain programs, complete certain schools, have their car immobilized, and in this case, outfit their automobile with an ignition interlock. For those of you that don’t know it, an ignition interlock is a device that gauges a driver’s blood alcohol level. If that BAC is too high, the engine will not start. Currently, interlock devices are only required for those convicted of their second DUI, however, legislation across many states in the nation (including Florida) are seeking to require these devices for even first time offenders. Many states are also crying out for uniform legislation seeking mandatory interlocks in every car registered within a given state. Car manufacturers have already begun to outfit concept cars with sensors that would detect any alcohol within the cabin. The United States Federal Government has even gone as far as to offer a ten million grant seeking the development of such intrusive devices. It is important to keep in mind that it is not illegal to have a drink and drive an automobile. It is only when an individual is impaired that a crime is committed. This legislation and lobbying seeks to criminalize otherwise legal behavior and further erodes our constitutional rights.
