In most states, an officer is required to have probable cause in order to pull a driver over for suspicion of DUI. A DUI defense lawyer in Detroitcan explain two common suspicious activities that frequently lead to DUI stops—weaving across lanes and driving too slowly—and will evaluate whether these suspicious activities are sufficient to establish probable cause for a DUI stop.
Weaving Across Lanes
There is no question that weaving across lanes is a dangerous action that can cause serious traffic accidents. However, there has been some debate as to whether weaving across lanes is enough to raise suspicion to a level that would meet the probable cause requirement for a DUI stop. Most DUI defense lawyers in Detroit cannot provide a clear answer, as courts have not provided a unanimous, clear-cut response to this question.
Some state courts have found that weaving across lanes is sufficient reason to pull a driver over for suspected DUI if the driver weaves across lanes multiple times. This, of course, leads to the question as to how many times the weaving must occur. Again, there is no clear answer. One state court found that an officer’s DUI stop was not justified after a driver was pulled over for weaving through traffic on three separate occasions. However, another state court found that a stop was justified when the driver was pulled over for weaving through traffic just once.
Because the case law offers no clear answer, it is not possible for a DUI defense lawyer in Detroit to determine whether or not weaving across lanes justifies a DUI stop without carefully evaluating the specific details of the case. A DUI defense lawyer in Detroit will need to consider a number of questions, such as how often you weaves across the lanes, how long the activity went on before you were finally pulled over, and how much traffic was on the road at the time of your stop. While these questions may seem irrelevant to the average driver, the answers will be critical in helping your DUI defense attorney in Detroit determine how to best proceed with your case.
Driving Slowly
Many drivers are accused of driving too slowly. Most drivers frequently encounter slow drivers on the road; however, few of us actually assume that the cause of the slow driving is due to an intoxicated driver. Yet, there are times when driving too slowly can justify a stop for suspicion of DUI. If you are stopped for a DUI because you are driving too slowly, it is important that you remember as much information as you can regarding the stop so that your DUI defense attorney in Detroit can evaluate whether the circumstances surrounding your stop were justified.
Just as with weaving across lanes, courts have been unclear as to what circumstances would justify a stop for driving too slowly. In one case, a court held that a DUI stop was justified when a driver did not respond quickly enough to a changing traffic signal. However, another court held that a DUI stop was not justified when an officer pulled over a driver simply because it took the driver five seconds to respond to a green traffic light.
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