How to Handle Roadside Sobriety Checkpoints

Here some good advices regarding your behavior during a sobriety check by the police to avoid you being catch off-guards.
It's a pretty typical weekend, you've been out all day and night and you're driving back home with some of your buddies. You unwittingly bend around a blind corner and before you know it there are berries flashing in your rear-view mirror. The unmistakable red and blue lights let you know who it is, police of course and the time of day (or night) lets you know what it is, a sobriety checkpoint.

Regardless of whether you have or haven't imbibed alcohol that familiar anxious feeling overcomes you. It's perfectly normal, roadside stops are planned and orchestrated in such a way as to catch drivers off-guard, not leaving them time or room to react. The police set the checkpoints up strate
gically, halting traffic and funneling drivers into the blockade so no one may circumvent or pass through it. Here are a few pointers for dealing with these situations:

DON'Ts:

Do not speed into the checkpoint line slamming the brakes. Drive carefully and deliberately, police are trained to read and assess driving behavior.

Do not exit your vehicle without being instructed to do so by an officer, this is meant for the safety of all.

Do not put anything such as mints or gum into your mouth in an effort to disguise the possible smell of alcohol. This never works and police can see right through such efforts.

Do not drive too close to the roadside officers; keep a safe distance from them.

Do not get emotional and lose your cool. Yelling at an officer or creating a fuss will only be detrimental to the outcome.

Do not allow any other occupants of the vehicle to roll down the windows or exit the vehicle in an attempt to speak to the officer. If the officer wants to address them he or she will do so on their own.

Now that we've covered a few essential DON'Ts during roadside checkpoints let's get to a few pointers which can ensure you a pleasant and smooth outcome.


DO's:

Slow down, and diligently follow any instructions an officer might give you.

Make sure to roll down your driver's side window all the way so you can clearly and efficiently communicate with the officer, they tend to get irritated when there is too much noise or interference.

Turn off all music or radio, be respectful towards the officer.

Remove all sunglasses, eye contact is important and shows that you have nothing to hide.

Always be prepared to produce a license and registration as soon as they ask for it.

Additionally, and we can't stress this enough; wear your seat belt, avoid drinking or texting while driving, have fully up-to-date license and registration and watch your driving speed.

If you keep all these points in mind, the average roadside checkpoint will never escalate to anything more than a quick and painless formality. After all, both drivers and police officers are equally responsible for keeping Canada's roads safe.


About Ticket911.ca - The law firm Ticket911.ca focuses on all aspects of Quebec driving laws and their experience and knowledge can assist residents and non-residents of the Province of Quebec with contesting traffic tickets, moving violations, or simply assist drivers in keeping their driver's license, as well as fighting tickets for violations in New York state and Ontario. Ticket911.ca helps fight traffic tickets and manage driving records for non-commercial and commercial drivers.

For more information about the services provided by Ticket911.ca, visit ticket911.ca. You may also call them at (514) 700-0303 / (855) 444-4911 or visit them at their offices.