How Do Police Decide Who To Pull Over For A DUI Stop?
Swerving in a roadway is going to cause a police officer to pull you over. Crossing a double yellow line is going to cause a police officer to pull you over. If there’s an accident they’re going to come over and obviously see what’s going on, that does lead to DWI arrest quite often. Sometimes a member of the public will call and say that they have a car and give the license plate and say this person was swerving and hitting a curb and driving erratically, and the police will respond to that. Then also high speed too would be a reason for them to pull someone over on a suspicion of DUI.
Will You Be Told By The Police When You’ve Been Pulled Over on Suspicion of DUI?
Typically they’re pulling you over for another reason, because they don’t know that you’re under the influence until they come up and they actually speak to you. You could be driving erratically or hitting the curb because you’re reaching for something in the car, or maybe you’re texting or on the phone or something. They’re not going to know that you’re under the influence of anything until they approach you and begin to speak with you.
Are Police Allowed to Escalate a Broken Taillight or Other Traffic Infractions Straight to DUI Investigation?
Yes. If a police officer is following a car that has a broken taillight and for that purposes it could be a brake light that’s out or any light that’s out. I always tell people that even the small lights that will illuminate a license plate. You maybe think about that stuff but those things being either broken or out can give a police officer a reason to pull you over. If they approach the car and they begin to talk to you about why is your taillight out or why is it broken, then that can lead to a faint smell alcohol or looking like you’re under the influence or something that could escalate to a DUI arrest.
Are There Certain Criteria that Officers Follow for a DUI Traffic Stop?
First thing they’re going to do is talk to the operator of the vehicle and they’re going to try and see if they smell alcohol in their breath. They’re going to try to see if they have bloodshot or glassy eyes. They’re going to try to see if they have slurred speech. They’re going to observe their mannerisms, how they act and whether they’re fumbling for paperwork.
If they feel it’s enough to get them out of the car to then give them roadside sobriety tests, then they’re going to move to that step which could include a number of things: walk and turn, one leg stand, the horizontal gaze nystagmus tests, and then ultimately a trip to the police station if they feel that they’re under the influence, and then comes the breath test.
Is it Entrapment When Police Are Allowed to Sit Outside of a Bar or Night Club and Target People Leaving?
There’s nothing to say that a police officer can’t sit out in front of a bar and watch the patrons leaving. Arguing entrapment would fail, because if you come out of a bar and you clearly shouldn’t be driving and you get into a car and you turn on the ignition, you start to drive and then you’re breaking the law whether there’s a police officer sitting 10 feet away or whether you see them somewhere on your way home. There are no issues there. I don’t have any problems with officers waiting outside of bars looking for people driving drunk.
Can A Person Refuse to Get Out of The Car?
Police have the right to ask you to step of the car if they feel that there is a reasonable suspicion that you’re operating it under the influence. Indicators like slurred speech, glassy eyes, bloodshot eyes, smell of alcohol give them the right to ask you to get out of the car. If you refuse to get out of the car they’re probably going to assist you in getting out of the car and you may subject yourself to another charge of interfering with an officer.
Does A Driver Have the Right to Refuse Answering Questions Asked by the Police?
You can refuse to answer a police officer’s questions anytime. Let’s say you get pulled over and the officer starts asking you questions and you just decide not to speak anymore. Of course you can do that. I’m not sure it’s going to help your situation, because again an officer by observation, not by necessarily speech, that’s just one small factor, but certainly by observation would be able to determine if you’re operating under the influence or not. Remember, slurred speech is just one of the things they’re looking for, but you can sure stop talking.
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