Utah DUI Attorney : Salt Lake City DUI Lawyer & Attorney : Glen Neeley : Serving Davis County, Ogden, Brigham City, Logan

 Law enforcement saturated the state campaigning with threats of checkpoints and pullovers for minor offenses to search citizens for alcohol.  I wonder what prohibition was like.  See here is the big lie.  The campaign slogan is "click it or ticket."  What our government is not telling you is the that a seat belt violation is a secondary violation.  If you are not wearing your seat belt, as the law currently stands, an officer cannot pull you over.    Utah Code Ann. states pursuant to 41-6a-1803

(1) (a) The operator of a motor vehicle operated on a highway shall:
(i) wear a properly adjusted and fastened safety belt;...

(4) For a person 19 years of age or older who violates Subsection (1)(a)(i) or (2), enforcement by a state or local law enforcement officer shall be only as a secondary action when the person has been detained for a suspected violation of Title 41, Motor Vehicles, other than Subsection (1)(a)(i) or (2), or for another offense.

So how do the police get around the secondary action issue?  They suspect another violation like your license plate light is out, your insurance that you bought last week is not valid on their computer, or you touched a line while driving your car.

Here is a link to the KSL story on the Memorial Day round up.  The highlights of the story are:

• 40 DUI Arrests made
• Two fatal accidents
• Don't speed and wear your seat belt

 

 

 

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

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I saw this site on the internet that asked the question, "What do you think about DUI Check Points?"  The comments were interesting and people were pretty evenly split among for and against. The interesting response that was common among these people was "I don't mind going through a checkpoint if it will just get one drunk driver off the road."  That sounds good right.  Here is the problem:  Tell that same thing to my client where the UHP put him through the drill.  He was put through field sobriety tests, his car was searched and impounded, he was arrested and placed in jail, he had to bail himself out, and had to hire an attorney.  A trooper drew his blood.  The troopers were on video saying "I don't know should I arrest him or not, its close."  They then said "well arrest him, if the blood comes back clean, no harm done."  Right!  No harm done.  After the troopers made all these claims of failed field tests and clues of impairment, no substance was found in his drug--no drugs, no alcohol.  

    What I hear these people saying is "burn down the whole barn to kill one rat."  "Stop and detain as many people as you want to get one person."  I hear them saying, "here are my rights, you can have them."

     This is very dangerous thinking. I saw a quote the other day that my good friend Stephen Hamilton puts at the bottom of his emails that says something like "Protecting the Lord's children who have fallen short of perfection from the wrath of those who believe they have attained it -- Stu Kinard."

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The Utah Highway Patrol had 22 officers out on the weekend and made 24 DUI arrests.  They made and exceeded their quota.  The DUI Blitz is the modern DUI check point.  Check points are generally unconstitutional unless rigorous guidelines are followed.  The police don't do checkpoints very often anymore.  I wonder why?  Perhaps there is an easier way to make their quota.  Here's the story.

UHP snares 24 in drunken driving dragnet
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 05/26/2008 01:01:31 AM MDT

A Utah Highway Patrol drunken driving blitz netted 24 DUI arrests in Salt Lake County over the weekend. Twenty-two state troopers patrolled the roads in Salt Lake County from 9 p.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Saturday, said UHP Sgt. Blaine Robbins. The blitz was to promote safety on the roads.

Here's another story.  They almost seem happy about the sad issue that people are still drinking and driving when there is all this publicity about DUI enforcement.  Well, pat yourselves on the back for now.  I mean the public will only here this number of arrests.  They won't hear about the innocent people you may have arrested.

24 impaired drivers arrested in 5 hours
Published: Monday, May 26, 2008 12:06 a.m. MDT
1 comment
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A DUI enforcement blitz conducted Friday night by the Utah Highway Patrol netted 24 impaired drivers in a five-hour period.

UHP Sgt. Blaine Robbins said Sunday that 22 state troopers were assigned to locations throughout Salt Lake County. He noted the number of arrests, which occurred between the hours of 9 p.m. Friday and 2 a.m. Saturday, is exceptional for the size of the task force.

"That's a very, very good enforcement day," Robbins said. "We're always out enforcing, but on a big weekend like this, with the number of troopers involved ... more than one arrest per trooper is outstanding."

Robbins said that dedicated UHP DUI enforcers are out on a regular basis and typically make two to three arrests per shift.

"Our DUI Squad that's out every weekend ... our 'graveyard cars' ... do very well," Robbins said.

The high number of arrests occurred in spite of UHP publicity efforts last week that warned weekend holiday travelers of heightened enforcement efforts by the department.

Finally, KSL ran their story.  The story revolves around the arrests and an accident.  The accident is presumed without more information that it involves a drunk driver.  This of course will justify the cause.  Perhaps this accident happened because the driver just made a poor decision and a driving mistake in trying to pass a diesel. 

Troopers make 24 DUI arrests in one night
May 25th, 2008 @ 5:34pm

Tonya Papanikolas reporting

A man who may have been drinking died in a car crash. The news comes the morning after Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) troopers remove more than two dozen drunk drivers from the streets.

Sgt. Blaine Robbins, with the UHP, said, "We had our fair share of DUIs. I believe there were 24 DUIs apprehended, 22 troopers were out." And that was just Friday night alone, meaning the number could grow.


Despite their efforts to stop people from driving drunk, there was at least one fatality already this weekend. Yesterday morning, troopers say a Ford Escort tried to pass a semi truck on I-80 in Echo Canyon. The car hit a median, overcorrected and ended up beneath the wheels of a semi.

"The semi truck rolled over and ended up on top of that vehicle, killing the passenger in that vehicle," Sgt. Robbins said.

That accident is under investigation, but troopers say they believe the driver of the car may have been drinking. They say, no matter how many times they try to warn people of the dangers, it's something they see time and again. "It seems to be a message that people still have a hard time with, is if you're going to go out and have fun, which is great, we want you to be able to do that, but just drink responsibly and make sure you have a designated driver to get you home," Sgt. Robbins said.

Troopers will be out through Monday, looking for people who still choose to drink and drive. They'll also be watching to see if you're buckled up when they pull you over. If you're not, it'll cost you $45.

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Its Memorial Day weekend for 2008.  Troopers have often claimed in the newspapers and in open court that there are no quotas to make arrests.  In this story below, Trooper Cameron Roden tells the news reports that the troopers are encouraged to average at least one DUI arrest per officer involved in the DUI Blitz.  Further, the Trooper is asked if the Blitzes work to deter drunk driving.  The Trooper responds that the Blitz is not effective in that regard.  The DUI arrests never go down, according to the Trooper.  Well that brings up an interesting point.  If officers are encouraged to get one arrest per officer, then there seems to be an incentive to arrest borderline cases and perhaps innocent people. 

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Here is a follow up to the New Years Eve post where the there were car dealerships paying cops to arrest Salt Lake City and Provo City DUI suspects.  Many police worked overtime and many resources were pulled in for this cause.  All the sponsored money, all the overtime paid, and all the resources used for New Years Eve culminates in six DUI arrests for New Years.  No crashes or accidents ocurred that were DUI related. The UHP seem disappointed.  The UHP expected a lot more.

Deseret Morning News
New Year's DUI sting is on the dry side
UHP makes only 6 holiday arrests in Salt Lake, Utah counties
By Linda Thomson and Rebecca Palmer
Deseret Morning News
Published: January 2, 2008
Maybe all those "Don't Drink and Drive" messages are starting to hit home.

The Utah Highway Patrol reported it made only six DUI arrests in Salt Lake and Utah counties from New Year's Eve through the morning of New Year's Day, according to UHP spokesman Cameron Roden.

"It's somewhat surprising," Roden said.

There also were no DUI-related crashes and no DUI-related fatalities in those two counties during the holiday that traditionally is associated with heavy drinking.

"This makes us really happy," Roden said. "It looks like we achieved the message we wanted to put out that people should take alternate means home. We're glad there weren't any crashes or injuries."

In 2006, the UHP reported that New Year's Eve and early New Year's Day produced 10 DUI arrests for the areas it covers in the Salt Lake Valley, according to Deseret Morning News archives.

Roden on Tuesday credited the media — newspapers, TV and radio — with helping police agencies emphasize how dangerous drinking and driving can be and the fact that there would be plenty of law enforcement officials out on the roads watching for any DUI-related problems.

Various other law enforcement agencies in the Salt Lake Valley said they had no statistics as yet regarding DUI arrests on Tuesday.

The UHP did have one particularly troubling DUI case involving an intoxicated 17-year-old male who led police on a chase from Tooele to the east side of Salt Lake City. The youth ran over three sets of spikes placed by police but kept on going until he finally ended up driving on the tire rims with shreds of rubber flapping.

The 30-minute chase started about 9:30 p.m. when Tooele police officers tried to stop a small, speeding pickup truck, dispatchers said. The truck moved onto state Route 201, and UHP troopers took over.

"He was all over the road at speeds up to 80 mph and down to 30 mph," Roden said. "We attempted to spike the vehicle at 5600 West and we were not able to. We attempted to spike it at Bangerter Highway around Route 201 and got some of the tires. We spiked it a third time and got all four tires," Roden said.

The young driver still kept going, although now at speeds of 10-20 mph.

"The tires were flapping all around," Roden said. "His vehicle finally gave out on him."

The 17-year-old was arrested just west of Foothill Drive in Salt Lake City (2800 East), and he was booked into a juvenile detention facility.

He told police he was underage and had been drinking, so that's why he ran.

Here is a comment posted at the article site:

 "Previous articles touted UHP troopers' claims that finding impaired drivers on the road was like shooting fish in a barrel and the highest rates of impaired driving is over the holidays.

The State of Utah's own statistics don't bear this out.

Perhaps the federal grant money-funded scare tactics were to induce some pre-legislative session hysteria.

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Fox 13 reported on December 31, 2007, about the DUI Blitz and checkpoints that were going to happen around the state for New Years Eve parties.  The UHP was on the "hunt" as they have called it in the past.  Many different agencies provided free shuttle service to and from bars.  I like looking for solutions like this rather than jumping on the witch hunt.  Here is a report on a service provided by some agencies.  It is my hope that everyone had a safe holiday.

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The Logan Law Enforcement is going to be doing a DUI check point this weekend according to the Herald Journal.  The interesting thing is this.  The article says the officers are checking for drunk drivers not be their ability to drive, not by weaving down the street, but by checking for minor things like registration, valid licenses, insurance and equipment violations.  This is the ruse or deception.  "We are looking for DUI drivers by checking you for other things."  This deception and behavior is not constitutional in many states.

Officers setting up checkpoint to prevent DUIs
By Aaron Falk
Published:
Friday, December 28, 2007 2:30 AM CST
A traffic checkpoint along U.S. Highway 89/91 will help deter drunken drivers during one of the busiest weekends of the year, police officials say.

Part of a statewide campaign to crack down on impaired motorists, officers from the Cache County Sheriff’s Office, Utah Highway Patrol and Logan City Police Department will team up Saturday night to man the checkpoint at about 2800 S. Highway 89/91.

“It’s an effective campaign,” Logan Police Capt. Tyson Budge said. “Utah has one of the lowest percentage of DUI drivers and we kind of want to keep it that way.”

More than 280 people were killed in alcohol related crashes in both 2005 and 2006, according to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Budge said the weekend before New Year’s Eve is one of the busiest times of the year for DUI arrests. Logan Police arrested between nine and 14 people during that weekend each of the last three years, Budge said.

Between 2001 and 2005, an average of 36 deaths occurred each day in crashes involving an alcohol impaired driver, according to the NHTSA. That number jumped to 45 per day during the Christmas holiday and 54 per day over New Years.

The checkpoint will be the first for Logan Police in more than a decade, Budge said. While arrest numbers are generally low, the preventative measure is invaluable, he said.

Officers at the checkpoint will be looking for a valid license, registration, insurance and equipment violations. Officials don’t believe the checkpoint will cause traffic delays. Most stops will take about a minute and police will only detain four cars at a time in each direction, Budge said.

“If they’re full, everyone else is waived through,” he said.

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This past weekend, 18 Utah Highway Patrol Troopers made 18 arrests people for DUI.  100 cars were pulled over according to the article in the Deseret Morning News.  Here we go again, officers look for any reason they can to pull a citizen over to check them for alcohol.  The motive is wrong even though the outcome is legal.  119 vehicles were stopped.  Trooper Cameron Roden justifies the "harassment" patrol by saying that they are trying to interdict where they can.  Continue Reading...

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I saw this article published by the Standard Examiner.  The story is about looking for DUI drivers during the month of December.  Contrary to popular police belief, December and the holidays, is not the most dangerous months according to the article.  In fact the article says "December ranked seventh of all months for the most part traffic fatalities.  The most deadly month is July.

Here is the what the article says:

But even Pectol, whose office is the main repository for Utah DUI statistics, cannot provide data that show impaired driving happens more frequently during the holidays.

According to Highway Safety data, December ranked seventh of all months for the most traffic fatalities between 1996 and 2005. The most deadly month was July.

In 2002, the last year Highway Safety's crash summary separated DUI-related crashes by month, December was seventh with 172 DUI-related crashes. July was first with 227.

In 2001, however, December was second only to August for DUI-related crashes.

Pectol said the statistics on December DUIs are mixed, but she does believe there is an increase in impaired driving during the month. Statistics, she said, can't measure how many impaired drivers are not caught, so it's difficult to prove if any month truly has more impaired driving.

"I think we can only suspect because there's not a good way to gather that kind of data," she said. "Even if you asked an anonymous survey, I'm not sure everyone would be honest."

The officer then blames wrong statistics that are collected by his own agency.

It is disturbing to me that the officer being interviewed is going beyond the law and believes people at a .04 or .06 blood alcohol level is impaired.  In reality, the officer seems to indicate that if you have any alcohol on your breath and you are pulled over, you will be arrested for DUI.

I agree that people should not drink and drive with any alcohol.  That is beyond the law.  One person's morals should not be a basis to make a serious allegation such as DUI.

Read the whole article here. Continue Reading...

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You don't see to many sobriety check points in Utah anymore.  The constitutionality of the checkpoints have been brought into question and outlawed in many states.  The procedure involves directing traffic off the road and checking the drivers for alcohol.  Now what the officers do to get around constitutionality problems, is do saturation patrols.  A bunch of officers get together and saturate an area, which is usually around the bar areas, and look for any minor reason to pull citizens over to check them for alcohol.  Here is a news video that shows Office Davenport pull a man over for driving "under" the speed limit and investigating him for alcohol.  The man was just barely over the legal limit after the officer had him blow hard into his hand held portable breath tester.  He tells the man from what he sees that the man is too impaired to drive.  The problem with this is that the studies regarding field sobriety tests say that if you see the minimum clues of impairment, the person should be over a .10 in a breath alcohol result.  In this video, the officer gets a result of .09.  This brings in the officer's credibility at issue as to whether he really saw clues or did he just smell alcohol and concluded impairment.  He finds something in the man's pocket and assumes it is Heroin, when in reality it was a roach for marijuana.  Surly an experienced officer such as Davenport could tell the difference.

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