Archive for May, 2010

So your having a special event.  A wedding, a concert, a trip to the local sporting venue.  You and your guests may be drinking while your there.  Will you drive home after drinking or have a designated driver or hire us?  Think your safe to drive after a few drinks??????

The following story is true, although we’ve left out a few details so as not to identify the police department or venue.

First let me say I have little sympathy for those who drink and drive.  Driving home from a wedding reception is one of the most common ways to get a DUI.  Guests are in a celebratory mood, don’t think they’ve had to much to drink and thus get behind the wheel of a vehicle.  We provide our services to venues in both large and small cities and every local police officer knows when an event, game or concert is happening at these venues.

We were hired to provide service for an event were there was drinking at the venue.  Smart choice.  However as we were leaving to take guests back to their destination a call came into one of the guests.  Another guest had been stopped just down the road.  The officer claimed he saw the driver swerve and suspected a DUI.  We stopped at the scene since the driver had passengers in the same vehicle who had also been drinking.  I watched as the driver was administered a field sobriety test.  He seemed to do well.  The officer then asked to do a alco-sensor test.  The driver refused to do so and thus was placed under arrest and placed in the back seat of a car.  Was he guilty?  Did he do the right thing by refusing the test?  Did the police car have a dash camera to record the tests that they did?  How much will bail be?  How much will an attorney cost to represent me?   I’m not an attorney, but do know a few and it is my general opinion that you could put 10 attorneys in a room and get 10 different opinions as to what you should or should not do if you are stopped for a suspected DUI.  And thats my point.

Would you know what to do and what not to do if you are stopped?  Look at this link at the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and then look at the number of laws pertaining to DUI.  Remember you’ve been drinking.  Is your attorney on your speed dial?  Will they answer and tell you what to do before the officer reaches your car?  Your an out of town guest who doesn’t know the area very well.  You looked at your GPS to make sure you were headed in the right direction, you swerved when you looked and now you’ve been stopped.

A lot to think about.   With our services a lot less to worry about.  To the officers credit they allowed me to move the car to a secure place, until someone could retrieve it the next day.  They could have towed the vehicle and that would have been additional money you would have to spend.