As a Bloomingdale DUI Defense lawyer, I am frequently asked what a person should do if pulled over for a DUI. Typically people want to know whether they should take the breath test. I'll cover whether to take a breath test in detail in an upcoming post. For now suffice to say that generally, it's better to not blow.
But well before a cop even gets to the breath test question there are some key things not to do-particularly if you have been pulled over by the Naperville police on suspicion of DUI.
So here are the top three things NOT to do if you've been drinking and choose to drive:
Number 3: Do Not Admit to consuming alcohol.
The best way to do this is to take the 5th amendment. Saying "On advice from counsel, I rely on the protections afforded me under the 5th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and therefore respectfully decline to answer."
This won't get you out of being arrested. If the police officer asks you this question, even if you don't think you're "that drunk" there is a high likelihood that if the cop asks you this question he has already concluded that you have been drinking. Now he wants you to admit it. By using "taking the 5th" you give yourself and your lawyer something to work with in court.
Number 2: Don't do Field Sobriety Tests
There are three standardized field sobriety tests. The horizontal gaze nystagmus test (HGN) is an eye test. If the officer asks to look at your eyes and follow his finger or something else, he's trying to get you to do this test. Put your hand briefly over your eyes and say "a lawyer told me not to do any tests.".
The same is true of the other two field sobriety tests: the walk and turn test and the one leg stand test. If the officer asks you if you know the alphabet, say "of course but a lawyer advised me not to do a test of reciting the alphabet."
Number 1: Never take a breath test on the street.
There are two types of breath testing machines. One is a portable breath tester the other is larger at the police station. Refusing a portable breath test on the street is different from refusing the one at the station. If asked to blow in a PBT on the street. I would almost always advise you to just say "NO!"
