A Georgia police officer who believes that you are operating your vehicle while impaired may initiate a traffic stop. Depending on what the officer finds during the traffic stop, you may be charged with driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol. Of course, just because you are charged with a crime doesn’t mean that you did anything wrong, and it’s possible that police misconduct may serve as grounds to have the charge dismissed.
Was there a valid reason to conduct a traffic stop?
An officer must have a reasonable suspicion to stop your vehicle. For example, a stop may be justified if your car was seen traveling faster than the posted speed limit or was having difficulty maintaining its lane. However, simply driving at 2 a.m. is generally not enough to justify a traffic stop. In most cases, if a traffic stop is deemed to be illegal, any charges stemming from it will likely be dismissed.
Were sobriety tests administered properly?
It’s possible that an inexperienced officer will make mistakes while administering a blood, urine or Breathalyzer test. It’s also possible that the tools used to conduct those tests will be improperly calibrated or otherwise incapable of yielding an accurate result. In the event that a test isn’t done in a timely manner, it may skew the results.
Your diet might influence the result of a sobriety test
A Breathalyzer test result may be rendered inaccurate if you have recently eaten pasta or consumed a breath mint. The same may be true if you have a health issue such as acid reflux. If you can show that you were charged with DUI based on an inaccurate test result, it may increase your chances of having the charge thrown out by a judge.
If you are charged with DUI, you may spend time in jail, lose your license or face other penalties. It’s worth noting that you may also face a license suspension if you fail to comply with requests to take a blood or Breathalyzer test.