If a law enforcement officer has stopped you on your way back from a night out, here is how you should handle the situation to avoid a DUI arrest in Greenville. Do not panic if you are under the influence while driving and see red flashing lights in the rear-view mirror. The way you interact with the police officer while you have stopped matters the most. To clarify further, here is what you should do after the DUI arrest in Greenville.
During The Initial Stop
You can turn the circumstance in your favor if you handle the situation without panicking. Obviously, when you are suddenly stopped, and the law enforcement officer stands over you with a gun and the power to arrest, the situation is far from staying calm.
Regardless of how nervous you may be, the first thing to remember is to stay calm and exercise your full rights during the encounter. Most probably, the police officer may have stopped your vehicle for minor reasons like a red-light violation, erratic driving, or any other traffic violation and not basically as a DUI checkpoint.
Use the benefit of the doubt in your favor as the police officer should have ‘reasonable suspicion of a crime to justify the stop. In this case, the driver should be smart enough not to give away. During the initial stop, if the situation is going out of hand, you have all the right to take the help of an experienced DUI attorney.
The Interaction
The interaction between police and driver is essential to save your case. The police officer will find reasons to turn their suspicion (i.e., collect evidence for the arrest) into confirmation depending on how you respond to the questions asked.
First, you should confidently be able to produce your driving license and registration documents without fumbling for them. You should have them in your hand by the time police reaches you.
The most common questions you should have answers for include:
- Where have you been coming from?
- How many drinks did you have?
- Have you been drinking?
Though you have the right to remain silent, it is advisable to answer them politely. If you are too drunk to give away, you can remain silent and ask the police officer to speak to your lawyer first. Even if the officer doesn’t allow you to do so, you can still refrain from answering questions.
Field Sobriety Tests
Thereafter, the police officer can ask you to perform SFST (Standardized Field Sobriety Tests) for them. There are three such tests as recognized by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). These are:
- Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus(HGN)
- One-leg stand test
- Walk and turn test
These three tests are asked to be performed to check the presence of intoxication. However, these tests are still insufficient to find out you are drunk or not, as there could be many reasons why people may fail this test despite being non-intoxicated and get a DUI arrest in Greenville. These reasons could be illness, poor lighting, lack of body coordination, tight clothing, improper footwear, disability, and many other reasons.
The case can be turned in your favor in the following circumstances:
- Provide challenging evidence that provides why you failed the walk and turn test
- The HGN results are not accompanied by the other two tests
- The HGN test result is not accurate enough
Should You Agree To Perform Sobriety Tests?
If you are confident enough to perform these tests successfully, there is no reason to decline the offer. As not agreeing to perform these tests before a police officer will provide them with more evidence and justify your DUI arrest in Greenville.
It should also be considered that you should refrain from performing such tests by providing reasonable reasons like wearing inappropriate clothes, dealing with physical illness, etc.
Formal Chemical Testing
If situations turn out into your official police arrest, thereafter, you will be transported to a place for chemical testing. Here you will have to submit the breath, urine, or blood test to check the presence of intoxication.
Again, refusing to submit the test will have its own consequences like driving license confiscation, penalties, and further adding evidence to support your arrest.
Your driving license can also be suspended if the BAC is found to be 0.15% or higher in your chemical test. The period for which the license will be suspended depends on the BAC level and your previous DUI/DUAC records.
Final Words
You don’t necessarily need to have your family lawyer to be able to contact him. You can always contact our DUI lawyers to support your case anytime, even during the police interrogation and DUI arrest in Greenville as well.