Here are five simple steps that you can follow to help avoid a DUI arrest:
First of all, do not give the cops any reason to look twice at your car. Stay out of the fast lane, use your signals, and make sure that your car is in perfect working order. All of the lights on the vehicle need to be in working order and must be turned on at night. That means that there should be no burnt out lights in the vehicle’s front or back or even the third break light. (And keep an eye out for the parking lot valets who love to move your driver’s seat and turn the headlights off!) There should be no tinted car windows where they don’t belong. True, we could win a case that has been brought due to an unsubstantiated stop by the police. But, it is not worth the risk so don’t invite it to occur. Also, make sure that the car registration is current and the tag/sticker is fixed in the proper location.
A second thing to remember is that bars generally close at 2:00 a.m., and the cops know it. Stay off the road from 1:30 to 2:30-ish in the morning! Cops wait in their cars outside of bars and restaurants at closing time hoping to make a DUI arrest. They can follow you until they see what they determine to be a vehicle code violation; then they can stop you. Also, on the freeway the CHP can interpret normal driving behavior as “suspicious” and possibly a DUI simply because it is around 2:00 a.m. When you exit a bar, leave early, leave late, or leave your car.
Third, if you do get stopped, don’t admit to anything. Cops will ask you a lot of questions. Every one of those questions is designed to incriminate you. You have the right to remain silent; use it. Every question the cops ask, from how many have you had to where you are going, is asked for a reason, and it is not to help you! Tell the cops that you have an attorney friend who advised you not to talk to police or answer their questions. Be nice and polite but firm that you will give the cop your name, license, and insurance but not answer any questions.
Fourth, field sobriety tests are voluntary. Don’t do them. Field sobriety tests are open to interpretation and are designed to make you fail. Tell the cop that you have heard that the field sobriety tests are flawed and unreliable. Elect not to participate in a dog and pony show on the side of the road. You don’t have to do field sobriety tests.
Fifth, do not take a preliminary alcohol screening (PAS) test. Let us be very careful here; remember that you must submit to a chemical test of breath or blood (possibly urine). However, a PRELIMINARY test is not required. If the cops say that it is voluntary then don’t do it.
If the cops do arrest you, choose to take a blood test. Blood test results are not immediately available to the cops, leading to more honest reports. Also blood testing is more complicated to interpret than a breath test, requiring scientific analysis by a lab, thus allowing for more areas of attack. A blood test also allows your attorney to conduct a more complete analysis of the sample, which the crime lab will not do for you.
To properly defend your rights you will have to hire a skilled and knowledgeable DUI defense attorney. DUI cases are not simple matters like a traffic ticket. DUIs are some of the most complicated criminal matters that exist. Hiring a DUI defense attorney is money well spent. Once you hire a good DUI defense attorney, your stress level will go down; the outcome of your case will improve; and you will likely save more money than the attorney will charge.
This article does not form an attorney client relationship and should not be used as legal advice for any particular legal matter. Each DUI case is unique and must be evaluated on its own merits.
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