When it comes to drinking and driving, police in Pennsylvania are on the lookout. That means from time to time police engage in additional training to learn how to better spot and handle drunk driving situations. It also means officers are learning about proper procedure when it comes to making an arrest. While many people in Pennsylvania think DUI relates only to alcohol use, a driver can also be arrested for being under the influence of a drug while behind the wheel.

Recently police from the departments in Carbon, Pike, Schuylkill, and Northumberland counties participated in a two-day training program that outlined strategies to observe, identify and articulate signs of impairment related to drugs. A breath test is usually not the most effective tool in identifying whether a driver is intoxicated because of a drug. Therefore, officers learn other signs and symptoms of drug impairment. The identification tactics must also satisfy the requirements to legally arrest someone, and training is related to proper procedure as well.

DUI checkpoints are another tool in a police department’s law enforcement toolbox that can identify whether intoxicated drivers are on the road. When police conduct DUI checkpoints, they may legally stop any car that goes through the checkpoint whether or not they suspect a drunk driving or another illegal activity. Because each driver that passes through the checkpoint may be stopped, the law enforcement tactic is legal. Police normally use DUI checkpoints on the weekends, around popular holidays, or in areas that experience a high rate of DUI-related offenses and crashes. Troopers at DUI checkpoints normally enforce a zero-tolerance policy, and drivers arrested for DUI can face up to $5,000 in fines and jail time up to five years.

Expect police in Pennsylvania to step up the use of DUI checkpoints during the time before and after the Fourth of July holiday.

Source: republicanherald.com, “Local Police Get Extra Training to Reduce Drug-, Alcohol-Impaired Driving,“, Thomas Leskin, June 10, 2012