It’s been two years since Fargo police began conducting sobriety checkpoints, and the operation is being called a success despite some checkpoints yielding no arrests.
“The deterrent value of the checkpoint has already been accomplished before the checkpoint starts – people decide not to drink and drive,” said Sgt. Mathew Sanders.
The operation is not about the number of driving under the influence arrests made, but instead, it’s about raising awareness to deter people from drinking and driving.
“Having zero DUIs in the city is a lofty goal that we’ll probably never achieve,” said Sgt. Jeff Skuza, adding that having the checkpoints deters people from driving under the influence, which in turn lowers the number of DUIs.
If the Fargo police is right, then there should be fewer drunk drivers on the road. I remain skeptical about this. Are there just fewer drunk drivers on the days of the checkpoints? How many people actually know that there will be a checkpoint somewhere on a particular day?
If these checkpoints are about deterring drunk driving, then why not have cameras watch speed limits and send people checks? Wouldn’t that cut down on high speed accidents? I don’t want to say that Fargo is doing this for more revenue, but it doesn’t seem to me like having check points will deter too many people from driving drunk. I bet most people don’t even know about them.
The way to deter drunk driving is to stiffen the penalty. When everyone knows how much a DUI will cost, then they’ll start to change their habits.