The Las Vegas Metro Police Department’s Traffic Bureau and the Northwest Command will be conducting a sobriety checkpoint from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday, April 20. These checkpoints are becoming more and more common in an effort to cut down on drunk drivers.
The checkpoint will be set up on Lake Mead Boulevard just east of Buffalo Drive. Police will be looking for impaired drivers, whether it is drugs or alcohol. There will be an emphasis put on drugged drivers, the trained Drug Recognition Expert Officers will be participating.
The location of the checkpoint has been chosen based on the number of alcohol/drug related crashes and violations in the Northwest Area Command. The checkpoint has been partially funded by a Joining Forces Grant from the Nevada Department of Public Safety-Office of Traffic Safety.
DUI Checkpoint Requirements
If you are stopped at the checkpoint, there are a few rules that the police must obey. Motorists must be stopped according to a neutral formula. This means that an officer can’t just randomly stop you at a DUI checkpoint. They have to use the same standard on very car that comes through.
Adequate safety precautions are taken, such as proper lighting, warning signs, and signals, and whether clearly identifiable official vehicles and personnel are used. Essentially, officers have to clearly identify themselves. The DUI checkpoint cannot be another version of a speed trap
The DUI checkpoint needs to clearly be identified as a DUI checkpoint, the checkpoint can’t be a random checkpoint for officers to look for anything they can site you for.
Officers must not hold you for longer than needed, and procedures need to be in place to make sure that happens.
DUI Attorney Las Vegas
If you or a loved one has been issued a DUI, make sure you get an experienced Las Vegas DUI Lawyer on your side. If you feel that you were wrongly issued a DUI, or that your rights were violated, contact us immediately for a free consultation. Nobody wants to find themselves facing criminal charges, but if you do, make sure your rights are protected.
Sources: