Learn More About DWI

Reasonable Suspicion to stop Main article: Reasonable suspicion There are several situations in which the officer will come into contact with a driver, some examples are: * The driver has been involved in an automobile accident; the officer has responded to the scene and is conducting an investigation. * The driver has been stopped at a sobriety checkpoint (also known as roadblocks). * The police have received a report, possibly from an anonymous citizen, that a described car has been driving erratically. The officer should verify the erratic driving before pulling the driver over. In some cases, the driver will no longer be in the vehicle. * The officer on patrol has observed erratic, suspicious driving, or a series of traffic infractions indicating the possibility that the driver may be impaired. This is by far the most common reason for stopping a suspect. * A police officer has stopped a vehicle for a lesser traffic offense, notices the signs of intoxication, and begins the DUI investigation. The following list of DUI symptoms, from a publication issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT HS-805-711),[11] is widely used in training officers to detect drunk drivers. After each symptom is a percentage figure which, according to NHTSA, indicates the statistical chances through research, that a driver is over the legal limit. Turning with wide radius 65 Straddling center or lane marker 65 Appearing to be drunk 60 Almost striking object or vehicle 60 Weaving 60 Driving on other than designated roadway 55 Swerving 55 Slow speed (more than 10mph below limit) 50 Stopping (without cause) in traffic lane 50 Drifting 50 Following too closely 45 Tires on center or land marker 45 Braking erratically 45 Driving into opposing or crossing traffic 45 Signaling inconsistent with driving actions 40 Stopping inappropriately (other than in lane) 35 Turning abruptly or illegally 35 Accelerating or decelerating rapidly 30 Headlights off 30 If the officer observes enough to have a reasonable suspicion to legally justify a further detention and investigation, they will ask the driver to step out of the vehicle. Reasonable suspicion requires less evidence than probable cause, but more than a mere hunch. A rule of thumb is that reasonable suspicion requires 25 % proof, and probable cause requires more than 50 % statistical chance. Therefore, if there is probable cause for arrest for DWI, as suggested by the research and examples used above, then there is reasonable suspicion to stop a driver.