Once the police officer has pulled the driver over, the officer will most likely approach the vehicle to explain the purpose of the stop, request the driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance. The police officer is immediately looking for any signs there may be that the driver is DUI, DWAI, driving drunk, or otherwise driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. The police officer is looking for signs of drunk driving by attempting to smell an odor of an alcoholic beverage, looking at the driver’s eyes to see if they are bloodshot and/or watery, and also that the driver’s speech is slow or slurred. These are all considered signs that the driver might have been driving drunk. Police officers are trained to distract the person that they believe is driving drunk. For example, the cops will look for signs of drunk driving by dividing the attention of the driver they suspect of DUI or DWAI. Once cops have requested the driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance, the cop will then start asking other questions before the driver has had a chance to retrieve these documents. Police will ask questions like “where are you coming from,” or “where are you going to.” If the driver gets confused, distracted by these questions, or stops searching for the documents to answer the question, police will take this as a sign that the driver may be driving drunk, DUI, or DWAI. The officer will then ask the driver how much they have had to drink. As an attorney / lawyer, that has done countless DUI cases, the most common answers are 2 drinks or a couple of drinks. Although DUI attorneys and DUI lawyers are not able to assist at the scene, the best advice a DUI attorney or DUI lawyer can give is to politely decline to answer. Each answer a person gives can be used as evidence against them in a court of law.
