The police arrest motorists and bicyclists in West Hollywood for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs almost daily. These arrests, commonly referred to as DUI’s, are among the most commonly committed crimes in the country with an estimated 300,000 people driving drunk daily, almost 10 million people admitting to drugged driving yearly, and law enforcement making approximately 1.5 million DUI arrests per year. It is quite likely that you or someone you know has been arrested for DUI. Whether you do or not, it is important to know how to prevent being arrested for DUI, how to interact with the police if you are pulled over for driving while intoxicated, and how California Injury Attorneys can help and defend you if you find yourself charged with driving under the influence.
BEFORE: PREVENTING DUIS
Obviously the best way to avoid being arrested for driving under the influence is to simply not drive while intoxicated. Operating a car while drunk or on drugs will not only get you in trouble with the law, but you could seriously hurt yourself or someone else. If you plan on partying outside of the house, there are several ways to get home safely:
• Designated Driver: Know who is responsible for getting the group home.
• Call a friend or family member to pick you up.
• Walk home and burn off all those alcoholic calories!
• Call or hail a taxicab.
• Use a ride-sharing service app like Uber or Lyft.
DURING: HOW TO HANDLE A DUI ARREST
Unfortunately, people are arrested for driving while intoxicated every single day. If the police pull you over after you’ve been drinking or taken drugs, there are a few things to keep in mind during your initial interaction with the police:
• You are required to provide license and insurance information.
• Do not consent to any searches of the vehicle.
• Do exercise your right to be silent.
DUI: ALCOHOL
If you are arrested for suspicion of DUI after a traffic stop, the officer will take you to the police station to perform a chemical test that assesses your blood alcohol concentration or the level of drugs in your blood. California DUI laws use blood alcohol content “BAC” measurements to determine whether a person is illegally driving under the influence of alcohol. The legal limit for operating a vehicle depends on the driver’s age and vehicle type.
For drivers age 21 or older:
• BAC < 0.08% to drive a personal vehicle
• BAC < 0.04% to drive a commercial vehicle
For drivers younger than 21:
• BAC < 0.01%
DUI: DRUGS
While most people know that you can be arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, in California, you can also be arrested for driving under the influence of any controlled substance. This obviously includes illegal drugs, like cocaine, but also applies to prescriptions and over-the-counter medications. Many people do not realize they can be arrested for DUI for medicines prescribed to them by a physician. It is not a defense to drugged driving that the driver is legally entitled to use the controlled substance, including medical marijuana.
Unlike a breathalyzer for alcohol, there is no roadside test to assess drugs in the body, so for DUI of Drugs “DUID” the police must do a blood analysis. California law does not set a base line for the amount of drugs you’re permitted to have in your blood, so the prosecution must prove the drugs were in your system and affected your ability to drive your car safely. As a result, there are additional factors that become important during the officer’s investigation, such as law enforcement’s observations of you and your driving.
DUI CHEMICAL TEST: BLOOD DRAW VS BREATHALYZER
If the police arrest you for DUI in California, the “implied consent” law requires you to submit to a chemical test at the police station in the form of a blood draw or a breathalyzer. The chemical test will determine your BAC or the amount and type of drugs in your system. This test is considered evidentiary, and if you are charged with DUI, it will be the key piece of evidence in the State’s case against you. There are a few important things to remember if you are asked to submit to a chemical test following a DUI arrest:
• Refusing a breathalyzer or blood draw will result in a longer suspension of your license.
• Refusing a breathalyzer or blood draw may result in enhanced penalties if you are convicted of DUI.
• You get to choose between a blood draw and a breathalyzer.
• A blood draw has a smaller margin of error than a breathalyzer.
• Your attorney can request an independent analysis of your blood sample.
• There is no sample to be independently tested if you choose a breathalyzer.
• Police must adhere to stricter procedures when conducting a blood draw compared to a breathalyzer.
Whether a blood test or a breathalyzer is the preferable choice for your chemical test depends on the individual facts of your case. However, California procedure requires the police to take a significant number of steps in a particular order for a blood analysis. Therefore, it is more likely that an error will be made on a blood draw versus a breathalyzer.
AFTER: DEFENDING A DUI CHARGE IN COURT
Once you are jailed for driving while impaired a friend or family member may bail you out, you may be released on your own recognizance, or you may be held in jail until you go in front of a judge. No matter what, you will find yourself in court most likely facing criminal charges. The best choice you can make at that point is to quickly hire a competent, aggressive, experienced, defense attorney to fight for you every step of the way.
At California Injury Attorneys, our team has extensive experience representing residents of Southern California for their DUI charges. We know exactly how to comb through an officer’s investigation of your DUI to provide you with the best defense possible. DUI penalties can carry long term and unforeseen consequences. If you are facing charges in Los Angeles for driving under the influence contact us today at CaliforniaInjuryAttorneys.com, call us at (323) 999-HELP or stop by our West Hollywood office on the Sunset Strip at 8872 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069. Call now for a free consultation!
I must say, I am disappointed that the advertisers are now taking up space that should be news about Weho. The best way to beat a drunk driving charge is : Don’t Drink and Drive. I personally think your first drunk driving offense: you lose you driving license for life. No one has the “right” to get behind the wheel while under the influence of anything. I think it is irresponsible to be giving advice about how to get away with drunk driving in a community with a lot of pedestrians, especially with so many dangerous crosswalks. What’s next? how… Read more »
This is really helpful information. Many people are unsure of how to handle themselves in the event of a DUI as well as the steps to take after it has been issued. Thanks for sharing.
“The police arrest motorists and bicyclists in West Hollywood…”?
This is a boiler-plate article. Couldn’t the author at least change the word “police” to “Sheriff”?? Tells me he pays no attention to detail, and i suspect could be defined as an ambulance chaser.
and Guy Privaton “can’t post”??
Sheesh, Guy, did you take English in elementary school?
Checkpoints are atrociously intrusive and imo are unconstitutional – though the state backs them up. They also do not prove to have any significant impact on actually preventing anything related to DUIs. It bogs down traffic and violates non-criminal citizens by harassing them from Point A to B demanding ‘papers’ solviet style – while fishing for possible things to charge you. If you try to avoid it and look suspicious it’s considered “probable cause” of committing a crime. Completely draconian. ….Why not also have periodic searching of peoples homes for illegal drugs. It’s just as constitutional as a DUI checkpoint.… Read more »
DUI checkpoints are atrociously intrusive and imo are unconstitutional – though the state backs them up. They also do not prove to have any significant impact on actually preventing anything related to DUIs. It bogs down traffic and violates non-criminal citizens by harassing them from Point A to B demanding ‘papers’ solviet style – while fishing for possible things to charge you. If you try to avoid it and look suspicious it’s considered “probable cause” of committing a crime. Completely draconian.
I agree w/ Steve (above).
Visit Flex Your Rights (dot org) to learn how to protect your rights during police encounters. There’s a good video there with role playing that is quite useful.
Not the Sheriff per-se but the LAPD are notorious for lying and violating rights whenever they can. (ex. searching without consent – or tricking you to giving them approval)
I agree w/ Steve (above). Visit Flex Your Rights (dot org) to learn how to protect your rights during police encounters. There’s a good video there with role playing that is quite useful. Not the Sheriff per-se but the LAPD are notorious for lying and violating rights whenever they can. (ex. searching without consent – or tricking you to giving them approval) DUI checkpoints are atrociously intrusive and imo are unconstitutional – though the state backs them up. They also do not prove to have any significant impact on actually preventing anything related to DUIs. It bogs down traffic and… Read more »
…is WeHoVille screening comments now – and not allowing those whom they might disagree to post??? For some reason I cannot post.
WEHOville screens all comments. If yours haven’t appeared there are several possible reasons. One is that your comment ended up in our spam folder. The other is that it violates our standards for comments (it contains unproved assertions or illegal activity, profanity or ethnic or sexual slurs or an ad hominem attack). Please alert me directly at Henry@WEHOonline.com is a comment you’ve offered hasn’t appeared and I will check, as I do several times a day, to see if it is in the spam folder. If it is and meets our standards I will approve it for publication.
It appears that when someone is pulled over for DWI that the car isn’t occupied with other riders. That puts the cop at the advantage. Always have riders and witness to observe the police officer so you’ll have a leg to stand on when you appear in court.
Thanks for the informative article. With the Sheriff conducting sobriety check points in the middle of Santa Monica Blvd., you never know when you will need to know your rights as well as your obligations.
Most authorities consider roadside field sobriety tests to be too subjective, and you can POLITELY inform the officer that you decline to participate.
James C. Walker, Life Member – National Motorists Association