Story Archive

Sometimes the Solution is Worse than the Problem

If you were pulled over for driving under the influence in Michigan, and your timing was right, you had a really good chance of getting away with it. The state’s law was amended to allow for a preliminary “roadside assessment” to determine whether a driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The change was intended to give police the same arrest powers for drugged drivers as they had for drunk drivers, but the law was poorly written and created a loophole that made roadside sobriety tests and breath tests inadmissible in court. “Roadside assessment tests were never defined,” attorney Patrick Barone said. “It is something that can be challenged before it ever goes before a jury” Once the ambiguity was found, the state legislature moved quickly to update the law and close the loophole. “So now the roadside tests will be legal,” Senate Judiciary Chair Rick Jones said. “Touching the nose, saying the alphabet and all that.” (MS/Detroit News) ...With the quality of education these days, most drivers can’t say the alphabet while sober.