However, there are other ways DUI arrests are made, and steps you can take to help avoid them.
Keep Your Car Maintained
Police officers often pull over cars for a variety of minor infractions, including a taillight that isn't working properly or expired registration. Once the officer has pulled you over, he can establish “reasonable articulable suspicion” through a variety of ways, such as smelling the odor of alcohol coming from your vehicle. This reasonable articulable suspicion allows him or her to conduct sobriety tests. A DUI arrest can happen even if the officer never witnesses any impaired driving. However, most of these minor infractions, from having a taillight out to a cracked window, are preventable before you get in the car.
Doing all of the little things right—signaling before changing lanes, following the speed limit and coming to a full stop at stop signs—can prevent a traffic stop before it happens.
When You’ve Been Stopped
Make sure that you have your license, registration and insurance card ready to go when the police officer approaches the car. This shows that you’re alert and understand the situation.
The police officer will probably ask if you’ve been drinking. If you say you have been drinking, that alone does not give the officer enough information to administer field sobriety tests. However, an odor of alcohol plus red and glassy eyes and/or slurred speech will give the officer enough reasonable articulable suspicion to request that you perform field sobriety tests.
If the officer insists that you perform field sobriety tests he or she may ask you to perform a variety tests. These tests are used to establish whether you are driving while impaired or under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Whether you take these tests is your decision and is dependent on your particular circumstances. You should know that neither field sobriety tests nor breathalyzers are always reliable, and each test must be completed in a manner consistent with a set of tight restrictions. If not, the DUI arrest can be contested in court.
DUI Traffic stops can be some of the most traumatic and troublesome experiences an individual can experience. Things get nothing but worse if you are arrested and charged with a DUI offense. The good news is that an arrest does not necessarily mean that you will be convicted, and it certainly doesn’t mean that you are guilty of driving under the influence or driving while impaired. If you are in need of legal assistance with a DWI or DUI matter in Maryland, count on Alpert Schreyer, LLC. For decades, Alpert Schreyer's Maryland drunk driving attorneys have delivered positive results time and again. Get a free consultation with an attorney by dialing 1-866-952-1500, or explore our DUI informational site at Maryland-dui.com to learn more about the firm's history, philosophy and experience.
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