Vehicle Facts
On Saturday night, I went to dinner with my family in the Gaslamp section of downtown San Diego. We had a very nice meal at Pan e Vino. The San Diego Police are known to heavily patrol downtown San Diego, especially on a Saturday night. Aware of this, I made sure not to drink any alcohol at dinner. I have heard many stories of people arrested on suspected DUI after drinking very little alcohol. Many times an arrest will take place if there is any suspicion of a DUI, and even if the driver is subsequently found to be not intoxicated, it makes for a long night in the County Jail.
On the drive home, we encountered a sobriety checkpoint on 1st Avenue just before the 5 Freeway. The furthest right lane was being used as the checkpoint, and random cars were waived into that lane. Our car was not checked. It was a little scary just observing the entire production. There must have been 20 patrol cars parked at the Checkpoint. Giant flood lights illuminated the checkpoint area. I think even a sober driver would have been nervous going through that gauntlet. At dinner I told my kids that the Gaslamp area was a frequent target of the Police for drunk drivers. Not only did I prove to be prophetic when we went throught the checkpoint, but it was a great and (hopefully) sobering for the kids.
