Drunk Driving - Legal Advice, Legal Help, Legal Aid - Free Legal Help

Drunk driving is defined as the operation of almost anything other then walking while under the influence of the mind altering substance alcohol. The act of operating any of the following while under the influence could land you in jail for DUI/DWI; a bike, boat, tractor, automobile (car, truck, or otherwise), airplane, tractor, or even a wheelchair (read that again, even a wheelchair can land you a DUI).

Our recommendation here is to ALWAYS avoid using mind altering substances when operating any form of vehicle, but lets say you ARE pulled over for this sort of crime, what should you do?

So you were pulled over operating your wheelchair or automobile after a few drink or smoking a doobie. Well I have to distinct but similar pieces of advice for you depending on whether you were pulled over drinking (which can be tested) or if you were pulled over on another mind altering substance (usually cannot be tested for immediate presence of substance but only for whether or not you have used the substance in the past 2-17 days).

Since this page is for drunk driving I will cover what to do under this circumstance. First off, if you plan to drink and drive your an idiot, which is unexcusable, however, knowing that there are quite a few idiots out there who do not over intoxicate them selves before driving I am willing to write this advice. Second, this advice is not meant for those who are smashed, hammered, etc., you should truly know that your OK to drive before you ever step foot into a vehicle, your risking your life and others.

Now to the juicey part, what to do if your pulled over for drunk driving:

1. Don't act drunk! Be as articulate as you would be normally, this goes back to my ealier advice of not driving if your smashed/hammered, if you don't think you can talk coherently, you really shouldn't be driving!

2. DON'T ADMIT YOU HAVE HAD ANY ALCOHOL! Listen, SWIM (someone who isn't me) a college student who was pulled over in Newport Beach UNDER the age of 21 after 7-8 beers around 2am, he/she did as follows and got out of a DUI with no breathalyzer and just a warning that he/she was "driving like a dick" my apologize but this was in the cops own words. For those of you who don't know, Newport Beach has the highest incident of DUI's so this person was very lucky, very stupid, and very smart all at the same time. So what did he/she do?
- Chew lots of gum! Fresh gum.
- He/she didn't use deodorant spray but this is advisable, use sparingly!
- When pulled over, open your window only enough to hand paperwork through, 1/4-1/2 the way down.
- BE VERY ARTICULATE IN ANSWERING ALL QUESTIONS!!!
- Have a story WHICH DOESN'T INVOLVE ALCOHOL (no parties, bars, clubs)! Usually, there are donut shops around bars, this particular person stated then that he/she and his/her friend were at the donut shop getting coffee and a donut because they couldn't find anything better to do on a Saturday night, being that they were both under 21 (something that you don't mention by the way). Best time to start planning for what you will say is right when you see the lights.
- Since your buzzed, you'll be pretty loosey goosey (i.e. not nervous), just make sure your not too loosey goosey, from what I've heard this person was not nervous in the slightest and when asked why he was driving like a dick he maintained his right to the fifth amendment by not answering, something that a hammered person might not remember which again brings us back to the point that you should NOT ever operate a vehicle if you don't think you can coherently speak to a police officer.
- The paperwork looked fine, everyone was coherent, when asked if they had been drinking, the driver answered NO, he (the officer) looked at them for a couple seconds, went back to his squad car to look-up the paperwork, came back to the vehicle and handed the paperwork back to the driver and said "quit driving like a dick cutting people off, alright?" and they were on their marry way. No speeding was done, if anyone knows the Balboa peninsula there are tons of people driving drunk (more so then this person) and pretty slow on a Saturday night and cutting vehicles off, though a "dick" thing to do is not a crime. Just don't do it when your drunk or you too might get red flagged and pulled over.

Which brings us to the conclusion of this article, DRIVE NORMAL IF YOU CONSUME ALCOHOL, if you don't think your capable of this, you drank to much and you SHOULD NOT DRIVE. I've personally never drank enough to be swerving between lanes etc., so I cannot say how obvious it is to ones self if they are doing such but if you can't tell how your driving then your TOO DRUNK TO BE DRIVING! It's not worth it, so don't do it. Hopefully I've help save a few lives from drunk drivers and saved a few buzzed drives thousands of dollars in DUI expenses.

Be sure to check out some of my other related articles written exclusively for the online law office:
DUI Marijuana - driving after a few doobies
DUI Drugs - driving after consuming drugs such as opiates, benzodiazepines, and the likes.
Although driving under the influence of marijuana and especially drugs like opiates and benzodiazapines are not recommended, often times they are slightly safer (when done in moderate amounts) then drinking and driving. Nevertheless, no form of DUI is endorsed here on this site or by me, I simply give you the advice you need to stay out of trouble if you do decide to go against what research has shown to be a very dangerous activity; driving under the influence. Most of the advice in these two column are similar with the exception of the police officers means of testing in the event that you can't pull off acting sober (in which case, you shouldn't have been driving), if you can't fake it you can be damn sure you can't make it on the road, don't risk your life and others and make the smart decision. If you have to think about whether you can drive then YOU CAN'T DRIVE! That's about all I can think of on the subject for now, check back for more articles soon and remember...

Be safe, ensure those around you are safe, and stay out of trouble!