Police officers need to have a reason to pull a car over, and they can’t just perform random stops and then look for a violation after the fact. This is why a police officer can’t sit outside a bar and pull over every driver who gets in the car. Technically, the officer has no reason to believe that a person is impaired until they make a driving mistake.
So, what types of mistakes do the police look for? This can be very important to focus on because of the requirement of reasonable suspicion. Below are a few examples.
Basic driving mistakes
For one thing, police will just look for drivers who make clear errors. Maybe someone is driving at night, but they didn’t turn on their lights. Maybe a driver ran a stop sign or a red light, looking as if they never saw it. Perhaps the driver was involved in a near miss and almost caused an accident.
Lack of control
The police will also watch for drivers who just seem not to be fully in control of their vehicle. Maybe they’re straddling the center line or swerving back and forth in their lane. Maybe they’re accelerating and decelerating rapidly. Perhaps a traffic light turns green, and the driver doesn’t move.
Your defense options
If you’ve been arrested for drunk driving, you may attest that there was no reason for the police officer to stop you and that you didn’t make any of the aforementioned driving mistakes. It’s very important to understand all of your rights as a driver and the legal defense options you have, as a DUI conviction can lead to fines, jail time and other serious ramifications.
