Stephen G. Michaelides

About the author: Stephen G. Michaelides is an editorial specialist in foodservice industry publications and was the editor of Restaurant Hospitality for twentyone years. He is president of Words, Ink, a business-to-business communications company based in Cleveland, Ohio.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is wrong in its assertion that sobriety checkpoints are an effective means to combat drunk driving. Checkpoints allow the police to indiscriminately stop drivers for questioning, ignoring their constitutional right to be protected from unreasonable search and seizure and to be accused of a crime only with probable cause. By violating these basic protections, checkpoints set a dangerous precedent for further police infringement on privacy. In addition, checkpoints are ineffective because only a small percentage of drunk drivers are apprehended by them. Police efforts will never bring an end to drunk driving.

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