Avoid a DUI Charge This Holiday Season
Every day, nearly 30 people die due to impaired driving. In 2018, 10,511 people died due to alcohol-impaired crashes, while 108 fatalities that year occurred from drunk driving crashes on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve alone. In the month of December 2018 altogether, 839 people died in alcohol-related crashes.
As such, National Impaired Driving Prevention Month recognizes the devastation caused by impaired driving and aims to combat these tragedies by raising awareness about the prevention of such actions. Since 1981, every US president proclaimed December as National Drunk & Drugged Driving Prevention Month, or, more recently, National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, therefore it comes as no surprise that law enforcement officers are extra vigilant for DUI suspects this month.
Don’t become another statistic.
Instead, learn about the signs of DUI that police officers are trained to identify and how you can best avoid getting arrested, injured, or worse, killed. Continue reading below.
Detecting DUI Motorists: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration compiled a visual detection guide to help police officers identify DUI drivers. The following five categories contain specific cues of DUI that you should be aware of. They include:
Problems Maintaining Proper Lane Position
- Weaving
- Straddling a lane line
- Swerving
- Turning with a wide radius
- Drifting
Speed and Braking Problems
- Stopping problems (too far, too short, or too jerky)
- Accelerating or decelerating for no apparent reason
- Slow speed (10+ mph under the limit)
Vigilance Problems
- Driving in opposing lanes or wrong way on one-way
- Slow response to traffic signals
- Stopping in a lane for no apparent reason
- Driving without headlights at night
Judgment Problems
- Following too closely
- Improper or unsafe lane change
- Illegal or improper turn (too fast, jerky, sharp, etc.)
- Driving on other than the designated roadway
- Appearing to be impaired
With this in mind, you may be wondering how to avoid encountering the police. The thought of getting pulled over and potentially charged with DUI can be terrifying, therefore our Columbia DUI lawyer urges you to consider the following tips to best avoid a DUI accusation:
- Stay overnight at a friend’s house
- Book a hotel or motel
- Utilize rideshare services like Uber or Lyft
- Designate a sober driver (“DD”)
- Don’t mix alcohol with prescription medications
- Do not drink if you plan on driving afterward
- If you are 100% sober, drive defensively
Even if you took every precaution to avoid getting a DUI, you may still end up in handcuffs. As such, our attorneys are ready to go the extra mile to defend your charges and champion your best interests from start to finish. Our mission is to get your charges reduced or dismissed completely so you can move forward.
We’re ready to build your DUI defense strategy when you are. To get started, contact us at (803) 938-4952!