Although DUI arrests take place all year long there always seem to be more during the Christmas and New Year holiday season. Everyone should know by now that you should not drink (or drug) and drive. Let me repeat that. You should not drink (or drug) and drive. For those who do so anyway I will list a few things you should keep in mind.
- You are not required to take field tests if they are offered to you. Typically, police officers will ask people they suspect of DUI to perform field sobriety tests such as the heel to toe test, the finger to nose test etc. You do not have to take any of them but it is a mistake to say you are “too drunk to do them”
- You are requred to submit to a breath test or a blood test if you are caught driving on a public road and you do not get to choose which. If you are caught driving on private property you do not have to take a blood or breath test and should not do so unless you are certain of a favorable result. i.e. no illicit drugs and no alcohol.
- You can refuse to answer questions about how much you have had to drink or when you last had something to drink.
- If you are in an accident you should turn off the engine, take the keys out of the ignition and get out of the vehicle. You should also check to make sure no one was hurt but do not run away.
- If you have had something to drink after getting out of the car the Commonwealth (prosecutor) will not be able to prove from a breath or blood test what your BAC was at the time you were driving.
- You do not have to help them prove the case against you.
- A taxi ride is normally much less expensive that a DUI conviction.
- Be careful out there and don’t drink (or drug) and drive.
