A big thank you to Lawrence Taylor, who told us recently about DWI/DUI roadblocks in my former stomping grounds of Gainesville, Florida, home of the Florida Gators (and Tim Tebow). In fact, I interned at at the State Attorney’s Office and Public Defender’s Office in Gainesville.
Many states have been pushing for roadblocks. An excuse to stop drivers suspected of no wrong doing, simply to check them out and see if they have been drinking. This has been pushed by MADD and other lobbyists on their behalf.
Well, it seems that FHP (Florida Highway Patrol) gave it a shot, and stopped over 1100 citizens. They were proud to report making over 100 arrests. . . . BUT . . .
ZERO were for DUI (Florida’s equivalent of Texas’s DWI) 2 for warrants, and over 100 for "traffic citations."
Obviously, giving out tickets for expired tags and broken taillights wasn’t the point of the roadblock. But they tried to make it seem that it was. "We conduct these checkpoints to enforce and to educate." Yeah, right. Like that was the point of the roadblock.