DUI Checkpoint

Traffic checkpoints are different from traffic stops. If police suspect you of an offense they may stop your car to investigate. A checkpoint is a random stop. Police are not investigating a violation and police do not have a right to search your car just because you drove into their checkpoint. If, however police see evidence of a crime through your window, they may have a right to investigate.
A checkpoint is constitutional and legal in SC. Police have the right to ask for your ID and registration.

The Supreme Court found that drunk drivers posed a potential threat to public safety, DUI checkpoints were legal. They ruled that the public safety issue outweighed the minimal intrusion on sober drivers at the checkpoints sot this is an exception to the Fourth Amendment to the constitution.

Always be polite.

Provide your License, registration and (if applicable) concealed carry permit. These are required by law at traffic checkpoints.

Choose whether or not to answer the questions.
If you do answer your answers may be used against you.

You can choose whether or not to perform a sobriety test.
“A refusal to take a field sobriety test does not constitute disobeying a police command” but refusal will mean you surrender your license for a period of time, but is not an admission of guilt.
Test results may be used against you.

Never become aggressive or act rudely to police. This will help in every interaction you have.

The police must obey rules for their checkpoints.

• Police must have a valid reason for the roadblock’s time and place.
• Officers must have supervisory law enforcement personnel approval and oversight.
• Police officers involved in the checkpoint must be uniformed.
• The agency must publicize the date and location of the checkpoint.
• Police must stop vehicles in a predictable pattern.
• The site must be safe and identifiable.
• The stop must be brief.
• Motorists’ inconvenience must be minimized.
• Police must be able to show documented results of the checkpoint’s effectiveness.

If you’re stopped at a South Carolina DUI checkpoint, remember the following:

Stay calm. Acting nervously makes the police think you are guilty of something.

Be polite and respectful. The Police are just doing their job. If you decline a request by the officer, do so politely. Remember that Police are people too, and they will treat you better if you treat them with respect.

You have a right to remain silent. Politely tell the police that you are exercising your right to remain silent if they ask you questions that could incriminate you.

If an officer asks for your driver’s license, vehicle registration, or to step out of your vehicle then you should cooperate.

Don’t consent to a search of your vehicle. If the officer asks, “Do you mind if I search your vehicle?”, however, you have the right to say, “I do mind. You do not have my permission to search me or my vehicle.”

You may, by law, to refuse a sobriety test. If asked, you don’t have to perform a breath test or any field sobriety tests, but you may have your license suspended for a period of time.

The focus of the checkpoints is the prevention of motor vehicle accidents, the detection of drunken or impaired drivers and the enforcement of motor vehicle violations. These cannot be set up for general crime control.

Checkpoint safe pass

There have not been enough cases to determine whether or not the “checkpoint safe pass” is legal in South Carolina, consequently we cannot advise for or against it. This is where you have your License, Registration and Proof of Insurance in a clear plastic bag and hold it out a crack in the window. This is so the police may see – but not stick their head into your vehicle. If the officer spots something illegal in plain view, the officer has probable cause to complete a vehicle search.

This has been used successfully in other states and may get you through the checkpoint without hassle. There is no specific law protecting or banning this,  but a SC court has yet to rule on this. If you would like more info you may look at http://fairdui.org/

The best advice is to never drink and drive.