DRIVING

You may be interested to know that many people arrested for DUI were pulled over for non-DUI reasons! Perhaps you were speeding, but driving perfectly straight with no weaving whatsoever. Maybe you had a busted taillight and the officer pulled you over to issue you a citation. Maybe you weren't even driving, but had pulled over to the side of the road and the officer came upon you. None of these reasons, and many others, prove that you cannot drive with the characteristics of a sober person.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has produced a guide for detecting drunk drivers at night. These are the 20 signs that officers look for when determining whether to investigate for DUI:

• turning with wide radius
• straddling center of lane marker
• appearing to be drunk (based upon posture, gestures, etc.)
• almost striking object or vehicle
• weaving
• driving on other than designated roadway
• swerving
• speed (more than 10 miles below legal limit)
• stopping without cause in traffic lane
• following too closely
• drifting
• tires on center or lane marker
• braking erratically
• driving into opposing or crossing traffic
• signaling inconsistent with driving actions
• slow response to traffic signals
• stopping inappropriately (other than in a lane)
• turning abruptly or illegally
• accelerating or decelerating rapidly
• headlights off

If you were pulled over for a reason other than these top 20 clues, THIS IS POWERFUL IN THE HANDS OF AN AGGRESSIVE, KNOWLEDGEABLE CALIFORNIA CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY. If you were only speeding, this is not necessarily DUI.

If you were weaving, a good defense attorney will try and straighten you out. Maybe you weaved driving, but you pulled over to the side of the road perfectly. Maybe you weaved to avoid an object in the road, but then drove fine.

Talk to a Southern California criminal lawyer who is experienced in defending these types of cases before you do anything else.