Virginia Beach DUI Stops

If someone is at a DUI stop chances are they were probably originally pulled over for a traffic offense. Often because they have a tail light that’s out or they were speeding or they ran a stop sign. Sometimes they’ll be pulled over for weaving in the lane or driving too slow and then there’s a much higher suspicion for DUI, but generally it starts out as just a routine traffic stop in which the defendant does something that alerts the officer to the fact that they may have been drinking and then this escalates into field sobriety tests and all of the other requirements from there. To learn more about what one should do if they are pulled over, call a Virginia Beach DUI lawyer.

Where Should You Pull Over During a DUI Stop?

You should pull over wherever you can that’s safe to pull over, generally on the right side of the road. Typically this is the shoulder so that you’re out of the way from any other vehicles and aren’t putting yourself or anyone else in any danger. If there’s no shoulder then you should take the nearest exist and see if you can find somewhere that’s safe and out of the way to pull over. If you’re going to be looking for a safe place to pull over, and you’re not pulling over right away, you should turn on your hazard lights to alert the Virginia Beach police officer that you’ve seen him and are looking for a place to pull over. That way they will not think you are trying to elude them, which could negatively impact your case.

During a Nighttime Stop in Virginia Beach

During the night in Virginia Beach, the only real difference is that sometimes you should turn on the interior light of your vehicle so the officer has a better view inside your vehicle. That way he’ll know you’re not trying to hide anything and they’re not shining that flashlight all over in your face. It just makes it easier for both parties if they can clearly see that you’re just trying to help them and get on with your life after this traffic stop, instead of causing a big scene and making the officer’s job more difficult.

Interacting With Law Enforcement

If you have been pulled over in the daytime in Virginia Beach, you should remain calm and wait for the officer to prompt you to do anything. You shouldn’t be reaching around your vehicle or fidgeting with anything or grabbing anything at that point. The best thing to do is just roll down your window enough to be able to communicate effectively with the officer and pass documents back and forth, and wait for him to ask you usually for your license and registration. Then you can reach for your registration from your glove box or your wallet or wherever you keep it. If a police officer asks you to, you should leave your vehicle on and be quiet and cooperative.

The basic question will be for your license and registration. He may or may not address whatever it is you were pulled over for. Sometimes he’ll ask if you knew why he pulled you over or he’ll ask why you were driving that fast or things of that nature. But generally the only thing he’s guaranteed almost every time to ask is for your license and registration.

Do You Have to Answer Questions From Law Enforcement?

You don’t have to answer anything that’s related to the stop itself. If the officer is asking you if you knew you were speeding, then you’re not required to tell him whether you did know or not. These types of questions are going towards the evidence later on that’s going to be presented against you at trial. Keep that in mind and don’t provide the officer with any evidence that’s later going to be used to convict you.

Receiving a Ticket

There’s nothing that will be on the ticket that needs to urgently be looked at at that moment. Anything that may be wrong with it or that you have questions about is really better to address and worry about later. The main priority during the traffic stop at that point is just to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Biggest Mistakes to Avoid

The biggest mistake that people make at a traffic stop is incriminating themselves. The officer’s casually will ask if you know how fast you were going and often people will give an answer that admits readily in that moment that they know that they were going faster than the speed limit. Or officers will ask why were you driving that fast and drivers will give an excuse as to why, which is again an admission that not only do they know they were going that fast but they had a reason for breaking the law.

It’s really important to not provide any evidence to the officer that’s later going to be used against you.