Detecting the San Diego Drunk Driver: From a Police Officer’s Point of View

 According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than a million people have died in vehicle-related crashes since 1966. If a driver is driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the chances of a crash is even more likely.https://askcompetentlawyer.com/ From an officer’s perspective, there are several factors that go into determining whether or not a driver should be pulled over due to impaired driving. According to the NHTSA, there is a list of DWI detections to guide officers what to look for while on the road.

This guide includes but is not limited to:

Maintaining Improper Lane Positioning- weaving across lanes, swerving, turning vehicle with a wide radius and the possibility of colliding with another vehicle or object in another lane.

Speed and Braking Difficulties- Varying speed (stopping or speeding for no reason), extremely slow speed, problems with stopping such as jerky stops, too short of stops and too far of stops.

Vigilance problems- driving without the vehicles headlights, slow reaction to traffic signals, failure to respond to officer signals, and driving in opposing lanes.

Judgment Problems: improper lane changing, tailgating another vehicle, improper turns (too fast/sharp turn), inappropriate behavior towards officer (arguing) and last but not least, appearing to be under the influence.

Post Stop Cues: inaudible speech, balance problems, fumbling, providing false information to the officer, the scent of alcohol on driver’s breath, slow to respond to officer’s questions. * Any of these combined with inability to drive with headlights on or inconsistent signaling better the impaired driver’s chances of being pulled over by an officer.