One key component of a DUI stop is that a police officer needs to have reasonable suspicion in order to stop the vehicle. There needs to be a valid reason for that initial traffic stop.
In other words, police officers are prohibited from randomly stopping vehicles with the express purpose of looking for someone who seems to be impaired. This is why police officers do not just wait outside of a bar, for example. Even though they know that people coming from the bar may have been drinking, they need to have reasonable suspicion before they can stop that vehicle.
What are some examples?
There are many different examples of things that could constitute reasonable suspicion, often revolving around driving mistakes that are more common with impaired drivers. Examples include:
- Driving at night with the headlights off
- Swerving back and forth within the traffic lane
- Driving the wrong way down an interstate or one-way street
- Straddling the centerline
- Slowly reacting to traffic signals, such as green lights or red lights
- Having a near miss or almost being involved in a traffic accident
- Making unsure or unsteady maneuvers, such as an unnecessarily wide turn
- Excessively speeding or driving well below the posted speed limit
Once an officer sees these types of mistakes, they can then institute the traffic stop. This may lead to more evidence of impaired driving, such as when the officer asks the driver to perform field sobriety tests or take a breath test.
But if there was no reasonable suspicion, then the stop itself may have been illegal. This is an important detail to consider when facing charges and looking into all of your legal defense options.