Our advice on how to avoid drunk driving charge, part 1
A DUI defense lawyer’s job seems quite obvious: to help defend someone from getting convicted of a DUI charge. A lot goes into a successful drunk driving conviction in Tennessee. Your attorney will address various matters that can lead to a false arrest or charge based on faulty evidence.
Experienced DUI attorneys also have learned from their work what drivers can do to try to avoid being charged with suspicion of drunk driving in the first place. The following are a few habits we suggest to you and other Tennessee motorists in hopes that you will never land in a law office, fighting a formal criminal charge for driving under the influence.
Sober driver: This probably sounds obvious. But when we say have a designated, sober driver, we mean that the person who is driving, whether it is you or a friend, should have consumed no alcohol. If the police smell alcohol on a driver’s breath they are more likely to investigate further and find reason to move forward with an arrest.
Buckle up: In Tennessee, not wearing a seat belt gives law enforcement cause to pull you over. Once a legal stop is in progress, a DUI investigation is more likely to follow if the officer finds reason (alcohol odor, slurred speech, etc.) to pursue one.
Vehicle care: The shape of your vehicle can also give police a reason to stop you and pull you over. For example, a broken tail light can begin what turns into a DUI investigation — and has in many DUI cases. Check your car and keep it in a condition that makes it legal to drive.
We will continue this list of advice in our next blog post. Sure, we pride ourselves in helping defend people’s freedoms from a DUI charge. But we know how crucial it is, too, to avoid an arrest entirely.