Posted on 06/20/2013 3:18:55 PM PDT by kreitzer
What To Do If You’re Pulled Over And Arrested For DUI
Here’s the straight story on what to do if you’re pulled over and arrested for drunk driving.
1. Find a safe place to pull over.
Remember that, as soon as the police officer decides to pull you over for drunk driving (DUI/DWI), he starts making observations that he will put in the police report. This document can have a significant impact on the outcome of both your criminal trial and your DMV hearing. One of the first things the officer does is make a mental note of how you pull over. If you drive erratically, slow down too abruptly, or pull over in an unsafe location, the officer notes it in the report.
2. Don’t make any sudden movements.
Officers are trained to be cautious, and to protect themselves, first and foremost. They always approach the car from behind so they have a clear view, and so the driver would have to turn completely around in order to shoot or attack them. So, don’t make any sudden movements and keep your hands on the wheel at 10 and 2 o’clock.
3. Be polite.
The obvious reason to treat the officer respectfully is that you are far less likely to be arrested. If you’re rude or hostile, the officer is more likely do everything possible to get you convicted, including writing a very incriminating police report. If the officer asks you to step out of the vehicle, you must comply, otherwise you could be charged with resisting arrest.
4. Don’t answer any potentially incriminating questions, and don’t lie.
The anxiety of getting pulled over is something police officers count on. In this kind of situation, people are far more likely to incriminate themselves. You do have to give your name, license and registration to the police officer. But if the officer asks you if you’ve been drinking, or how much—and you're concerned that you might incriminate yourself—simply say, “I’m sorry, officer, but I’ve been advised not to answer any questions.”
If you have had only one or two drinks, say so. With very few exceptions, one or two drinks will not put you over the legal limit.
Lying, however, is never a good idea. If you answer a question, answer it truthfully. If you lie, and the officer knows it, the fact that you lied can be used against you in court.
5. Refuse a field sobriety test.
You are under no legal obligation to perform a field sobriety test. Field sobriety tests are one of the most effective tools at the officer’s disposal for collective evidence against you. That’s not because they are reliable indicators of intoxication. To the contrary, the value of FSTs is that they are entirely subjective. It’s completely up to the officer whether you “pass.” (For more information on the history and science behind FSTs, read the article “Are Field Sobriety Tests Accurate?”)
6. Refuse a hand-held breathalyzer.
Roadside breathalyzers (otherwise known as Preliminary Alcohol Screening tests or PASs) are notoriously unreliable, and there are countless ways to skew their results. (For more information about hand-held breathalyzers, read the article “How Police Officers Influence Breathalyzer Results”).
7. Take a chemical test at the police station.
You are obligated by law to take a chemical test at the police station. In most states, you can choose between a blood test or breath test. Many DUI lawyers advise people to take the breath tests because they're more unreliable, so their validity can be more effectively attacked in court. (For more information on the myriad problems with the breath tests, read the article “The Unreliability of the Breath Test.”)
8. Once you’ve been released, write down everything that you can remember about the night.
The more notes you take about your arrest, the easier it will be for your attorney to fight the charges against you. Include in your notes things like the following.
—what you were doing and where you were doing before you drove
—how much you had to drink
—how long after you were arrested
—how the officer behaved, any instructions he gave you
—what you said to the officer
—where you were pulled over
—when and if you were read your Miranda rights
—when you took the chemical test and how long it had been since your drank
Write down everything that you can think of, even if it doesn’t strike you as relevant.
9. Contact an attorney.
You both need and deserve an experienced DUI defense attorney who will fight for your rights. The single most important thing you can do for yourself is to find a qualified attorney who knows DUI law. (For more information on how to choose the best lawyer, read the article “How to pick a DUI attorney—know what questions to ask.”)
“Hubby hit a cow and wrecked our truck recently, officers on the scene wanted him to take a field sobriety test but he explained to them that he had a stroke a few years ago and his slight impairment would likely cause him to fail the test. He offered to do a breath test and he did, had not been drinking. He said the officers were very professional and did not question his not wanting to do the field sobriety, guess they had common sense.”
What was the legal consequences that the court imposed upon your husband? I suspect that there were none, but wanted to confirm. Until then, let’s take a look at the facts as you have presented them:
1. Your husband is an impaired driver every time he drives.
2. Your husband caused property damage that impacted someone’s livelihood.
3. The situation and result did not involve alcohol.
4. The result was worse than what most DUI arrested drivers have caused to others.
I am not an advocate of allowing impaired driving, however I am an advocate of taking appropriate punitive action against any driver that causes property or personal damage to any other party.
I had a friend killed on his morning commute to work by a lady that was texting and rear ended him at a speed of 45-60 mph. She never spent a day in jail. I also have a friend that received a DUI and spent 90 days in jail, he had never caused another person any property damage or bodily harm.
This clear difference has trained society to consider driving after consuming ANY alcohol to be very dangerous, and it can be. However, it has also made people think that other wreckless actions are not dangerous when driving.
While this situation has done much in the area of revenue collection, it has actually made the roads more dangerous.
“For whatever reason you’re stopped, if at night, turn on the interior lights in an attempt to further defuse the situation.”
Actually, the opposit is true. I never would have thought it, but I just spoke with a police officer about it and he said that you should leave your interior lights off. It allows their flash lights to be more effective...I suppose that after their approach to your car, then turning them on would be helpful.
(No, I wasn’t pulled over, this conversation occured in a civilian setting. ;-)
What about keeping a small bottle of liquor under the front seat and drinking it in front of the cop after he pulls you over?
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I read a news story years back (think it was from New York) where someone was in an accident ... ran to a nearby liquor store and consumed mass quantities ... they couldn’t charge him despite an elevated BAC because it couldn’t be proven that the alcohol was there before the accident and of course he had the receipt and witnesses showing consumption afterwards... I think he also had the good sense to NOT return to the (undrivable) car as just sitting in it would have re-opened the timeline for alcohol and being in the car.
DUI stands for driving under the influence. Here, it used to be DWI, driving while intoxicated. I just wonder, how many more people are driving under the influence of narcotics (prescribed or not), or otherwise driving impaired? What tests have you ever heard being used for these people.
I’ll answer my own question. Pretty much none. So, let’s demonize drinkers, and let Mrs Jones, who’s driving around with 3 lortabs, or her daily dose of “nerve pills” drive around with no consequences.
Hubby is not an impaired driver, he is an impaired walker- he walks normally but cannot do the heel toe thing, or one foot at a time type thing- between being blown up and having a slight stroke his balance is not 100%. He is good to go on the rest. He was not charged with anything. Our insurance paid for the cow. People hit cows on the roads here at night all the time- we still have open range areas, hubby has only hit one in his lifetime so I don’t see him as a driving risk or a huge risk to cows. In fact hubby has only been in three wrecks- one a deputy sheriff ran a red light (not in pursuit) t-boned hubby, then about 10 years later hubby hit a deer- then recently the cow. Good you are concerned with property damage- when our livestock is killed on the road the driver usually flees and we don’t get paid but we would not do that to anyone else. You sure do assume a lot...
You posted: “he explained to them that he had a stroke a few years ago and his slight impairment would likely cause him to fail the test.”
It isn’t much of an assumption to link driving capability to your statement regarding impairement. In addition, you skipped over the point of my post. Your husband still did more than the vast majority of DUI arrests, yet there was no court involvement at all (it sounds like none was necessary as you made the owner of the cow whole.)
As a society we find it acceptable to not jail folks that cause property damage (your hubby) or others that actually kill people (my friend as one example) so long as those drivers had not consumed alcohol. Yet, we also find it acceptable to continue to increase the penalties and jail time requirements for others that never caused property damage or bodily harm to others.
This dicotomy has created a more dangerous driving situation. While I think your husbands situation may be entirely proper and that the driver that killed my friend should certainly be imprisoned for a very long time, I am wondering, how is the result of their situations somehow LESS damaging now than if they had been consuming alcohol?
I would prefer that all negligent drivers be treated equally, regardless of alcohol consumption. One could make the property owners’ whole, as you have done, or one could face long term prison sentences if their driving negligence causes the death of someone. It should not be that one can cause no harm, but because of some politically popular number be imprisoned while others cause harm and have much less repercussions.
While some FReepers celebrate....
That change from DWI to DUI just threw the barn door open to the possibilities of being charged... laws used to mean something ,, now everything is an open ended fishing expedition ,, and of course by leaving everything so loose it makes defending near impossible and incredible expensive.
Roger that. An attorney buddy shared his DUI checklist with me years ago. That step was on the list.
I have never been a fan of the draconian laws of DUI, they have no common sense and do not do what they claim. The repeat DUI offender, absolute alcoholic that is going to drive no matter what- still does... Many people that are not impaired but may be close or a spec over legal on the breath test after one or two drinks often have their lives ruined.
You are worried about fair...did you know that until just a few years ago there was a separate DUI court system for minorities in Phoenix, Arizona? Yep the minorities- it was set up mostly for illegals- were given shorter sentences and lesser fines because it was felt that they were from another culture where it was ok and they were also poor. Until the program came to the attention of the public in Arizona that brought enough pressure to make them stop illegals were getting a slap on the wrist and citizens were getting nailed to the wall for the very same offense.
OK, first I've heard of that. Makes sense.
Evidently being able to see into the future is a side benefit of copping an attitude.
Well said.
Absolutely.
Learn it, love it, live it.
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