Broward DUI Lawyer Blog

Buckle-up and take note drivers, the Florida Highway Patrol issued a recent statement putting Florida drivers on alert that a statewide drunk driving and traffic enforcement crackdown will run from Aug. 20 through the end of the Labor Day holiday on Sept. 6.

The effort also coincides with the beginning of the new school year, as vehicle traffic increases and Florida families return from vacation, students head back to school and seasonal residents begin to arrive.

According to a recent Florida Highway Patrol press release, during the crackdown the FHP will participate in the nationwide Operation C.A.R.E. (Combined Accident Reduction Effort) over the four-day holiday weekend starting Sept. 3. The goal of this program is to deter unsafe drivers, enforce safe traffic conditions and more quickly assist motorists in need.

Operation C.A.R.E. is a coordinated effort involving all 50 state police and highway patrol units and will include all uniformed personnel and officers who are otherwise normally assigned to administrative duties. An additional influx of volunteer troopers from both auxiliary and reserve teams will supplement the workforce.

What this means to the average motorist is that the patrol is spending federal grant dollars it must use or lose. As a result, significantly more troopers will be on the road and law enforcement roadblocks -- or sobriety checkpoints as they like to call them -- will be commonplace through the Labor Day weekend.

While celebration with friends and family is encouraged during this last summer holiday, the FHP in presence and enforcement practices plans to aggressively monitor and cite or remove from all State roadways distracted, otherwise impaired and drunk drivers.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach were the top three deadliest counties for a combined number of nearly 700 motorists killed in both alcohol-related and non-alcohol related crashes. Together these three counties saw 174 fatal crashes that authorities content were alcohol-related.

The American Safety Council indicates that Labor Day is ranked among the deadliest days for drivers while September ranks fifth in the Top 5 deadliest months.

While statistics continue to show that sobriety checkpoints arrest fewer than 1 percent of the state's 175 daily DUI offenders -- and are a poor use of tax dollars and law enforcement manpower -- their continued use as a public relations tool is a virtual certainty.

Many times, sobriety checkpoint arrests are very defensible. Law enforcement must follow strict rules in publicizing the stops and in operating the roadblocks. These rules are in addition to the strict guidelines that must be followed in administering breathalyzer and field sobriety tests. An experienced Fort Lauderdale DUI attorney will fight checkpoint charges on all fronts and a reduction or dismissal of the charges is often possible.