Often when a client comes in charged with a DUI, they ask about being stopped late at night and whether a police officer can "just stop me for no reason". In order for a police officer to pull someone over, all they need is a reasonable suspicion of a traffic infraction. Normally late at night a person will be pulled over for something simple like failure to signal when turning, a burned out light, or an infraction of that nature. Once a person is pulled over, if the officer has reason to believe the driver is under the influence, the stop can turn into a DUI investigation.
So what does this all mean. To avoid getting pulled over, first, you should make sure there is no equipment malfunctions with your car. Next, make sure you follow all traffic rules to the T when driving late at night. A large majority of police stops occur at night. Whether you have been drinking or not, it is better to try to avoid a traffic stop altogether.
I have had clients who were stopped and arrested, only to get their cases dismissed when the blood result was under the legal limit. While this result is nice, it doesn't help the fact that my client was arrested, booked into jail, and had to wait for courts dates and hearings to get the case dismissed.
My recommendation, drive as careful as you can.
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