{"id":14655,"date":"2025-02-15T18:01:35","date_gmt":"2025-02-15T23:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/?p=14655"},"modified":"2025-02-09T22:04:34","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T03:04:34","slug":"north-carolina-checking-stations-and-roadblocks-how-dui-checkpoints-operate-under-g-s-20-16-3a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/north-carolina-checking-stations-and-roadblocks-how-dui-checkpoints-operate-under-g-s-20-16-3a\/","title":{"rendered":"North Carolina Checking Stations and Roadblocks: How DUI Checkpoints Operate Under G.S. 20-16.3A"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DUI checkpoints ordinarily involve standardized patterns for stopping vehicles, as well as the use of portable breath tests (PBTs) and SFSTs &#8211; Standardized Field Sobriety Tests to assess possible alcohol consumption and appreciable impairment. North Carolina law allows law enforcement agencies to set up checking stations and roadblocks pursuant to <\/span><b>N.C.G.S. 20-16.3A<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to check for things like<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-14658 lazyload\" src=\"\/jshared\/img\/icons\/spinner.svg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DUI-CHECKPOINTS-300x168.webp\" alt=\"DUI-CHECKPOINTS\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DUI-CHECKPOINTS-300x168.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DUI-CHECKPOINTS-1024x574.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DUI-CHECKPOINTS-768x431.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DUI-CHECKPOINTS-1000x561.webp 1000w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DUI-CHECKPOINTS-214x120.webp 214w, https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DUI-CHECKPOINTS.webp 1312w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/> license violations and to enforce the \u201cdrunk driving\u201d (impaired driving) laws. The process must follow certain constitutional and statutory guidelines to avoid arbitrary or discriminatory stops.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The following content is a general overview of how roadblocks and checking stations work, including the difference between a brief roadside stop and a more formal implied-consent procedure. If you have questions about a checkpoint stop in North Carolina\u2014or wish to talk about a specific legal concern related to N.CG.S. 20-16.3A\u2014call or text the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/g.co\/kgs\/YqESQok\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Powers Law Firm<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at <\/span><b>704-342-4357<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or email <\/span><b>Bill Powers<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at <\/span><b>Bill@CarolinaAttorneys.com<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"DWI Checkpoints in NC:  What You Need to Know\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fiO-Lq0shKQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"read_more_link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/north-carolina-checking-stations-and-roadblocks-how-dui-checkpoints-operate-under-g-s-20-16-3a\/\"  title=\"Continue Reading North Carolina Checking Stations and Roadblocks: How DUI Checkpoints Operate Under G.S. 20-16.3A\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DUI checkpoints ordinarily involve standardized patterns for stopping vehicles, as well as the use of portable breath tests (PBTs) and SFSTs &#8211; Standardized Field Sobriety Tests to assess possible alcohol consumption and appreciable impairment. North Carolina law allows law enforcement agencies to set up checking stations and roadblocks pursuant to N.C.G.S. 20-16.3A to check for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14657,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[32,564,1443,319,1444,1441,1430,1442],"class_list":["post-14655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dui","tag-bill-powers","tag-constitutional-rights","tag-dui-checkpoints","tag-dwi-defense","tag-implied-consent","tag-north-carolina-checking-stations","tag-powers-law-firm","tag-roadblocks"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>North Carolina Checking Stations and Roadblocks: How DUI Checkpoints Operate Under G.S. 20-16.3A<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"NC checking stations and roadblocks: DUI checkpoints, PBT tests, and defense strategies - Call Bill Powers &amp; the Powers Law Firm 704-342-4357\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/north-carolina-checking-stations-and-roadblocks-how-dui-checkpoints-operate-under-g-s-20-16-3a\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"North Carolina Checking Stations and Roadblocks: How DUI Checkpoints Operate Under G.S. 20-16.3A\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"NC checking stations and roadblocks: DUI checkpoints, PBT tests, and defense strategies - Call Bill Powers &amp; the Powers Law Firm 704-342-4357\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DUI-CHECKPOINTS-IN-NORTH-CAROLINA.webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carolina Attorneys\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"North Carolina Checking Stations and Roadblocks: How DUI Checkpoints Operate Under G.S. 20-16.3A","description":"NC checking stations and roadblocks: DUI checkpoints, PBT tests, and defense strategies - Call Bill Powers & the Powers Law Firm 704-342-4357","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/north-carolina-checking-stations-and-roadblocks-how-dui-checkpoints-operate-under-g-s-20-16-3a\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"North Carolina Checking Stations and Roadblocks: How DUI Checkpoints Operate Under G.S. 20-16.3A","twitter_description":"NC checking stations and roadblocks: DUI checkpoints, PBT tests, and defense strategies - Call Bill Powers & the Powers Law Firm 704-342-4357","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DUI-CHECKPOINTS-IN-NORTH-CAROLINA.webp","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Carolina Attorneys","Est. reading time":"11 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/north-carolina-checking-stations-and-roadblocks-how-dui-checkpoints-operate-under-g-s-20-16-3a\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/north-carolina-checking-stations-and-roadblocks-how-dui-checkpoints-operate-under-g-s-20-16-3a\/"},"author":{"name":"Carolina Attorneys","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7b1994a08a51b357b94c69492e786113"},"headline":"North Carolina Checking Stations and Roadblocks: How DUI Checkpoints Operate Under G.S. 20-16.3A","datePublished":"2025-02-15T23:01:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/north-carolina-checking-stations-and-roadblocks-how-dui-checkpoints-operate-under-g-s-20-16-3a\/"},"wordCount":2419,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/north-carolina-checking-stations-and-roadblocks-how-dui-checkpoints-operate-under-g-s-20-16-3a\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DUI-CHECKPOINTS-IN-NORTH-CAROLINA.webp","keywords":["BILL POWERS","constitutional rights","DUI Checkpoints","dwi defense","Implied-Consent","North Carolina Checking Stations","Powers Law Firm","Roadblocks"],"articleSection":["DUI"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/north-carolina-checking-stations-and-roadblocks-how-dui-checkpoints-operate-under-g-s-20-16-3a\/","url":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/north-carolina-checking-stations-and-roadblocks-how-dui-checkpoints-operate-under-g-s-20-16-3a\/","name":"North Carolina Checking Stations and Roadblocks: How DUI Checkpoints Operate Under G.S. 20-16.3A","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/north-carolina-checking-stations-and-roadblocks-how-dui-checkpoints-operate-under-g-s-20-16-3a\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/north-carolina-checking-stations-and-roadblocks-how-dui-checkpoints-operate-under-g-s-20-16-3a\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DUI-CHECKPOINTS-IN-NORTH-CAROLINA.webp","datePublished":"2025-02-15T23:01:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolinaattorneys.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7b1994a08a51b357b94c69492e786113"},"description":"NC checking stations and roadblocks: DUI checkpoints, PBT tests, and defense strategies - 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