The sobriety checkpoint planned for St. Mary’s on Thursday will funnel limited state and federal grant money away from measures that have proven to be most effective in combating drunken driving (“Increased Enforcement Planned for Cinco de Mayo,” May 3).
Because they are highly visible by design and publicized in advance, roadblocks are all too easily avoided by the chronic alcohol abusers, who comprise the core of today’s drunken-driving problem.
Conversely, the number of DUI arrests made by roving patrol programs is nearly 10 times the average number of DUIs made by checkpoint programs, according to testimony by a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation official.
By focusing scarce law enforcement resources on roadblocks, St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office will strip Maryland’s roadways of their most valuable tool for catching drunken drivers. St. Mary’s residents and taxpayers would benefit from employing the most effective tactics to catch drunken drivers: roving police patrols.
– Sarah Longwell, managing director
American Beverage Institute, Washington, DC