Things To Know If You Are Stopped For Dui

By Author: Leonard Simmons
Total Articles: 152
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As a drunk driving defense attorney will tell you, perhaps the most important thing to remember when stopped on suspicion of a DUI (driving under the influence) is that you have agreed to implied consent when you applied for a driver’s license. Implied consent means you gave implied permission to submit to a test of your blood alcohol level, and it does not require direct, express, or explicit words of agreement. It can be refused, in the moment of the roadside stop, which often results in separate penalties.

So, what does this mean when an officer pulls someone over on suspicion of drunken-driving? Here is an example of the implied consent law, which exists in all states. The Pennsylvania statute reads: “Any person who drives, operates or is in actual physical control of the movement of a motor vehicle in this Commonwealth shall be deemed to have given consent to one or more chemical tests of breath, blood or urine for the purpose of determining the alcoholic content of blood or the presence of a controlled substance if a police officer has reasonable grounds to believe the person to have been driving, operating ...
... or in actual physical control of the movement of a motor vehicle ….” – Statute 1547

Refusal to submit to chemical testing, whether by breath, urine or blood will result in the suspension of a driver’s license for 12 months in Pennsylvania. It is the officer’s duty to make drivers aware of the license suspension if the suspect refuses to test. While refusal is a right, many drivers do it because they think they have been caught “red handed”. Bear in mind that test results can be challenged later.

If a driver is charged with a DUI, the attorney will try to have the charge thrown out, or the charge may be fought in court. Your lawyer may advise you to take a plea bargain, if the offer is attractive relative to the circumstances of your arrest. However, if a lawyer can find a significant flaw in the testing protocol executed by the officer, a charge will be nullified. This can be done in a number of ways; one popular method is calling into question the reliability of a breathalyzer device. In the past, many cases have been thrown out due to unreliable technology associated with breath testers. Contact a criminal defense lawyer for more information about a DUI.

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