Fourth of July weekend is upon us and police are beefing up patrols to spot impaired drivers.
They’re also ready for drivers who hold up something called a DUI flyer.
The concept has gotten more than 3 million hits on YouTube, and continues to make the rounds on social media.
Warren Redlich, the Florida attorney behind the flyer, says instead of rolling down your car window to speak with police, you should hold up the flyer, your driver’s license and remain silent.
A flyer is tailored to specific laws in a number of states, including Ohio.
Redlich says it’s meant to protect the rights of sober drivers, not impaired drivers, who get caught up in the checkpoint dragnet. “There are genuinely drunk drivers that need to be taken off the road. But unfortunately the way the system works, a lot of people get caught up in it. And the idea of this is to help people protect themselves by not rolling down their windows and asserting their rights,” Redlich asserts.
Every driver should be aware of their legal rights, but could the flyer actually help impaired drivers skate through sobriety checkpoints?
Advocacy groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving have expressed concern about it.
WKYC went to the experts to ask their opinion.
“Glassy eyes, confusion when they pull into an OVI checkpoint. Those are just some of the indicators,” explained Lt. Antonio Matos, of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Matos said troopers are trained to watch for a number of indicators some of which you can detect without having a driver roll down their window and speak.
Police agencies tell us that OVI checkpoints are used primarily as an educational tool, not as a means to make record DUI busts. Lt. Matos asserts that troopers pull far more impaired drivers off the road during their routine shifts, rather than during OVI checkpoints.
“If they come through, they show it, they show no indicators of being intoxicated, we are going to let them move through,” said Sgt. Ken Gillissie, of the Parma Police Department, adding that someone with a DUI flyer is treated the exact same way as someone who doesn’t have one.
“If there is an indicator that there is something wrong, that they could be intoxicated, then we are going to diver them,” Gillissie emphasized.
Local attorney Joe Morse has defended his fair share of DUI clients. He doesn’t see how a could help someone who is trying to use it to pass through a checkpoint, while impaired. “Having been involved in hundreds of these, the likelihood that someone who is severely impaired is going to avoid or evade a DUI checkpoint seems low,” Morse contends.
What he does like about the flyer is the information that it contains.
“Certainly being aware of your rights and understanding the duties and obligations of police officers is helpful in all situations,” Morse said.
Both the OSHP and Parma Police say they aim to move drivers through checkpoints quickly, averaging between 30 and 45 seconds per car.
But carrying the flyer in Ohio to avoid being slowed down at checkpoints may be unnecessary altogether.
“There is nothing that requires you to come through an OVI checkpoint. There are always different routes you could take,” Lt. Matos explained. But you just can’t break traffic laws, such as making an illegal u-turn, to avoid a checkpoint. “You want to hold up a piece of paper? That’s fine. We are still going to look into whether you are too impaired to drive on the road,” Matos said.