Many DUI stops happen when people are heading home from the bar at the end of the night. This is why there is often a jump in DUI statistics when people turn 21. It is not that they were not drinking before that, but being able to go to a bar, club or restaurant means that there are more transportation needs. Incorporating driving into the equation leads to these arrests.
But with this in mind, why would the police not just wait outside of the bar? They know that many of these drivers may be impaired or even well over the legal limit. So why not just sit out front of a well-known bar and pull over every driver who leaves?
They need reasonable and articulable suspicion
The reason that the police do not do this is that they cannot just randomly pull vehicles over and look for drunk drivers. Instead, they need reasonable and articulable suspicion that the driver is impaired, or they need another valid reason to stop the car.
For instance, a police officer may see someone roll through a stop sign, and that gives them cause to stop the vehicle. They do not know that the driver is impaired, but they can still pull them over. In another case, an officer may see someone swerving back and forth in their lane and determine that the driver is drunk. This also gives them a reason for the traffic stop.
But randomly stopping every vehicle leaving the bar would be a violation of those drivers’ rights. As such, the evidence could not be used in court, and the DUI charges often would not stick.
Your legal defense options
It is important to understand how drunk driving laws work and all of the legal defense options you have if you find yourself facing serious charges.
