I hope they impound the vehicle(s) too...

Do they also look for insurance (lack thereof) and illegal aliens too?  Or DUI only?

I would like to see the same thing for people playing loud music from their vehicles. Impound them then crush them like the "clunkers" until there is no more loud music from vehicles, but peace.. Amen.

They have to present a valid drivers license so that should take care of the illegal.  A friend and I were stopped in one up norht and they didn't ask for any ID...just waved up throough.  They don't stop every single car but remember they've been trained to look for certain signs and are pretty good at it.

spam code THHRU

Why does this always have to go back to illegal aliens? You are ridiculous an ignorant to think that because of their legal status in this country they would be out driving drunk !!  Im sure drunk rednecks will be driving  through these checkpoints. 

LOL, huh?

the question wasnt directed at hispanics ... not a race-thing, just curious if they look for more than one thing, chill pill! 

goldilox, don't you know you can't question anything about, or to do with, or around, or in the vicinity of illegals without getting your head bitten off?

Oh!  And you can't mention Hispanics or Mexicans in anything but glowing terms and most certainly not in the same sentence with illegal without the same consequences?

You're not allowed to question because you might be a bigot.  Silly you.

Prim..you're out of line.  Did the shoe fit too tightly?

And lastly, watch for the report after the holiday and see how many arrests and towed cars and for what reason.

They will also be checking your credit at  the checkpoints!!  

Score of 700 or below your car goes to impound !!!

LOL  ---

Prim, I sure hope so.  There's nothing I hate worse than a deadbeat who won't pay his M/C bill.  Makes us all look bad.  :-)

Ignoring the 4th amendment is cool. They should do it more often :/

No wonder you feel angst Pat, you're opposed to getting drunk and unsafe drivers off the street.  Been busted in a checkpoint have you?

LOL Nancy what you do not understand is that the statistics are predjudice too!  They would have to be.  What is really funny is that people can steriotype blacks and whites all they want and everyone laughts.  Mention the other promident race in our area and it becomes a problem.

CindyJ..Ah me...how silly of me to have forgotten that.  :-)

I think what they're looking for depends on the neighborhood they're in.  About a year ago, I got stopped at a checkpoint on Niles.  The officer asked where I was coming from and where I was going.  I told him I was returning home from a retirement party at Woolgrowers.  Now, if I'd been a cop, the words "retirement party" and "Woolgrowers" would have been a red flag.

He then asked me if I had a driver's license.  Then he kind of laughed and said "Well, I know you have one, but do you have it with you?"  Does that sound like somebody looking for drunk drivers?  Or somebody looking for licensing, registration, insurance and other forms of "legality?"

OR ~ wanting to see your address...stalker cop! LOL

Oh Goldi, that's just creepy!!  LOL!!

Again, they're trained to look for signs of inebriation (love that word) but I'm surprised he didn't at least ASK if you'd been drinking considering where you'd been.  Had you?  :-)

Here's a hint.  Don't drink and drive, don't drive on a suspended license, make sure you keep your current registration and ins. card in the car and you won't have a thing to be concerned about if you go through a checkpoint.

See how easy that is?  If you drink and drive, and you get caught, we may be meeting in person.

With the way some people drive in this town, I need a couple of shots to have the courage to go out there.

LOL, no doubt!   :)

Doesn't it bother anyone that "probable cause" has disappeared from police procedure? This idea that they can stop anyone, anytime, for no reason whatsoever, really bothers me. It started as a DUI check. Then it progressed to a DUI/license check. It went from a safety concern to something else. It won't be long before they start searching everyone they stop for drugs and weapons. I think it is a dangerous precedent to set.

Ghost, in a DUI checkpoint of course they ask for your license.   If someone is driving without a llicense there's a good reason for it..like suspension for a DUI or some other offence.  (sometimes for not paying child support)    Do you want unsafe or drunk drivers or multiple offenders on the road with you?

Like casting a fishing net, you probalby will catch fish other than your intended but that's no reason to stop throwing the net.

Nancy,   Again, they're trained to look for signs of inebriation (love that word) but I'm surprised he didn't at least ASK if you'd been drinking considering where you'd been.  Had you?  :-)

Of course!  But only a single glass of wine, with dinner, and at least 2 hours before I got behind the wheel.

See Pam, you're a smart, responsible driver.

Thank you Nancy.  I care about human life, and I couldn't live with myself if I ever hurt somebody as a result of drunk or careless driving.  Besides that, I'm on a commercial license and part of my livelihood depends on that license.

I fail to see any problem with these DUI checkpoints. Getting drunk drivers and people with no license off the road at least for a little while... What is the problem here? If you are too drunk to drive call a cab or a friend. If you don't have money for a cab or no friends maybe it is because you drink too much. If you don't have a license take the bus.

That is a good point cheeksmck, I don't see what this has to do with race, lots of different people get caught drunk driving, blacks, hispanics, whites, every different color even jews, it just seems like every time a person commits a crime, it has to do with race. I don't know maybe its just me noticing that.

Its not the color of our skin, its the choices that we make that define us.

Vehicles are impounded if the driver is found to be without a valid drivers license.  I doubt police check for legal residency, but that might be a good idea because many people from other countries have never had a driving lesson in their life, but this also applies to many unlicensed drivers, too.  I will tell you what I thought was hillarious . . .  Twice, within the past several months, Bakersfield Police Department did a sting outside the traffic court division because many of the people who were already previously cited for driving without a valid drivers license would appear in court on a citation they previosuly received for no valid drivers license and then appear in court and leave the court house and get in their car and drive away while still having no valid drivers license.  These idiots, that apparently did not learn the first time, are pulled over, cited again for no valid drivers license, and police impounded their vehicles.  How dumb is it that a person shows up to court for driving without a valid drivers license and still continues to leave the courtroom and drive away without a valid drivers license RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE COURTHOUSE???  If these people are so stupid to do this, I would question their ability and judgement when driving.  As far as I am concerned, they had it coming!

Just because a person mentions "illegal aliens" does NOT always mean we are referring to people just from Mexico;  We are referring to ALL illegal aliens from ANY country.

The whole idea to learning how to drive is to know how to operate a motor vehicle and to know the rules of the road.  Our country requires a person to know this information in order to have the priveledge of driving.  While visiting another country, it was obvious to me that these people probably have never had a driving lesson in their life!  Safety is a major issue when the driver has never had a driving lesson!!!

 Wrong !!

"driving is a PRIVILEDGE....not a RIGHT"

Driving is a necessity ... police checkpoints are a privilege and an opportunity for some awesome overtime.

Checkpoints do not increase community safety.

I say,  stop paying for law enforcement welfare ! The state of California is Broke .

--virgil

" Its not the color of our skin, ... "

 It cannot be denied that in some towns and states, the color of skin works to delimit the number, and  the quality,  of choices  you have that ultimately  "define you."

--virgil

Wrong !!

"driving is a PRIVILEDGE....not a RIGHT"

Driving is a necessity ... police checkpoints are a privilege and an opportunity for some awesome overtime.

Checkpoints do not increase community safety.

I say,  stop paying for law enforcement welfare ! The state of California is Broke .

--virgil

WRONG!!!! If Driving was a necessity, then there would be no GET bus, no bike riding, no taxis, etc.

Driving is a non-mandatory priviledge. 

Some of the people caught in checkpoints aren't served by GET or any other public transit system. Can't assume that everyone has a practical alternative.

Wrong !

If driving was not a necessity,  the GET bus would run routes to Lamont and shafter ( rosedale, too ) regularly and beyond 6: 00 pm in the evening.

--virgil

Driving is not a necessity. Lack of mass transit options is NO excuse to break the law and endanger other people. It may be an inconvenience not to drive, but people could have saved themselves that inconvenience by following the law in the first place. Go through the procedures to get a license and follow the law so it isn't revoked. It's pretty simple to keep within the law and on the road.

However, this area does need to improve its mass transit options. Many GET routes are the same as they were back when I was in high school. The bike lanes on many roads are too narrow and often the narrowest lanes are on roads with high speed limits. Many residential areas do not have grocery shopping options within walking distance. There's a whole lot of sprawl here and not a lot of planning to deal with it. It's not an excuse to drive without a license, but it is an issue that warrants attention.

 Kerntown don't plan for alternative transportation needs ( and, options ), we just build to sell  - you're right, Shwaine.

At the same time, however,  community safety is not increased by  the use of quarterly funded police checkpoints.

--virgil