I wrote about DUI Checkpoints as Memorial Day Weekend approached and cautioned my readers about the additional presence of checkpoints. They will rear their heads imminently. Naturally, I want all of you to know what your rights are, but I can't help hoping that maybe the references to both their existence and their protocol will have a vital by-product, which is that maybe those who are on the borderline or fence about deciding whether to indulge or otherwise, will lean toward the alternative of abstinence. The ordeal of arrest itself should be a deterrent. If you are in Philadelphia for instance, you can count on spending 19 to 24 hours in custody under prohibitive conditions and pure unadulterated misery. Wherever you are, no matter how kind and polite the officers are, the realization of being subjected to arrest is paralyzing. See here.
Feeling guilty beyond comprehension, embarrassed beyond the strongest of emotional boundaries, and even worse, maybe vulnerable to severe legal consequences if someone is injured, or killed. Some very reputable people have ended up in prison, STATE PRISON, even in an accident that may not have been their fault civilly, simply because they had alcohol in their system, and there was the slightest bit of contribution to the tragic end result. All because there was the self-delusion that they were "close to home," or "hadn't had that MUCH," or were able to control themselves. Or maybe because they had food when they drank. Or, that they had slept off their load the night before. The alcohol remains in one's system for a surprisingly long time after the drinker stops drinking. And it is often enough to place the blood alcohol level above the legal limits.
No, I am not trying to sound self-righteous, or all-knowing, but I believe that lawyers have a responsibility of prevention where possible. So, have a happy and safe 4th and any other holiday. Don't even take a sip if you are getting behind the wheel. IT IS NOT WORTH IT.