When is a Careful Driver at Risk for Being Stopped for Drunk Driving

Most everyone has a general idea for reasons why a police officer will pull over a vehicle for suspected DUI: speeding, weaving, crossing the center line, running through a red light, etc. However, in an age where more and more police officers choose to "specialize" in the detection of drunk drivers, don't always assume that driving carefully is going to help you avoid being stopped. Why? Because at a time when police officers enjoy the low risk, high reward notoriety of DUI vehicle stops, it only takes one convenient, yet legal excuse to pull you over.

DUI arrests have in many places become the arrest of choice for police officers across the nation. Unlike other arrests, stopping people suspected of DUI usually does not entail a police officer running the risk of a violent encounter, while also allowing he or she to claim the performance of a valued public service. As a result, please do not let the truth get in the way of reality: many police officers are looking for an excuse to pull your car over. Here are some tips to watch out for:

1.) Watch who you put in your vehicle. If you're possibly driving near the legal limit your rowdy friend leaving the bar and getting into your car is trouble for you. Many police officers make it a practice of lurking outside bars, nightclubs, sporting events, etc. waiting for the "designated driver" of the intoxicated passenger. Why? Because police officers know more often than not, although you may not be AS intoxicated as your companion, chances are you've been drinking with them. Whether you've been "designated" driver or not, don't be the focus of a disturbing trend to arrest a passenger for public intoxication as a pretext to questioning you, the driver, for driving above your state's legal limit for intoxication.

2.) Do not drive too far below the posted speed limit or be too attentive. Police officers have told me that they enjoy tailing a vehicle so attentive that they stand out from the flow of traffic. Believe it or not if road conditions are such that you are the only vehicle in a group of cars traveling significantly below the speed limit, you are getting the officers eyeballs not on all those speeding around you, but on your automobile. In such a circumstance it is only a matter of time before the trailing police officer will initiate a potential DUI traffic stop.

3.) Have a nice car? Don't show it off. Keep in the middle of the traffic flow. Police officers are people and take note of an attractive car as much as the next person. Beautiful things can inspire many things in a person; admiration, envy, sometimes jealousy. If you've been drinking do not be eager to show the world how fast your car is, it's turning ability or the noise of its engine. If you do, be prepared to blow into a police breathalyzer. These hard earned wonders of your car you may be so proud of are not an advantage to avoiding traffic detection.

4.) Make sure your car has been properly registered with your department of motor vehicles . Yes my fellow drivers in many places your license plate can be run for no reason other than that you are driving a vehicle. As a result, make sure your license plate fees, registration etc. are valid so as not to allow a police officer a great excuse to pull over your carefully driven automobile for DUI.