A story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution recounts a cautionary tale of an alleged drunk driver who led Alpharetta police on a high speed chase before he wrecked his Mercedes on Old Milton Parkway.

A spokesperson with the Alpharetta Police Department told the paper that the suspect, said to be in his early 30s, got out of the vehicle after it struck a tree and asked the responding officer to shoot him.

The man was eventually taken into custody after being tasered.

Anyone accused of a crime is entitled to representation by an attorney. DUI laws are complex and vary by state. Even if you know you are guilty of DUI, you would benefit from the counsel that could be provided by an attorney experienced in DUI law.

Just because you have made a mistake, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do everything you can to protect yourself and your family. You are still entitled to fair and just treatment under the law, and an attorney can help ensure that happens.

In addition, your driver’s license was most likely suspended upon the DUI arrest. A DUI attorney can help you navigate the process of getting your license back.

What do you think of when you hear the words DUI (driving under the influence) and DWI (driving while intoxicated)? If you are like most people, you think about someone who drives a motor vehicle after drinking alcohol. You probably think about someone who is drunk driving.

Have you ever thought about or realized that these terms DUI, DWI can also refer to driving under the influence of either prescription or illegal drugs. In fact, they can and do refer to a driver who is under the influence (impaired) by prescription or illegal drugs, as well as alcohol.

An issue of ongoing concern to authorities is the person who drives a motor vehicle after using psychoactive drugs. Law enforcement officers, forensic toxicologists, attorneys, physicians and traffic safety professionals in every state in the United States have a continuing concern about this issue of drugs and driving. Documentation and assessment of the impairment displayed by the driver, ways to identify the drug impaired driver on the road, the availability of appropriate chemical tests and the interpretation of the subsequent results are some of the things these professionals are concerned about.

The question may be posed, “Do drugs or medications really impair a driver? Are prescription medications as potentially dangerous as drunk driving?” (more…)

While discussions of drunk driving often assume that every driver arrested for DUI was drunk, often this is not the case. Arresting officers can make mistakes. Consider the following possibilities:

Roadside Tests are Subjective

• Sober individuals who are not physically active or have inner ear problems often cannot balance on one leg for any length of time. An officer may cite failure to pass this simple test as evidence of intoxication, when it may simply be evidence of a driver’s physical inactivity or medical problem.
• Drivers who do not speak English as their native language may not be able to recite the alphabet or count forward or backward correctly and confidently. And any driver, regardless of his native language, may feel nervous or intimidated when confronted by a law enforcement officer and not perform simple mental task to the best of their normal abilities.

Blood Alcohol Content Tests May Be Inaccurate

• Many prescription medications, and even some over-the-counter products (like cough medicines) or herbal preparations (such as ginseng or kava kava), may contain alcohol. This may alter the results of breathalyzer tests or blood or urine samples taken.
• How a law enforcement officer calibrates, stores and operates a breathalyzer machine may impact the machine’s results. Any error on the officer’s part can, on occasion, render the machine inaccurate.
• When taking a blood or urine sample, wiping the area with isopropyl or rubbing alcohol before taking a sample can create inaccurate Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) results.
• Some medical conditions can cause a driver to have an elevated BAC even when he hasn’t been drinking. For example, diabetics can have ketones in their breath, which could cause a breathalyzer analysis to record alcohol when they haven’t been drinking.

No attorney wants help drunk drivers break the law and get away with it, but those who are victims of a false arrest need legal representation to prove their innocence.  Contact an DUI attorney in your area experienced with your state’s DUI laws.

What comes to your mind when you hear the words DUI (driving under the influence) and DWI (driving while intoxicated)? If you are like most people, you probably think about a person who drives a motor vehicle after drinking alcohol. You are probably thinking about someone who is drunk driving.

Have you ever considered or realized that these terms DUI, DWI can also refer to driving under the influence of either illegal or prescription or drugs. The fact is, they can and do refer to anyone who is driving under the influence (driving impaired) by prescription or illegal drugs, as well as alcohol.

The person who drives a motor vehicle after using psychoactive drugs is a matter of ongoing concern to authorities. Law enforcement officers, attorneys, forensic toxicologists, physicians and traffic safety professionals in every state in the United States have a continuing concern about this issue of drugs and driving. Ways to identify the drug impaired driver on the road, assessment and documentation of the impairment displayed by the driver, the availability of appropriate chemical tests and the interpretation of the subsequent results are some of the things these professionals are concerned about.

The question may be raised, “Do medications or drugs really impair a driver? Is operating a car while taking prescription medication as potentially dangerous as drunk driving?” (more…)

If you drive when you are either intoxicated or drunk, you are placing yourself and others at great risk. Drunk driving or driving with a high blood alcohol content or concentration (BAC) places you and others at a greatly increased risk of highway injuries, car accidents and vehicular deaths.

You may ask, “How is drunk driving defined?” The definition of drunk driving is consistent throughout the United States. Every state and the District of Columbia define impairment as driving with a BAC (blood alcohol concentration) at or above 0.08 percent.

In addition, they all have zero tolerance laws prohibiting drivers under the age of 21 from drinking and driving. Generally the BAC in these cases is 0.02 percent.

If you wonder how big a problem drunk driving is then consider this. The U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that there is an alcohol-impaired traffic fatality every 40 minutes in the United States. (more…)

You are on your way home from a club, party or other social event. All of a sudden, you hear the siren. You glance in your rearview mirror and see the flashing red lights. You pull over and stop your car. You wonder why you are being stopped.

You put your window down as an officer steps up and says, “Sir, I need to see your driver’s license and proof of insurance”? You take your driver’s license out of your wallet and hand it to him. Then, you get your proof of insurance out of your glove compartment and give that to him.

He says, “Sir, I stopped you because your car was weaving back and forth across the center line. Sir, I’m going to need you to step out of the car.”

Once outside the car, the officer asks you to walk a straight line and breathe into a breathalyzer. The officer says, “Sir, because of the results of the breathalyzer, I’m going to have to arrest you for driving under the influence (DUI).

You are placed in handcuffs and seated in the backseat of a patrol car. You are taken downtown and put in jail. (more…)