That's yur 4th ammendment at work right there.

Kind of looks like border checkpoints, doesn't it?

What country is this "Tail of the Dragon" in? Russia? Germany?

 

Except they arent allowed to ask for your Imigration status now.It spans NC and TN on Highway 129.

 

Except they arent allowed to ask for your Imigration status now.

Well THAT'S a good thing.... :shock:

 

If it makes the roads safer for me and my family, then I say go for it.

 

Thank god you are Canadian.

 

I can't imagine it taking that many police officers for one sobriety check point. I bet to a criminal it would be a good time elsewhere if they are all busy in the one spot.

I have no sympathy for drinking and driving. Too many of my friends killed either as victims or the drunk. But this is excessive.

 

If a person is pulled over for reason by a cop I don't care and they don't have some ID especially a valid license if they are driving they should checked out and if they are illegal they should be dealt with according to the laws.

 

Does seem a bit like overkill but then again, the US certainly seems to have an excess of police.

While living in the US I had been pulled over cops a few times in both Florida and Washington, and it was not until WA that I was going through the immigration process but, none of the times that I was pulled over had any officer ever inquired about my immigration. At most, they ask how long you've been in said State, tell you that you have so many days to get a State driver's license and register the vehicle with the State and, that's about it.
I even took a sobriety test in WA with a Canadian license and plates (although I had insurance via Progressive, figure that one out) and had no issues.

 

From the same people that brought you helmet laws..

 

Lots of support for not enforcing drinking and driving laws on this thread. Especially on a very dangerous road with cars trying to take corners at high speeds while motorcycles are taking them slower.

Maybe it's just me knowing a guy who was hit by a car going too fast on the road, but if you're going to be driving/riding the tail you should be sober for everyone's safety.

 

Lots of support for not enforcing drinking and driving laws on this thread.

ahhh...

That's a pretty unfair sumarization of what's being said. NO ONE has suggested that we abandon "reasonable" means of enforcing drinking and driving laws.

Problem is, where does it end? Maybe we should put a checkpoint at the exit of every establishment selling alchohol... And then put a checkpoint at the end of every driveway. Seriously, let's stop the drunk before he even hits the street-mandatory breathalizers (sp?) installed on every ignition on every vehicle, planes, trains, automobiles, and motorcycles. Increase the cost and taxes for this "safety feature" and remove all vehicles from the roads without one installed. Or maybe we can just outlaw alchoholic beverages completely? Oh...wait...that didn't work too well the last time...

Maybe it's just me knowing a guy who was hit by a car going too fast on the road, but if you're going to be driving/riding the tail you should be sober for everyone's safety.

My problem with this is that "driving the tail" shouldn't have anything to do with whether you are sober or not. Plenty of people get killed by drunks driving the "county highway"....

 

That sucks. Pretty much cuts down people running up and down the dragon all day long. I wouldn't want to keep going through the checkpoint. There's a nice bar not far from there. I'm sure word got out real quick up there on that one.

 

At&T DIAL UP>>> I Don`t do videos much...
The sobriety checkpoints are OK, it`s them Motorcycle ONLY Checkpoints I have a problem with...
I don`t mind at all IF EVERYONE gets the test, BUT Don`t single out Motorcycles Only!!!
I have NOT ridden the "Tail of the Dragon" as yet...
Might just hafta rectify that,
"D"

 

That's okay. My wife has had the same PO box for since 1985, but Homeland Security has determined that now every two years everyone who uses a PO box must fill out an application and present it in person with two forms of valid ID (credit cards and SSAN cards not valid) or your box will be closed and all mail returned to sender. Doesn't matter how long you've had the box, you have to "Prove up, Comrade!"

Makes an old soldier sad and mad.

I have no problem coming down hard on drunk drivers. I do have a problem with the increasing use and acceptance of methods that involve control and shaking down of the populace in general, that encroach on the letter and INTENT of the U.S. Constitution.

 

This!

So, how exactly do you folks think a police or nanny state happens? It happens in progressive stages, not overnight. Brush up on your history if your really concerned. :shock:

 

I have no problems with a DUI checkpoint either it was Just way Overkill for the 2 lane road it is on.They (TN) lost in Federal Court enforcing speeding tickets as it is FEDERAL land not county land and they arent Federal Officers.Google it and get the rest of the story

 

Guess I don't have a problem with it, if it is done in a safe manner(not hidden beyond a blind curve, etc.), and it is not tieing up traffic, my philosphy is if I am not doing anything wrong, then no worries. I was stopped at a safety checkpoint a couple years ago while on vacation, checked lights, horns, license, registration, insurance, etc. I'm sure they did a quick glance inside the vehicle. Just wish they would have kept a log as to what vehicles had already gone through as I had to go through it again heading back to camp about 30 minutes later, then again when I drove into town an hour later. They had quite a few officers, so the delay wasn't too long. They used to set up safety checks after the stock car races occasionally and word spread quickly where they were set up.

 

I guess you all didnt see where Congress and the FAA aproved the Use of unmanned Drones to Fly over all of the US then.

http://rt.com/usa/news/us-drones-border-patrol-489/

Border protection is one thing but they wont enforce the Current laws.This far exceds their need to Know

 

It's my opinion that vehicle checkpoints any place outside of our territorial borders are illegel. If I'm doing nothing wrong the government has no right to arrest me. When you are detained at a checkpoint you ARE under arrest. Don't think so? Try to leave or bypass one and find out.

As for the video, what a waste. Why so many LEO's? How much money, tax money (probably federal kick backs) was spent and for what improvement on safety. You just can't rationally justify something like this. I will not knowingly spend a single dollar (tourist, mail order or otherwise) in any state that does this.

 

Let's talk a little bit about "Sobriety" checkpoints.

Yes, "Sobriety" checkpoints sounds like a good idea till it stops being about "Sobriety" and more about collecting tickets. And that is exactly what those checkpoints really do.
Did you see the little part where the officer checked the plate? I can tell you (whether you believe or not) that he was checking expiration AND state of origin. Why state of origin? Simple... The revenue generators (oops, I mean "officers") are encouraged to write tickets for out of state operators. That is usually an easy mark because they won't come all the way back to the state of the citation to fight the ticket. They will just pay up. And now if you see that the "checkpoint" is on a tourist destination it seems a little more plausible, doesn't it?
And, yes, they will give tickets for any infraction they see.

If the check was just about public safety, I might buy it. If they stopped people, checked to see if they were sober and then let them go on their way, I "might" be OK with it. Again, that's not what goes on at these checkpoints.

These checkpoints use "safety" to lure in people who will say things like "If it makes the road safer for my family" to agree with the checkpoints. If they told the truth and said "The county needs more cash" then they would lose some support.

I'm also against checkpoints in general. As I said before, it's something that Russia or Germany would do. It is not something that a FREE country would allow.

 

Some of us remember when we were told, "There will NEVER be a national ID for people." Now you have to have a SSAN by one year old and without that SSAN card you can't get legal work, have a bank account, or pretty much do anything that is a part of normal society in this country without your SSAN, a.k.a. your Taxpayer ID.

How about instead of having a heavily manned checkpoint for "sobriety" at 10AM at one spot, spread those officers up and down the road at key points so they can be on the look out for speeders, people driving erratically or in otherwise reasonably unsafe manners. I say reasonably unsafe because to the mind of many people the mere act of riding a motorcycle is an unsafe act. Those officers could be better utilized along a larger stretch of roadway targeting those who are showing probable cause for a stop and not all lounging around like cats around a baby squirrel.

But that's okay. A lot of people have gotten used to the little encroachments over the decades and just accept them. A lot of you younger folks have never lived without these and consider them normal. This is not normal and is a far cry from what we knew decades past. Always is the cry, "It's for safety, for the betterment of society, it's for the children." Battle cries for the expansion of government ownership and to fill the coffers of the corporations that feed by creating and filling the needs of bureaucracy.

No, I don't worry about UN helicopters. The UN has sucked and failed at ever mission they've taken over anyway. I don't worry about cattle cars and death camps. I don't care who marries who within reason, or how many. Don't want religion of any kind shoved down anyone's throat. I do, however worry that the very thing I spent my time in the military to protect is being happily tossed away by the very citizens of this country, and all for a false sense of security. You want to live in Nanny land, pack your butt off to a nice socialist country like the many in Europe. Those of us who deeply value and took and oath the the Constitution of the United States have nowhere else to go.

 

Some of us remember when we were told, "There will NEVER be a national ID for people." Now you have to have a SSAN by one year old and without that SSAN card you can't get legal work, have a bank account, or pretty much do anything that is a part of normal society in this country without your SSAN, a.k.a. your Taxpayer ID.

How about instead of having a heavily manned checkpoint for "sobriety" at 10AM at one spot, spread those officers up and down the road at key points so they can be on the look out for speeders, people driving erratically or in otherwise reasonably unsafe manners. I say reasonably unsafe because to the mind of many people the mere act of riding a motorcycle is an unsafe act. Those officers could be better utilized along a larger stretch of roadway targeting those who are showing probable cause for a stop and not all lounging around like cats around a baby squirrel.

But that's okay. A lot of people have gotten used to the little encroachments over the decades and just accept them. A lot of you younger folks have never lived without these and consider them normal. This is not normal and is a far cry from what we knew decades past. Always is the cry, "It's for safety, for the betterment of society, it's for the children." Battle cries for the expansion of government ownership and to fill the coffers of the corporations that feed by creating and filling the needs of bureaucracy.

No, I don't worry about UN helicopters. The UN has sucked and failed at ever mission they've taken over anyway. I don't worry about cattle cars and death camps. I don't care who marries who within reason, or how many. Don't want religion of any kind shoved down anyone's throat. I do, however worry that the very thing I spent my time in the military to protect is being happily tossed away by the very citizens of this country, and all for a false sense of security. You want to live in Nanny land, pack your butt off to a nice socialist country like the many in Europe. Those of us who deeply value and took and oath the the Constitution of the United States have nowhere else to go.

Substitute the words United States for Great Britain and I agree with most of that..

John.

 

I don't see that as excessive from an enforcement standpoint. I didn't see the police doing anything excessive as regarding the citizens. Yeah, there were a crap load of police and cars there, but I'm sure intimidation against fleeing has to be a part of the reason for that. Meh. Seems like a waste of taxpayer money, but I'll defer to the LE experts.

 

When asked by the news recently the chief of police in Manchester NH freely admitted that their time could be better served elsewhere

 

The issue isn't whether the checkpoints are "reasonable." The issue is the Fourth Amendment. The Constitution says we are the be secure (safe) from searches without a warrant and from being detained without probable cause. Being stopped and checked for "sobriety" is unquestionably BOTH. I would ask those posters who say it is okay because it makes you feel safer, what are you doing on a motorcycle? Amos is right. We've come to accept incremental theft of our freedoms.

 

Convict, you are 100% right with your arguments.

Sometimes a little inconvenience ok in order to maintain a civil society.

Even if that includes being forced to purchase something I do not want for the good of the whole, like health insurance.

 

Surely the demise of the Republic is close at hand when the truths that established it are ridiculed.

The success of our enemies is obvious and evident....

I find no small irony that here, on a motorcycle "enthusiasts" forum, the idea of "liberty" is being ridiculed and equated with paranoia and lunacy.

There was time when motorcyclists of ALL types were bonded by a common love of freedom and individuality, but apparently no more...

*sigh*

 

Surely the demise of the Republic is close at hand when the truths that established it are ridiculed.

The success of our enemies is obvious and evident....

I find no small irony that here, on a motorcycle "enthusiasts" forum, the idea of "liberty" is being ridiculed and equated with paranoia and lunacy.

There was time when motorcyclists of ALL types were bonded by a common love of freedom and individuality, but apparently no more...

*sigh*

Sadly, but not surprised.....+1

 

Wow...Dave you are an optimist...

In my mind I imagine people like us being sent to Room 101...

Maybe I need one them tinfoil hats?

(and I'm only half joking...).

 

Law books.



It seems that we have to be baby sat because there are a few that refuse to behave. It's like the whole class has to stay after school because one student was caught chewing gum in class. A few ruin it for the rest of us.

But, in the case of drunk driving, it's way more serious. Law enforcement has to witness first hand, and deal with the carnage and after math of death and destruction caused be a few that refuse to behave. The public cries out for more protection because they live their lives in fear that a drunk driver will wipe out their entire family. We, as a people, don't want our freedoms to diminish, so there becomes a tug-a-war. Law enforcement wants to protect us, but we do not want to be inconvenienced. The drunk driver doesn't want his freedoms taken away either, nor does anybody who breaks the law. The ones that are caught are the first to cry, "Foul, where are my rights"? Well, they are up there in those books somewhere. The more unruly society gets, the more we have to be baby sat by big brother, and the more complicated it gets. Freedom comes with a price. Always has, and always will.

With that said, if I'm doing nothing wrong, I'll be proud to show my papers and move on. A little inconvenienced of course, because I'm a law abiding citizen. "How dare you? Don't you know who I am"? And after that, I'll turn the corner a free man,................and I'll punch it.

 

So, in essence, what you are saying is that you are OK with a strip search if someone in the group is carrying a gun?

All that aside... I think we could better fix the DUI problem.
1st offense, take away their license for a year and a $5000 fine.
2nd offense, take away their license for 5 years and $15,000 fine.
3rd offense, use a $2 bullet and put it in their head. Some people just can't learn.

But, this whole topis was about a specific roadblock. And I maintain that it's not about public protection but more about money.
Each citation is $$$$. If the driver is under the influence, the county gets even more money.

Citations these days are less about safety and more about revenue. Some jurisdictions don't even try to hide that fact anymore.

 

All that aside... I think we could better fix the DUI problem.
1st offense, take away their license for a year and a $5000 fine.
2nd offense, take away their license for 5 years and $15,000 fine.
3rd offense, use a $2 bullet and put it in their head. Some people just can't learn.

No! 1st offense needs jail time straight off. Removal of license does NOTHING to keep the SOB's off the road. Local news showed a woman last year on her SIXTH DUI!!!!! And she was smiling/smurking in the damn arrest photo! I wanted to go kill her and tell God she died myself!

 

Can anyone say what the thread was really about, not so much the "sobriety check" or legalities of such, but the number of leo s on hand.

ya'll really went in wild directions.

Must really be too hot for ya'll to be out riding.