Upcoming DUI Checkpoint in Middlesex County, Mass.
The Massachusetts State Police, in partnership with a local police agency, will conduct a field sobriety DUI roadblock on a secondary state highway in Middlesex County on during the evening of Saturday, December 19, 2009 into Sunday, December 20th.
The Mass. State Police are equipped with a mobile breathalyzer and OUI booking facility called the “BAT Mobile.” In accordance with judicially approved DUI roadblock procedures, state and local police officers will stop drivers to detect signs and symptoms of intoxication. Officers will have a brief conversation with the driver of the stopped vehicle, during which time they will be looking for slurred speech, glassy or bloodshot eyes, the odor of alcoholic beverages, open containers of alcohol, or any other indicators that the driver might be operating under the influence of intoxicants.
If the police suspect intoxication or other criminal activity, drivers will be directed to a “secondary screening area” where they will be ordered to produce a driver’s license and subjected to additional screening which may include standardized field sobriety tests.
Based on all of the facts and circumstances of the encounter, including the results of the field sobriety tests, the police will decide whether there is probable cause to arrest the driver for DUI. Anyone arrested will be booked and offered the opportunity to submit to a chemical breath test. The penalty for refusing is a license suspension ranging from 180 days to life. Those who are arrested and refuse will only have 15 days from the date of arrest to appeal the breathalyzer refusal suspension. Failure to appeal during the 15 day CTR appeal period will result in the inability to challenge many aspects of the refusal suspension.
