Follow these 7 tips to reduce your risk of being arrested and needing a Huntington Beach DUI attorney
Encountering a DUI checkpoint can be intimidating for any driver, especially if you have had a drink in the past few hours and aren’t sure what your blood alcohol level might be. Here are 7 tips to help your DUI checkpoint experience pass as uneventfully as possible and hopefully prevent you from needing a Huntington Beach DUI attorney.
1. Don’t drink and drive. This one should be obvious, but it bears mentioning anyway. The single most effective way to avoid getting arrested at a DUI checkpoint is not to have alcohol in your system at all. Try to postpone driving until after the alcohol has had time to work its way through your system, or else call a cab or a have a sober friend drive.
2. Don’t drive erratically near DUI checkpoints. While you are allowed to turn around to avoid a DUI checkpoint, you must do so in a safe manner. If you make an illegal U-turn or break any other traffic laws, an officer may decide to stop you, test you, and arrest you, and you’ll have to call a Huntington Beach DUI attorney. The same goes if you drive overly slowly through the checkpoint or display other signs of impaired driving ability.
3. Don’t keep open alcohol containers in your car. You might get a ticket for having an open alcohol container in the car with you, or the officer may decide you need to do a Breathalyzer test or a field sobriety test even though you seem perfectly sober. Alcohol bottles may also give an officer probable cause to search your vehicle.
4. Don’t sass the officer. You are within your rights to refuse certain types of DUI tests and/or refuse to answer questions about your alcohol consumption at a DUI checkpoint. However, you should refuse your consent in a calm and civil manner and avoid antagonizing the officer with rude language or aggressive movements.
5. Don’t get surprised by DUI checkpoints. Law enforcement must publicize the locations of DUI checkpoints in advance. By keeping on top of planned DUI checkpoints, you can alter your driving route and your drinking behavior as necessary.
6. Don’t agree to DUI field testing. You are not required to perform DUI field tests such as reciting the alphabet backwards, walking a line, following a pen with your eyes, etc. In fact, it is never in your best interests to do so as it could possibly result in the creation of evidence against you. If an officer asks you to perform a field test, politely decline. They may have already made up their mind to arrest you, but at least you won’t be helping them build their case.
7. Don’t agree to a Breathalyzer unless required by law. In most cases, you have the right to refuse a Breathlyzer at the DUI checkpoint. However, if you do this you will be arrested and taken to the police station, where you will have to take a blood or breath test. However, this can still be advantageous to you, as your blood alcohol level may drop in the time it takes to process you and deliver you to the station.
If you are arrested after stopping at a DUI checkpoint, be sure to call an expert Huntington Beach DUI attorney like Dan E. Chambers as soon as possible. Dan will begin working to undermine the police’s cases against you immediately, and also help you with the process of scheduling a DMV hearing to get your license back.
