When approaching a surprise sobriety checkpoint, your kneejerk reaction may be to turn around right away and get out before you go through it.
Fortunately for you, this is actually legal. However, the way you go about it will make a world of difference.
It is legal to avoid a sobriety checkpoint
LifeSafer discusses going through a sobriety checkpoint or a sobriety stop. Police set up sobriety checkpoints along the highway in order to catch and remove intoxicated drivers from the stream of traffic.
However, just as it is legal for officers to do this without alerting drivers in advance in most states, it is also legal for you to do what you can to avoid going through the checkpoints. The most important thing to note is that you have to do it legally.
Know what officers can pull you over for
In other words, if you take a legal U-turn and leave the premise while following the traffic laws, then an officer cannot pull you over or stop you from going. But officers will keep an eye out for people pulling away from the checkpoint, so they will also look for reasons to pull you over.
Some of these reasons can include a broken tail light, expired plate stickers and not signaling properly before turning. They can also hold your driving behaviors under a microscope, so take care not to speed, go too slow, lane weave, cut off other cars, or not abide by the rules of the yellow lines.
In taking care and following these rules, it is possible to safely turn away from a checkpoint without having to go through.
