These Defenses To Drunk Driving Are Common

You’re pulled over for suspicion of drunk driving, arrested at the scene and taken to a local jail in Honolulu for processing. Although your mind is racing and you have concerns about the future, it’s critical to calm down and think long and hard about the steps you can take to protect your legal rights.

It’s critical to remember that a criminal charge of drunk driving is not the same as a conviction. You’ll have your day in court, and when you do it’s your time to defend yourself against the charges.

Here are four defenses to drunk driving to consider:

• Rising blood alcohol level: A lot of time can elapse between when you’re first pulled over to when the officer administers a Breathalyzer test (or another type). It’s possible that your blood alcohol concentration level will increase during that time, meaning that you weren’t over the legal limit when you were driving.

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• Improper stop: Although police are cracking down on driving under the influence of alcohol, they must have probable cause to make a traffic stop. You can argue that the officer lacked probable cause, meaning that the charges shouldn’t stand.
• Accuracy and administration of field sobriety tests: Field sobriety tests can have inaccurate results. For example, if the officer didn’t properly administer the test, the results may be skewed.
• Accuracy and administration of a Breathalyzer test: Even though Breathalyzer tests are designed for accuracy, there are situations in which they return false results. A common example is if the device is improperly maintained and calibrated by the police department.

Since no two DUI cases are identical, you can’t choose a defense strategy based on what everyone else is doing. But even so, there’s a good chance that one or more of the strategies above will put you in position to beat your charges.

Don’t fall prey to the belief that a DUI arrest will automatically result in a conviction and serious consequences. The steps that you take during your arrest and leading up to your court date will help you protect your legal rights. Subsequently, you’re in better position to avoid the serious consequences typically associated with a conviction.