Hampton Roads DUI Checkpoints
Hampton Roads DUI checkpoints are checkpoints that law enforcement patrols in order to ensure that people are not driving while impaired. Checkpoints are most commonly set up in areas in Virginia Beach near the oceanfront. That is a heavily-patrolled area. Checkpoints are also established on some secondary streets that tend to have a high level of intoxicated drivers. If you have been charged with a DUI following a stop at a DUI checkpoint, consult a competent DUI lawyer that could defend your case.
Certain Roads Where DUI Stops Take Place
Most checkpoints are on Shore Drive as well as near the Oceanfront on Atlantic in Virginia Beach. Hampton Roads DUI checkpoints are not usually set up on the main roads where traffic is heavy and checkpoints would be a traffic hazard. But on secondary roads or speeder roads, there will be checkpoints, and the main roads will often be heavily-patrolled especially on holidays or weekends.
What About Certain Roads Makes Them Priority Checkpoints?
Law enforcement patrols the roads that tend to have the most instances of DUIs. This could be roads that are near bars or have access to bars. They can be roads where, because of their layout, people tend to drive faster than they should and so the patrols are heavier. They could also just be heavier-trafficked roads. Based on statistics and experience, police officers patrol the roads they believe are most likely to contain drunk drivers.
There are not many Hampton Roads DUI checkpoints on the major highways because that would tie them up and they do not want to do that. However, there are police officers on those roads and they will pull people over if they believe them to be intoxicated.
Recent Focus On DUI Cases
DUIs over the last 30 years have become heavily politicized, and intoxicated drivers often result in accidents with significant injuries if not fatalities. Law enforcement has chosen to be very public about how aggressive they are in pursuing these types of cases. In the past five years, prosecutors have put a renewed emphasis on DUI cases.
Most of the jurisdictions tend to use the same types of field sobriety tests. They use variations on the alphabet test or the test where the driver attempts to walk in a straight line. There are four or five different field sobriety tests that the jurisdictions use
Benefits of a Hampton Roads DUI Lawyer
The benefit of working with a local attorney is that they will know the area and have better working relationships with the officers and the prosecutors. They may be able to use that knowledge and those relationships to secure a better outcome than an attorney who has no connection to the area.
The more experience an attorney has in an area, the more familiar they become with the people involved. If an individual is working with an attorney who knows the judges, they will have a better idea of what a particular judge’s standards are and what they deem as relevant. A lawyer who is not in the area who has never appeared in front of that judge is less likely to know that. If an individual has been charged with DUI due to being stopped at one of the Hampton Roads DUI checkpoints, they should work with an experienced legal advocate that could fight for them.