Being pulled over by a police officer is a stressful experience. If you have an encounter of this kind, one of the first things you may want to know is why you were stopped. There are a variety of reasons, one of which is reasonable suspicion of impaired driving.
Typically, police officers will stop a vehicle if they notice a driver exhibiting signs of drunk driving. Some of these include swerving, stopping without a reason or driving too slowly. Other signs of impairment are also possible. Once the officer pulls you over for the suspicion of drunk driving, there are a few things that should know.
You have the right to remain silent
You have the right to remain silent when you’re interacting with the police officer. You have to provide them with basic information, such as your driver’s license, proof of insurance, name and vehicle registration. You don’t have to provide information about where you were, where you were going or what you had to drink. It may be best to let the officer know that you’re invoking your Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.
Impairment determination
If the officer still thinks you’re impaired after talking to you, they may try to determine if you’re too impaired to drive. This is often done through field sobriety tests and chemical tests. Some of these tests aren’t admissible in court. When it comes to field sobriety tests, only the three tests in the standardized field sobriety test are admissible. Results from a preliminary alcohol screening device test aren’t admissible, but stationary machine breath tests, as well as blood and urine tests are admissible.
Probable cause for an arrest
In order to arrest you, the officer must demonstrate that they have probable cause that shows you were impaired when you were operating the vehicle. They can’t arrest you only based on a suspicion that you were driving drunk.
If you’re arrested, you need to ensure you start working on your defense strategy. Given all that is at stake, it’s a good idea to have legal assistance as you’re working this out. These charges can result in serious penalties, which means that you’ll need to start treating your situation seriously right away.