What to do when you get pulled over while intoxicated?

It’s never happened to me, but if it did, and to the best of my impaired ability—and of course this assumes that the policeman was doing his job correctly, I would do EXACTLY what I was asked to do.

I wouldn’t be very happy but I would comply with what they asked me to do. Assuming my judgment is impaired from my decision to drink and drive, I’d just accept the punishment and be grateful later on that I didn’t hurt anyone or myself.

Ask to have your attorney present when they test you, it probably won’t work, but you can try.

Claim to be from a religion that prohibits taking blood.

hands on the steering wheel at 2 and 10 o’clock and no sudden movements. but, hey, you know you been drinking and so does the cop. follow the direct orders and take it like a man (or woman.)

resistance or denial or aggression will just make it worse. you’ve been busted.

Step out of the car and vomit on the peace officer.

@ratboy not a good idea. You have just turned a misdemenor DUI into a felony Assault if the cop wants to be a hardcase.

Well I understand that you should probably do what they say, but I hear for example the Breathalyzer is required to be calibrated, and the officer has to be certified to use it?

So say for example you refuse field sobriety tests, they give you a hard time, then you take the Breathalyzer test, it says your drunk, you’re booked into jail.

However if you hire an attorney, wouldn’t they have a better fighting chance because you didn’t take the sobriety tests so you couldn’t prove that you were drunk, and just by chance the Breathalyzer wasn’t calibrated?

I could be way off about the calibration, or certifited to use it, but I’m just throwin it out there

@wgallios, my friend, take care not to believe everything you hear regarding this issue. I suspect at last some of the information about being stopped for DWI comes from anti-authority types and people you have been stopped (rightly or wrongly) and have a bone to pick.

Mythbusters did something about beating a DUI a few years ago. I believe they didn’t find any good way of beating the charge except having a designated driver.

@WestRiverrat I think I remember that episode now that you mention it.

Infact I think I found it on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RIbanu0I4k

I would admit to drinking and I would do whatever I was asked to do.

I don’t think I have told this story on here before. Stop me if you heard it.

My friend Sally is a free-spirit.
She was at a party years ago, and two policemen came to ask them to turn the music down.
Sally has a thing for cops, so she flirted a bit with them at the door. As they walked away, she followed them down the front path, to the sidewalk. When she got to the sidewalk, the cops turned, looked at her, and arrested her for being intoxicated in public. While arresting her, the put her, handcuffed, in the squad car, and because she was fighting, she caught her finger on the seat, breaking her finger. She spent the night in the drunk tank, and got her finger fixed the next day. She was on disablity for 6 weeks. It was a major hassle for her.
So, a few years later, she went to a Halloween party in the Castro area of San Francisco. She left the party plenty drunk, and began driving home. At the corner of Castro and Market, she stopped at a stoplight, opened her door, and puked all over the street. While she was vomiting, a policeman grabbed her arm, and tried to pull her from the car. She looked up, saw the badge, remembered what happened before, and hit him as hard as she could. She was arrested for assaulting a police officer.
So, she told me she was in deep shit. She was facing losing her license (a requirement for our job), and looking at jail time. She hired the best lawyer she could find, and got a beaut.
When they went to court, she testified that she had the flu, and threw up because of that. She said she was suddenly grabbed by a stranger, while in a perverted part of town. who she thought was in a halloween costume. He never said he was a cop.
The lawyer then pointed out that the cop had never actually taken a blood sample, urine sample, or breath test, since she fought back.
She got off clean.

2nd story: My old drivers ed teacher used to tell us that if we drive drunk, always keep a sealed container of whiskey near you. When you get into the accident, or if you are pulled over, immediately get out of the car, open the bottle, and take a long pull on it. Tell the policeman you were upset you got into the accident/got pulled over, and you were trying to calm your nerves.
They will have a hard time saying you were drunk before you did that.

The best & most sensible answer is to NOT drink & drive. When you drive after you have been drinking, you risk not only your own life – but the lives of the other drivers who must share the road with you.

Obviously, be cooperative. Hands on the wheel, no sudden movements, don’t do anything unless told to do so. When asked to do something (such as get your license and registration), move quickly instead of slowly, mistakes might be seen as nervousness and it may mask other signs of inebriation. Keep any eye contact brief, and speak quietly to restrict how much booze breath you shoot in Johnny Law’s direction. If you’re a woman, cry to mask bloodshot eyes, if you’re a man, complain about a long double shift.

Every cop is going to ask if you’ve been drinking, regardless of whether or not they have a good reason to. Respond with a mildly friendly “why do you ask?”, it’s technically not a lie. If he says your eyes are bloodshot, he’s not quite sure and might just be looking for something to pin on you. If he says he can smell the booze, he knows. If he just says “Answer the question”, you’re proper fucked, cooperate fully before he makes up a reason to taze you.

Granted, I’ve never driven while drunk, much less been pulled over with booze in the car. This is mostly based on some observations and, well, acting class (technically “Acting in Animation”, but it’s the same idea.)

Don’t listen to @RocketSquid. I know him in real life, and has real problems with the Pennsylvania State Patrol. That’s not a joke. Then after that, ask him about the run ins with the Ohio State Patrol.

Well…

A year ago, my husband was suspected of DUI – was not drunk. He complied, and blew high on a breathalyzer due to the alcohol content of his asthma inhaler. He just got off probation, and his driver’s license is still suspended. We lost our house because the fines and fees involved left no money to pay our bills. We’ve had trouble keeping the electricity on, have had the internet off for months at a time… if we didn’t qualify for food stamps we’d have been screwed.

Three months ago, hubby’s boss was pulled over on his motorcycle, leaving the casino. He was smashed off his face. He refused to walk the line. He refused to blow. He didn’t say a word to the cop.
He hired the same lawyer my husband did. Because the cops had no video showing him appearing under the influence, and no record of an alcohol test, they had no evidence. The ticket was reduced to reckless driving. He paid a small fine, is “suspended” from driving for a year, but has already qualified for a hardship license – so he can drive for work.

I’m not telling anyone to not be cooperative, but these are my experiences.

I would see how far I could get. What do you have to loose? They already have you. Depending on how much you have or have not drank. You might get away.

Ah, come on, my doctor told me alcohol prevents heart disease. You’ve got a heart too, right?

@mowens What are you talking about? If you’re talking about the tape incident, I was on my way to work and sober. I’ve been pulled over, sure, but never with alcohol or even alcohol in the car.

I would eat peanuts and garlic first of all. I would hope to goodness that I had a $1000.00 bill in my wallet. Start talking police talk, military talk, be as cordial as possible. Like somebody said with a good attorney you can get off w’ the calibration of machine thing. You’ve got to appeal to the cops humanistic level. Always helps if you have the “I gave to Sheriffs Office” thing on bumper or window. If all else fails, beg. If you haven’t been drinking always sue them for saying,” How many have you had to drink tonight?” They are accusing you of drinking even though you may not even….. This is “Slander”.

@RocketSquid Didn’t you get all your friends searched on the way through west virginia, ohio, or pennsylvania? Police are replete in your history.

@mowens Yea, but that was for speeding, no one had been drinking. Besides, wouldn’t a history of being pulled over be all the more reason to listen to me?

@RocketSquid I don’t like you.

I’m, what’s called, a happy drunk. I’d laugh, and throw up on his shoes.

Now this would never happen in real life because I am on the Force, I rarely drink and when I do – it’s with friends and in moderation. OK so I flunk a little (fluther while drunk – but it’s with friends here, too).