Happy New Year

  •  January 1, 2005

Posting has been slow today as I’ve been enjoying some holiday time with my little girl and cleaning up the house in preparation for guests this evening. I also had to spend some time outside moving snow around as we’ve gotten quite a bit of it in the last few days. The weatherman is just now telling us on the TV that another winter storm is on its way through.
Oh well, typical North Dakota weather.
I hope you all have an enjoyable New Year’s Eve. Please stay safe. If you’re going to party, do so responsibly. If you’re spending the evening on the internet you can find some live views of Time Square in New York here.
On a related note, I thought I’d leave a topic for discussion tonight. In North Dakota, on New Years Eve police officers are allowed to stop
drivers randomly for no reason other to ensure that they are not driving drunk even if their driving doesn’t indicate any problems. Personally, I’m against this sort of thing. I understand that there is a problem with drunk drivers on this holiday, but does that give us a good enough reason for this sort of police action?
I don’t think so. What do you think?

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  • http://Array Rick

    Rob – To the best of my memory, Law Enforcement has been conducting DWI checkpoints for at least 20 years … It’s nothing new, in some states at least, and hasn’t really grown into any kind of a ‘monster’ at all. And actually I think DWI stats are down, somewhat, from where they were ten or twelve years ago. I might be wrong, but I believe this is true.

  • http://www.inthebullpen.com/ Chad Evans

    Normally I'd have a huge problem with this, however we all know New Year's Eve is a night that most party goers drink. I've been stopped on NYE before in a roadblock and had no problem with it. Now if they searched my car, then I'd take them to court, but just stopping me and saying a few words doesn't bother me unless I'm in a hurry.

  • http://www.youngpundit.com/ Willis

    Like they say, it's better to be safe than sorry.

  • Rick

    Let's see now … so we wait until the drunks hit and kill someone before we find them??? Yeah, makes a lot of sense, huh?

    I am HAPPY to see DWI checkpoints on the highways, especially on holidays. Drinking is fine, but do it, and keep it, at home or other single place .. not on the roads. And not where you have the opportuity to hit me or my family.

    BRAVO to the police for being PROACTIVE!

  • likwidshoe

    Stopping citizens without probable cause is good because [insert something here]. That kind of logic is the hallmark of intrusive big government.

  • http://metallicarat.blogspot.com/ MetallicaRat

    I'm for it because I've seen some dang good drunk drivers, but I still know that if the sh*t hit the fan, they couldn't react in time. It is the law, and it must be obeyed. Stuff like this one night a year is fine by me. I'd thank the officer for working while he stopped me.

  • likwidshoe

    MetallicRat opines, "I’d thank the officer for working while he stopped me."

    The officer would be wasting his time and yours*…and you'd thank him for it? Do you trust yourself?

    *I'm assuming you'd be a sober driver.

  • http://txfx.net/ Mark J

    I'm going to surprise you (maybe) here and support this.

    I also support x-ray scanners and searches in airports.

    In Florida, it says right on our licenses "Operation of a motor vehicle implies consent to any sobriety test required by law."

    Obviously, the police don't have the time to do this all the time, and they really have no need to. But on a night when thousands are killed in drunk driving incidents, I don't think these checks are a violation of privacy. You aren't being accused of a crime any more than you are when you are searched in an airport.

  • http://sayanythingblog.com robport

    Its not so much that I mind officers stopping people on New Years, its just that I worry about the "slippery slope" issue.

    Despite this law allowing officers to stop drivers for any reason on New Years the drunk driving problem on New Years has worsened. I worry that my state government will soon take another step that will further infringe upon my privacy, and so on…

    Once they get their foot in the door, where does it stop?

  • Andrew

    I used to be against it, simply because it wasted my time. However, I've changed my mind since yesterday. At 2 a.m. this morning a friend of mine drove home from a party drunk. He was doing 80 down a road and swerved off into a house. He died instantly. Thankfully no one in the house was hurt. If these checkpoints save the lives of drinkers and innocents, then maybe they're worth it.

  • http://sayanythingblog.com robport

    Rick, I'm not talking about checkpoints. I'm talking about police officers just pulling people over for no reason then the fact that its New Years.

  • likwidshoe

    Andrew says, "I used to be against it, simply because it wasted my time. However, I've changed my mind since yesterday. At 2 a.m. this morning a friend of mine drove home from a party drunk. He was doing 80 down a road and swerved off into a house. He died instantly. Thankfully no one in the house was hurt. If these checkpoints save the lives of drinkers and innocents, then maybe they're worth it."

    Sorry to hear that Andrew. But I have to ask on what legal authority could they continue to stop law abiding citizens? "Where's your papers" is okay because some are going to be stupid enough to drink and drive? What next?

  • Andrew

    Oops, I'm sorry about the mix-up. I, like Rick, thought you were refering to check points rather than random stoppings. I think check points are fine, but I'd agree that randomly stopping cars is wrong. Sorry about the confusion.

  • Rick

    Rob – to the best of my knowledge, there still has to be some sort of 'probable cause' to simply stop a particular, single vehicle traveling along a public roadway … not the same as a checkpoint, where everyone is stopped and checked. Of course, probable cause can be …. swerving … driving at speeds improper for conditions (too slow!) .. . uneven braking …. cutting corners …. all of which can be a sign of impaired reflexes and, hence, intoxication. I was posting under the premise of the original comment however .. which referred to roadblocks. Missed that you were referring to 'stops' .. Happy 2005!

  • http://sayanythingblog.com robport

    to the best of my knowledge, there still has to be some sort of ‘probable cause’ to simply stop a particular, single vehicle traveling along a public roadway

    Not in North Dakota on New Years Eve.

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