Keith, I'm a bit slow here.Keith B wrote:From http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... c7ea4.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;Drewthetexan wrote:Where do these insurance checkpoints happen? How long has this been going on?
Are these legal?
Checkpoints have not been allowed in Texas since the state Court of Criminal Appeals ruled in 1994 they must be authorized by a "politically accountable governing body at the state level." That case involved a sobriety checkpoint in Arlington. In 1979, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that random traffic stops to check driver's licenses, where officers did not have reasonable suspicion, were unconstitutional.
However, the ruling does not prevent state "spot checks that involve less intrusion or that do not involve the unconstrained exercise of discretion," the justices wrote. "Questioning of all oncoming traffic at roadblock-type stops is one possible alternative."
I don't see a distinction between a sobriety checkpoint and an insurance checking roadblock. In both cases all cars have to be stopped without PC and the drivers checked for legality.