Massachusetts state and local police routinely set up DUI checkpoints on major and secondary roads throughout Massachusetts to detect and arrest drivers who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Use of these checkpoints is likely to increase during the summer months.  The law requires that these checkpoints be announced in advance. However, only the county is identified.

To help motorists avoid drunk driving checkpoints and roadblocks, blackberry, Droid, iPhone, and other smart phone application developers have created various applications or “apps.” which are used to warn drivers of the location of DWI sobriety checkpoints. Critics of the controversial DUI roadblock apps. claim that they endanger public safety by allowing drunk drivers to escape detection. Proponents claim that the apps. actually enhance public safety by publicizing the checkpoints. The apps. also warn drivers of red light camera, speed traps, radar locations, and the like.

In response to pressure from a group of United States Senators, Apple has decided to block DUI apps. from the Apple Store. This means that Apple iPhone and iPad users will not be allowed to download them from approved app. distribution channels. Only checkpoints which are specifically announced and identified by law enforcement will be allowed to be published.

The Salem News reported today that Massachusetts State Troopers out of the Danvers Barracks made numerous drunk driving and other arrests at a DUI roadblock on Route 1 over the weekend. In total, seven people were arrested. Most were charged with operating under the influence and some others were charged with driving on a suspended or revoked license. The State Police usually conduct these roadblocks on major secondary routes on Friday and Saturday nights.  Some companies have developed controversial iPhone and Blackberry apps. to alert drivers to the location of these OUI checkpoints.

Stopping a motorist at a roadblock constitutes an invasion of privacy. However, Massachusetts courts have upheld the use of these OUI roadblocks and sobriety check points as a legitimate law enforcement response to detect and deter drivers who may be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Society’s interest in public safety overrides the motorist’s privacy interests. However, for DUI roadblocks to be legal, there must be limits placed on the discretion of the police officers and troopers conducting them. Written guidelines are required and the roadblocks must be announced in advance. A violation of the guidelines or laws applicable to roadblocks may result in exclusion of evidence, a not guilty verdict after trial, or a dismissal of the DWI charges.

If you have been stopped and arrested for DUI at a Massachusetts roadblock or checkpoint, I urge you to contact a skilled and experienced DUI defense lawyer at 508-656-0057. An initial consultation will cost you nothing and you will likely feel much better after speaking with an attorney.

The Massachusetts State Police and the Shrewsbury Police Department conducted a field sobriety checkpoint on Route 9 in the area of the White City Plaza in Shrewsbury, Mass. tonight.

So long as these OUI checkpoints are conducted in a certain manner, they are legally permitted. The goal of these checkpoints is to detect and arrest drivers who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Officers assigned to these drunk driving checkpoints use a “BAT Mobile” which is a large vehicle which is equipped with breathalyzers, computers, spotlights, and mobile DUI booking facilities. For Mass. DUI sobriety checkpoint arrests to be legitimate, the police officers conducting the checkpoint must follow a strict set of legal guidelines. For example, the date and general location of the checkpoint must be announced in advance and police officers cannot randomly or arbitrarily select drivers for further investigation at a DUI roadblock. However, if a state trooper or police officer smells the odor of alcoholic beverages on a driver’s breath or in a driver’s vehicle, that smell alone provides reasonable suspicion that the suspect may be driving under the influence and the police can legally ask the driver to perform field sobriety evaluations such as the one-legged stand, heel to toe test, the horizontal gasze nystagmus (HGN), and a portable breath test (PBT). Other indicators of alcohol intoxication which can subject a driver to field sobriety testing at a checkpoint include glassy, bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, or a container of alcohol in plain view. During the initial contact with a motorist, an officer at sobriety checkpoint cannot ask the driver if he or she had been drinking, unless there is some independent clue to suggest that driver was operating under the influence.

Judging by the four (4) tow trucks at the scene of the DUI roadblock, it appears as if DUI arrests were made and vehicles were towed from the scene. The unlucky drivers who were arrested will be required to appear in Westboro Dist. Court on Monday morning for arraignment. With the weather improving, these checkpoints are likely to be conducted with increasing frequency on weekend nights.

News media sources across the country are reporting how people are using their Droids and iphones and other Smartphones to avoid DUI drunk driving checkpoints.

Using a controversial App. called Phantom Alert, which is a paid service, drivers can learn the location of DUI roadblocks and field sobriety checkpoints. Apparently Phantom Alert was designed to help drivers avoid traffic cameras, speed traps, and electronic traffic enforcement devices. Now, the app. will alert drivers to the locations of police drunk driving checkpoints.

Law enforcement claims, rightfully, that the software is undermining their DUI enforcement efforts and the police purposefully do not reveal the exact locations of drunk driving checkpoints, so that people cannot plan their routes to avoid them. Here in Massachusetts, for example, the Mass. State Police will announce only that a checkpoint is being conducted on a major or secondary road in a particular county. The exact location is never revealed in advance.

The developers of the Phantom Alert software claim that providing warnings regarding the DUI checkpoints actually enhances and does not undermine anti-drunk driving efforts.  Phantom Alert invites the police to notify them of the checkpoint locations so they can advise motorists. Proponents of the apps. claim that they promote public awareness and public safety much like a radar detector would cause a person to slow down when police traffic radar is being used.

The DUI detection app. Controversy has reached the United States Senate, where senators are calling for the apps. to be removed from on-line stores. Apparently, due to political pressure, the app. Will not be available for blackberries. However, the apps such as Trapster are still available on Apple’s iphone and Google Android Smartphones.

There is also a much less controversial iphone app. which is designed to calculate a user’s approximate blood alcohol content and warn the person if he or she is over the legal limit, which in Massachusetts is .08.

The State of New York has recently passed a tough new DUI Law entitled Leandra’s Law. This will mandate the use of the breath alcohol ignition interlock device for all New York DUI offenders, unless a judge makes specific findings that the DUI offender has no prior record of alcoholism. In Massachusetts,Senate Bill 1925 will dramatically strengthen Melanie’s Law by requiring Massachusetts DUI first offenders to use the device as well. However, there will be no exceptions to the mandatory interlock requirement here.

In addition to requiring the use of the interlock device, Leandra’s Law increase the DUI penalties for commiting a DUI with a child passenger in the vehicle, and DUI while causing injury to a child passenger. Massachusetts already has laws which severely punish those who commit these offenses.

Leandra’s Law has been touted as one of the toughest DUI laws in the country. However, our Legislature may increase Massachusetts DUI penalties with the enactment of DUI laws which are being considered at the Statehouse.