You’re out with your friends having a great time and you are the designated driver. You are close to your house when you notice the red and blue lights behind you, so you immediately pull over.
What do you do? First, do not panic! Stay calm. Easy right? You will want to follow the officer’s instructions and provide him/her with your driver’s license, registration and insurance. Be polite to the officer and do not give him any reason to believe you are doing anything other than simply driving home. The officer will ask if you have been drinking, DO NOT LIE! Everyone tells the officer they have only had 1 or 2 drinks. You can simply answer that you do not answer questions. Be sure to still be polite when saying this. If you did not drink then tell them you did not drink and why, i.e., because you were the designated driver. He or she will ask you step out of the vehicle and perform some field sobriety tests such as the walk and turn, the finger to nose test, the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus and the finger count. There is a huge misconception that you must perform the field sobriety tests, you DO NOT! This is more ammunition for the officer to arrest you and to show that you were impaired at the time you were driving. You can kindly tell him that you do not submit to tests, but you would submit to any chemical tests he or she requests.
You also do not have to blow into their portable breath test, which is the handheld machine they carry with them. However, if the officer requests that you submit to a chemical test such as a blood draw or to blow into the intoxilyzer machine, DO IT! If you refuse to allow them to withdraw your blood or refuse to blow into the intoxilyzer, the officer will get a search warrant, obtain the blood without your consent and you will lose your license for 1 year.
If you get stopped for a DUI, stay calm, be polite and know what your rights. At any time you can request to speak with a qualified Arizona DUI Lawyer, and you should. Call us and we can help.
-Ben Dodge, Esq.,
Founder – Managing Partner
