If a person sees a police checkpoint up the road, their first instinct might be to turn around or to try to avoid it. Even if a person hasn’t been drinking, they may not want to deal with the stress that passing through a checkpoint can bring. Unfortunately, if police notice a conspicuous maneuver to avoid the checkpoint, it can lead to a person getting pulled over and investigated.
Legally Avoiding a Checkpoint
Virginia case law has established that a legal maneuver which takes a person away from a sobriety checkpoint is legal. For instance, if a person sees a checkpoint up the road and they make a legal right turn onto a side street, it would not be grounds for the police to pull a person over. It is completely reasonable that a person might be making a right turn onto a side street.
If, however, a person makes a U-turn in the middle of the street when they see a checkpoint, the police might pull that person over further investigation. A Fairfax Drunk Driving Lawyer can fight the legality of the police stop and work to have any evidence against you thrown out. If so, it can result in the charges against you being dropped entirely under Virginia law.
