Watch: Motorists Vow Silence at DUI Checkpoints

Check out the video at the bottom of this post.

Pulling up to a DUI checkpoint and refusing to roll down the window might seem like an invitation for trouble, but one Florida attorney says it’s perfectly legal – most of the time.

Warren Redlich’s advice to motorists to remain compliant, but silent seems to be gaining ground. A YouTube video showing a New Year’s Eve exchange between a driver and police in Chiefland has garnered nearly 3 million views to date.

Redlich, the author of “Fair DUI,” has created a flier motorists can keep in their vehicles to pull out when they arrive at checkpoints.

“The idea is that you do not roll down your window, but rather press the flier up against the window so police can read it,” Redlich’s website advises. “You show them your license and other papers through the window.”

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So far, Redlich has created fliers for motorists not only in Florida, but also New York, California, New Jersey, Ohio, Arkansas, Utah, Texas, Georgia and South Carolina. They’re all available to print out via his website.

The fliers cite state-specific statutes related to traffic stops. In Florida, for example, the flier points out that drivers are only required to sign tickets in particular circumstances and that there is nothing on the books that states a driver must physically hand over a license at a checkpoint.

“Show them your license, registration and insurance through the window,” the Florida flier advises. “You are required to ‘display’ them, but you don’t have to hand them over.”

The flier is not for everyone, Redlich’s website warns. They are intended for use by “sober people who are at risk for a DUI arrest,” he notes and also for “liberty activists.”

Drunks, however, shouldn’t use the fliers.

“Drunks don’t follow instructions and that makes things worse,” the website states.

While Redlich contends use of the flier is legal and acceptable, some Florida law enforcement agencies don’t agree.

Florida Sheriffs Association president and St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar was quoted by the Washington Post as saying he wouldn’t allow a motorist through a checkpoint until a conversation took place.

“We have a legitimate right to do it,” Shoar said. “If I was out there, I wouldn’t wave them through.”

The Post pointed out that sheriff’s offices in several counties, including Pinellas, have gone on the record as saying flier users would be arrested immediately.

Garrett Berman of Florida’s Traffic Safety Resource vision doesn’t agree with Redlich’s reading of Sunshine State laws.

“It changed from displaying their license to actually present or submit the license to the officer,” Berman was quoted by NBC Miami as saying.

The station noted that Berman and Redlich agree on one main point, however: The best way to avoid a DUI is to not drink and drive.

For more information about “Fair DUI,” check out Redlich’s website.

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