I live in Pittsburgh and we've been having a fair amount of snow/sleet. I got pulled over because the officer said I was swerving all over the road. When he pulled me over and asked why I was swerving, I said it was because I was driving an old vehicle that was rear wheel drive. I don't even think I have ABS. He asked me to get out of the car and tried to give me all sorts of field sobriety tests. I refused all of them because I felt like he didn't really have a good reason for pulling me over. Quite frankly, everyone was swerving because the weather was so bad. Can I seriously be charged with a DUI if I was pulled over for a non-legitimate reason? I never took a breath test in one of those machines or anything.
The answer is yes, you can be charged if the officer has a reasonable belief that you were under the influence of alcohol to the extent that you were incapable of safe driving, based on your demeanor, the odor of alcohol, and other indicia that you had been drinking. You may get a summons in the mail. What concerns me is that you never submitted to a blood or breath test. Were you asked? The officer is required to ask you to submit to testing and give you certain warnings-you can refuse to submit to testing but if you submit your driver's license will be suspended by PennDOT, you have no right to a lawyer regarding testing. The officer has no duty to beg you to take the test and what constitutes a "refusal" under the law is just about any reluctance on the part of the driver to take the test. If the police gave you these warnings, or they may have but you don't really remember, you could very well be facing a 1 year suspension from PennDOT. The good thing is, if you are arrested, you set yourself up for somewhat of a defense-the police have no blood or breath test results, they have no field sobriety tests, etc. It's your word and the word of your witness/witnesses that you hadn't been drinking against the word of the officer. Get a certified weather report for that day. Even if you beat the DUI with a jury or a fair judge, PennDOT may still pursue the refusal and one year suspension. If you have no record, you may want to consider ARD, ride a bicycle for a year, and put this behind you. Bikes are great exercise and I ride all the time and haven't even had a DUI. Get a good lawyer for the preliminary hearing to ask the officer all the important questions. Once the attorney reviews the discovery material (police reports), talk to him about your chances at trial. You might beat the case, but as I said, you still may have to litigate the "refusal".
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