A traffic stop involves temporary incarceration of a driver of a motor vehicle by police to conduct an investigation on a crime or a violation of a traffic law. Having a good community relation is a core concern of law enforcement across the country. Traffic is organized in various jurisdictions which are marked, thus, traffic violation occurs when the driver goes against laws regulating vehicle operation on streets and highway. Notably, there are various reasons that make traffic stop legally defensible and professional.
A traffic stop is believed to be realistic and legal if the police have a justifiable reason for stopping the motorist and if he is conducting the roadside confinement in a reasonable manner. The legality of a police traffic stop is focused on whether the officer stopped the vehicle having a reasonable suspicion that the driver has broken the law. According to the United States Supreme court, a traffic stop is legal so long as there is an objectively reasonable basis (Dellinger & Sleet, 2010) . For instance, an officer can stop a driver weaving across the road and at very low speed since the driver is suspected to be driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Therefore, based on that driving pattern as well as driving speed, the officer has a reasonable cause to stop the driver for the check.
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Moreover, a traffic stop is also considered legal and professional depending on the manner of detention. Despite the officer having a legitimate reason to pool the driver out of the road, there are legal concerns on how the officer conducts the stop. Detention should not be invasive or time-consuming than the necessary time required in conducting a traffic stop. For instance, an officer should not keep the driver for an extended period of time after accomplishing the traffic stop doing other things which are not related to the rule violated. Therefore, a police traffic stop is considered legal and professional depending on the manner of detention and reasonable suspicion.
The rule enforcement organizations always set up checkpoints along the road to spot drivers who are driving under the control of drugs and driving with alcohol in their system. DUI checkpoints are lawful and compelling rule enforcement techniques according to the Supreme Court. Since DUI checkpoints make sure that people are not having alcohol and driving, the problem comes in determining whether these checkpoints constitute unreasonable searches and seizure. According to the Fourth Amendment to the United States structure, it states that all people have a right against irrational searches (Meesmann, Martensen & Dupont, 2015). All searches should involve the issuing of a search warrant although some searches occur without a search warrant so long the search is reasonable.
The law court argues that the constitution of such checkpoints and roadblock depends on weighing the public interest as well as the quantity of interference on individual freedom. The most significant trait of a sensible roadblock is the availability of a genuine restriction on the discretion of the officers in the field on how the roadblock is enforced (Walker & Archbold, 2018) . Therefore, DUI checkpoints are legal and comply with the law of the traffic if they are conducted in a uniform manner.
To sum up, observing someone violate a traffic rule mandates a police officer to exercise a traffic stop. To legalize a checkpoint, the court should look at the importance of the federal interest which is served by the checkpoint. The court should also look at to what extent the checkpoints serves to government interest as well as the severity of intrusion and inconveniences it will cause to the motorist. Thus, there are laws which establish the legality of individual traffic stops and traffic checkpoints such as a DUI checkpoint.
References
Dellinger, A. M., & Sleet, D. A. (2010). Preventing traffic injuries: Strategies that work. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine , 4 (1), 82-89.
Meesmann, U., Martensen, H., & Dupont, E. (2015). Impact of alcohol checks and social norm on driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). Accident Analysis & Prevention , 80 , 251-261.
Walker, S. E., & Archbold, C. A. (2018). The new world of police accountability . Sage Publications.
