Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sobriety checkpoints are constitutional in 1990 in Michigan, several states have incorporated them into their efforts to prevent drinking and driving. Recently, the Orange County Register reported that drivers could access the date, time, and location of sobriety checkpoints via apps on their smart phones, leading many to question whether such apps are undermining the efficacy with which the checkpoints prevent drivers from drinking and driving.
Although the Supreme Court of California mandated that law enforcement agencies provide the date on which a sobriety checkpoint will be held, releasing its time and location was not required. The Court determined that advance notice not only ensured the constitutionality of the checkpoints but also their effectiveness: “Publicity both reduces the intrusiveness of the stop and increases the deterrent effect of the roadblock.”
While states have enacted laws making it illegal to drink and drive, enforcing them is largely a matter of deterrence, as few states have the resources to provide the number of officers necessary to apprehend every offender. The threat of arrest and penalties presented by a sobriety checkpoint serves as a deterrent to drive while intoxicated for the general public. When publicized, checkpoints spread awareness among the public that police are out enforcing the law.
Last March, the Orange County Register reported that several of the companies that make smart phones, such as Apple, Google, and Research in Motion, were selling apps that informed their owners about specific information concerning sobriety checkpoints. For example, the “Checkpointer” lists upcoming checkpoints in Orange County and “PhantomAlert” allows users to share information about checkpoints in their areas.
Too much information about a sobriety checkpoint could diminish its deterrent effect. With the date, time, and location of a sobriety checkpoint, drivers who are drinking could avoid encountering checkpoints altogether, explains an attorney. Fearing that such apps would undermine the effectiveness of the DUI checkpoints at preventing drinking and driving and alcohol-related car accidents, four Democratic senators requested that the companies remove them from the market, reported the Orange County Register. While Research in Motion complied, Apple has since released another checkpoint app, the “DUI Dodger.”
Ultimately, the efficacy of sobriety checkpoints depends, at least partially, on the proper balance of public awareness of them. If drivers know that a checkpoint will be held in a certain city on a particular date but not its exact location or time, they are more likely not to drink and drive than if they know enough about the checkpoint to go around it.
