Saturation Patrols and Sobriety Checkpoints in Place for New Year's Eve

In Oklahoma County and around the state, sheriff's departments, local police, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol are gearing up for a busy couple of nights as the holiday season culminates with New Year's Eve.

Two of the tools used by law enforcement to crack down on impaired driving during big holidays do not actually prevent DUI, but rather attempt to get impaired drivers off the streets by detecting and arresting them. These tools include saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints.

Ideally, the knowledge that there will be increased patrols and that a driver may come across a DUI roadblock on his or her way home would be enough to keep people from driving after drinking. However, if a person does not consider the risk of causing a fatal accident reason enough to refrain from drinking and driving, the chance of getting pulled over or stopped by law enforcement may not be enough to prevent DUI, either.

The Oklahoma Highway Safety Office, through its DUI awareness website at endduiok.com describes the "special emphasis enforcement" measures of saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints as follows:

• Saturation Patrols -By using a data driven approach, specific areas that have been identified as high crash locations are selected for saturation patrols. Officers aggressively patrol these areas to locate and arrest impaired drivers. Saturation patrols may be conducted at any time or place with or without prior warning.
  
• Sobriety Checkpoints - Sobriety checkpoints are an effective law enforcement tool involving the stopping of a specific sequence of vehicles at a predetermined fixed location to detect impaired drivers. These operations not only serve as a specific deterrent by arresting impaired drivers who pass through the checkpoints, but more importantly, as a general deterrent to persons who have knowledge of the operation.Local, county and state law enforcement agencies organize and participate in DUI Checkpoints.

According to these descriptions, knowledge of increased patrols and roadblocks is often enough to make drivers think twice before taking the wheel after drinking. However, many people, after only a few drinks, think they are "okay to drive." Sometimes, these people will not demonstrate obvious impairment, but will be over the legal limit for DUI, which is a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 percent. Additionally, a person can be arrested even with a BAC below 0.08 percent. For example, DWI, or driving while impaired, is a charge in which a person can be arrested and criminally charged even with a BAC of only 0.06 or 0.07 percent.

It is important to plan ahead in taking measures to prevent DUI on New Year's Eve. It is too easy to just decide to drive oneself home after celebrating with family or friends if a solid plan isn't in place:

• Appoint a designated sober driver well in advance of the celebration.
• Call a cab or get a ride through a ride-sharing app such as Uber or Lyft. Make sure you have the numbers for several cab companies available before you go out so you aren't left searching for them when it's time to go home.
• If you are going to be drinking, pace yourself: drink slowly, spread your drinks out over time, alternate alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic drinks, and quit drinking well in advance of driving--at least 90 minutes ahead of time. Please note: if you have been drinking heavily, 90 minutes is likely not enough to allow your BAC to come down below the legal limit for DUI.

Many people use pocket breathalyzers or online BAC calculators that estimate BAC based on a person's gender, weight, number of drinks, and the length of time over which the drinks were consumed. These are notoriously inaccurate, and while a BAC calculator may give you an estimate of your BAC, there are too many variables to risk using this as a fail safe method for avoiding DUI.

The best way to avoid DUI is to avoid drinking before driving or to make sure you have a sober ride home.

The Law Firm of Oklahoma wishes you a safe and happy New Year. Please don't drink and drive.