Could DUII checkpoints return to Oregon?

A familiar weapon in the war on drunk driving could once again be headed for Oregon roadways. While supporters say it’s all about saving lives, critics argue it puts your personal freedom at risk.

The debate surrounds sobriety checkpoints, and it’s one the state has seen before.

While more than three dozen other states currently use sobriety checkpoints, Oregon’s constitution explicitly bans them and has since 1987.

Bringing them back would require a constitutional amendment.

On Monday, as the legislative session got underway and as legalized pot prepares to make its debut, one state senator told KGW he’s prepared to lead the charge.

According to the Oregon Department of Transportation, DUII-related deaths in Oregon have been on the decline, dropping from 138 in 2007 to 56 in 2010. There were 87 in 2011.

Still, state Sen. Rod Monroe, D-Portland, says even one life lost is one too many.

“It’s the most dangerous thing that we do,” he said.

So, with the help of newly crafted Senate Bill 13, the Portland Democrat is reaching back 30 years to a tool once widely used by Oregon law enforcement: Sobriety checkpoints.

Often employed on party-heavy nights like Halloween and New Year’s, the tactic allows authorities to set up road blocks and question drivers at random.

Nowadays, even with sobriety checkpoints, drivers can avoid cops. Phone apps such as DUI Checkpoint Finder help users find alternate routes.

“They look to see if there are any visible signs of impairment,” said Monroe. “Only if there is a visible sign of impairment, would they ask a person to get out of the car and do some testing.”

Monroe says the checkpoints are announced ahead of time, making them more of a deterrent than anything else.

Attorney John Henry Hingson III doesn’t buy it.

“DUI roadblocks are ineffective,” he said. “If you’re going to spend taxpayer money to try to prevent drunk driving, spend it on enforcing the law through a DUI saturation patrol, not a roadblock. This is a dragnet procedure that catches innocent fish in its wide and deep net.”

If Monroe has his way and Senate Bill 13 makes it through Oregon’s legislature, the proposal of sobriety checkpoints will go to the voters. He hopes to have it on the ballot in the 2016 general election.