The MADD people will be all over me for this one, so let me point out that MADD should really be named MAADD, Mothers Advertising Against Drunk Driving. They spend most of their dollars on advertising – which, unlike other charities, actually makes sense in their case.

What makes me want the question put to a vote is, the statistics. My memory was that for every thousand people stopped last year, something like three charges were laid. The police, again this from memory, said that that proved how effective the RIDE stops were.

I disagree.

Firstly, I am sure I could tell you where to set up a RIDE check and get much more than a 0.3% hit rate. I am sure that one tavern I might name would stridently object to its clientele being so discriminated against. Perhaps the MADD people should find some way to let patrons of establishments know that a designated driver, a cold-sober one, is needed to get out of the parking lot. I think that makes sense. I think that not doing the spot check in such locations is gambling with lives.

Secondly, I am sure I could find a better use of police force time than a generic checkpoint in a generic area.

Thirdly, I am pretty sure most of us would agree that the annoyance of being stopped for no reason, with very little to show for it, does not particularly help the police image.

Doing it this way, with steadily decreasing results, looks to me like a second-class use of time. What do you think?