Summertime has finally arrived!  After a long, hard, and cold winter, children are outside riding bikes and playing games.  Families and friends are enjoying sunshine in the park.  With warmer weather comes more fun, and holidays like Memorial Day and the Fourth of July are perfect occasions to relax, take a break from your work, and reflect on our nation’s freedoms and hard-fought independence.

Along with summertime fun, come police safety roadblock checkpoints cracking down on seatbelt or equipment violations, but which are also used to deter drunken driving. These checkpoints are used to ensure motorists are wearing their seatbelts, children are properly secured in car seats, and the motorist has proper license and registration.

In 1985, the Illinois Supreme Court found checkpoints are legal even when there is no probable cause or reasonable suspicion an individual is committing or is about to commit a crime.  To determine whether the checkpoints were constitutional under the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against reasonable search and seizure, the court balanced the “degree of intrusion on the individual’s privacy” with the public’s interest in allowing the police to establish DUI checkpoints.

Here are the top five things you should do if you encounter a DUI checkpoint:

1. It’s better to be safe than sorry! Don’t drive with any amount of alcohol in your system.

2. Take another route! If you know of the checkpoint before hand, plan your travels accordingly and avoid the checkpoint location.

3. Know your rights! Do not consent to a search of your car or trunk. But…

4. Be polite and courteous! You do not have to answer questions beyond providing the police officer with your license and registration.

5. If you have been arrested or charged with DUI, call a lawyer immediately! We here at the Law Offices of Laura J. Morask practice in the DUI field and can offer you a free consultation.

One Final Note: The last weekend in June, the Illinois State Police will set up checkpoints at the following locations:

Saturday – Sunday, June 28-29 from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. on the Dan Ryan Expressway, southbound exit to 87th street.

Sunday – Monday, June 29-30 from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. on I-57 southbound exit to 119th street.

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