Orange County Pays Tribute to Arresting Officers of DUI

The OC Register has reported that at least fourteen officers in Irvine have received awards for arrests made relating to DUI. The organization behind the awards is the well-acclaimed Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which has helped keep the roadways safe for many years.

The arrests were a culmination of 25 made in 2012. It takes a skilled officer to look for the signs of intoxication in a driver. The standardized tests must be additionally performed by a trained officer. Doing otherwise can lead a defense attorney to gain a better advantage in court.

Signs of DUI that a police officer will be on the lookout for include whether the driver remembered to use basic signals and at the correct occasions. As a good illustration, the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration reports that some telltale signs leading to a DUI include when a driver does not drive with headlights at night. The chances that the driver is impaired is 60%. In addition, failure to use turning signals or starting and stopping suddenly point to impairment.

An officer will additionally look to see how a driver pulls over when signaled to do so. The officer is required to ask for identifying information, proof of insurance and vehicle registration. When asking for these standard requirements, the officer will observe if the driver has issues finding these, or remembering where they were placed. A field sobriety test may them proceed, however this is not mandatory to accept in the state of California. All drivers can politely refuse these, the most popular being Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Field Sobriety Test, The Walk-and-Turn Field Sobriety Test and The One-Leg-Stand.

Of course, there are reasonable explanations to why a driver may behave in a particular way. Out of the ordinary behavior may be attributed to nervousness, being lost, tired, or having a lot on the person's plate – something that is all too common in modern society. These defenses will however have to be argued in court if the driver is arrested and fails a chemical test. The chemical blood test is now mandatory in California, and any adult over 21 who exceeds the alcohol limit of 0.08% will be arrested for DUI. There are defenses for this DUI test as well, which are mainly faulty equipment, diet or even illness.

Written by Randy Collins