Alerts

When it is mentioned that Georgia conducts over 10,000 roadblocks per year, people may naturally assume this is a statistic from the former Soviet country that sits on the southern border of Russia.

After all, there can’t be that many roadblocks set up across the whole of the United States in a given year, let alone just in the Peach State, can there?

Shockingly, yes there can.

State troopers in Georgia do erect that many roadblocks each year. Most are under the guise of sobriety and motorcycle checkpoints, but the net – as in casting a wide one – effect is to detain law-abiding motorists at what often become contentious traffic stops.

If the state police in Georgia conduct that many roadblocks each year, just imagine how many United States motorists are subjected to unwarranted stops.

Consider these statistics from California:

• In 2010, the ratio of vehicle impoundments to DUI arrests was six to one.
• The state collected $40 million in towing fees the year before, much of the activity occurring at sobriety checkpoints, with most vehicle confiscation due to unlicensed, not inebriated, drivers.
• Only 2.3 percent of all DUI arrests in 2008 were due to those checkpoints; the vast majority resulted from regular police patrols.

At a time when U.S. politicians are successfully pressuring companies like Apple and Research in Motion (the makers of the ubiquitous Blackberry product line) to stop distributing smartphone apps that alert drivers to roadblock locations, the NMA has a solution for those who want to travel without being personally scrutinized by law enforcement personnel.

Our site, the Roadblock Registry, is a free resource for drivers who want to check in advance for reported roadblock locations on a state-by-state and city level. We have just completed an upgrade of the site that simplifies the process of reporting and finding roadblocks.

As with the National Speed Trap Exchange, the listings in the Roadblock Registry are generated by everyday motorists who share information to help fellow drivers. Here is a sample listing from the Registry:

I-85 NB new exit to 316
Duluth, Georgia

This is the first of three exits off of I85 Northbound, with the other two being the HOV and a two lane exit. The first exit is a single lane and here is where officers from either one agency (County Police) or multi jurisdictional will be lined up and talk to every driver. Enough room to pull and inspect every car and every driver.

Took me 10 mins to get to an officer; asked me where I was going, where I was coming from and if I had anything to drink. I had a crack in my windshield, but he let me drive on anyway without further interference. My estimation was that over 70% of the drivers were pulled off to the side for further searches. I now take the second exit or the HOV one and have seen this roadblock several times since then.

Spread the word. Encourage fellow travelers to visit the Roadblock Registry while planning driving trips, and just as importantly, to enter roadblock locations that they have encountered.

A more comprehensive Roadblock Registry will benefit those who want to avoid the harassment of traffic stops that can include long delays, officious interrogations, and warrantless searches. ♦