What Constitutes Probable Cause for a DUI Stop in Virginia?
If you have ever been driving down a Virginia road as normal and were stopped by the police, you probably wondered why. You thought that he was picking on you because you believed you had done nothing wrong. But maybe you did. The slightest thing can give a policeman probable cause to believe that you may be driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and prompt him to stop you to investigate.
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Probable Cause Explained
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According to the Virginia DUI Lawyer website, a police officer cannot randomly stop a car. A police officer must have a reason to stop that car. To stop a person driving a car, a police officer needs to have probable cause. A police officer has probable cause to believe that a person is driving under the influence when certain circumstances exist that would cause a prudent person to believe that a driver is driving under the influence. Any small traffic infraction that the driver makes can give the police officer probable cause to stop the driver.
Probable Cause
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The most common small traffic infractions that have resulted in a stop in the state of Virginia are: driving on the lane divider, following another car too closely, drifting into another lane, speeding up or slowing down too quickly, making a wide or illegal turn, stopping in the middle of the road, frequently braking or driving very slowly (more than 10 mph below speed limit), no turn signals or inappropriate use of turn signals, weaving or swerving in your own or another lane, driving with headlights off and almost hitting objects or other vehicles.
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Opportunity
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The infractions listed above do not necessarily mean a person is driving under the influence, but many people who do drive under the influence commit these infractions. The infractions simply give the police officer the opportunity to stop a driver and investigate the situation. A sober driver should not get defensive when stopped, because he is likely to be let go without a DUI charge.
Investigation
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If, however, when the police officer stops the driver, his eyes are bloodshot and watery, and he has the odor of intoxicants about him, then he may be making an unplanned trip to the police station. In this case, the police officer will conduct a field sobriety test. The field sobriety tests conducted in the state of Virginia are the horizontal gaze nystagmus and divided-attention tests.
Sobriety Tests
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The horizontal gaze nystagmus test is conducted by the police officer by slowly moving an object such as a pen or flashlight horizontally while watching the driver's eyes, which will often show signs of intoxication when following the object. The police officer will also conduct divided attention tests. These tests are the walk-and-turn test and the one-leg-stand test, in which the police officer tells the driver to follow his directions. If the police officer, with his knowledge and experience, finds the driver to be intoxicated, the driver will be arrested and taken to a Virginia police station. There, if the driver consents to a breath test, his blood-alcohol content will be tested to determine his level of intoxication.
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References
- Photo Credit to drunk to drive image by Marjan Veljanoski from Fotolia.com
