Sumner Shortcuts

I’m reasonably sure that most drunks don’t read the paper every day, scouring it for information on where the upcoming sobriety checkpoints will be.  That being said… isn’t it a bit stupid to announce the date and location of a sobriety checkpoint, as the Gallatin PD just did?  I mean… you might as well just hand out fliers to the people stumbling out of bars, with detailed maps on how to avoid the checkpoint.

The whole point of a sobriety checkpoint is–to my knowledge–to catch drunk drivers unaware.  Publicly announcing it in the paper makes it look like you really don’t want to catch anyone.  Why not send a mailer to the whole county, or use PhoneTree to auto dial every citizen?  Heck, why not just skip having the checkpoint altogether?

I happen to think drunk driving is one of the worst evils facing our country–no kidding in there at all.  I hate it.  I think anyone that thinks drunk driving is no big deal is someone who likes to drink and then drive.  Sorry if you disagree with me.  You might change your mind when someone you know dies in an accident caused by a drunk.

I remember the cops in my hometown, when I was growing up, used to put up signs on the Interstate saying “Sobriety Checkpoint, 2 Exits From Now.”  Then all the drunks would take that first exit, thinking they’d skip the checkpoint.  But the checkpoint was secrety at the first exit, not the second… so all the drunks were busted.

That’s how you do a sobriety checkpoint.

You don’t freaking warn everyone when and where it’s going to be unless you’re just paying lip service to the idea of cracking down on drunk driving.  Is there some stupid Tennessee good-ole-boy law that requires the police pre-announce a sobriety checkpoint?  If not… then the Gallatin PD (and the Tennessean) is just blatantly making it easier to get away with drunk driving.

So much for that “Tennessee Heat” I keep hearing about on the radio.