CON

DUI checkpoints are one thing. DUI checkpoint alerts are something completely different.

The term “DUI checkpoint alerts” refers to the posts you see on social media networks that warn users about the location of these checkpoints. While you may think you are doing your friends or followers a favor, realize that you are not. Those alerts do more harm than good. As inconvenient as they may seem, they have our best interest in mind.

Someone who has not spent the night drinking sees DUI checkpoints as an inconvenience because they have not done anything wrong. Someone who has spent the night drinking sees them as an inconvenience because they do not want any trouble.

Yes, the checkpoints can be a nuisance, but they exist for a crucial reason. They exist for the same reason as airport security. While you may not have done anything wrong, someone else might have. If you are that someone, I rest my case.

Letting your friends know when and where DUI checkpoints are located is not a heroic act, it’s a foolish one.

Yes, as humans we know it is best to avoid wastes of time and situations that may lead to trouble. Social media users who post these alerts often think they are doing their friends a favor by warning them about checkpoint locations. However, instead of leading them away from trouble, users often risk a higher chance of leading their friends, even strangers, into trouble through these alerts.

These alerts spread like wildfire. They are not only visible to those who follow you on social media sites; checkpoint alerts are often shared, retweeted, and regrammed for everyone to see.

DUI checkpoint alerts on social media often depict checkpoints as something negative; and that is not the case. The goal of these checkpoints is not to arrest people, but rather to keep potential harm off the streets. By letting people know what areas to avoid, users are allowing drunk drivers to remain on the road and potentially cause accidents that often result in tragedy.

Alcohol is one of the leading causes for traffic-related accidents. When an accident occurs because a drunk driver read the checkpoint alert took enough precaution to avoid the area, but no precaution to remain sober, the user who posted the alert is indirectly responsible.

Constitutional controversy may arise to the fact that the public has a right to know. However, the public also has the right to a sense of security. DUI checkpoint alerts impose a sense of fear and should no longer be available to the public eye.