The holidays mean celebrations and festive traditions for many people, often involving alcohol. People consume this alcohol and then get behind the wheel of their car in order to head home, and unfortunately many of these people then cause dangerous accidents.
In order to attempt to curtail these entirely-preventable crashes, law enforcement ramps up their preventative efforts and presence on the roads. On this blog, we talk a little more about what to expect over the Christmas and New Year holidays and what to do if you are arrested for drunk driving.
PREVENTION METHODS
In previous years, police have used several methods to increase their presence and get intoxicated drivers off the road before they could potentially cause an accident and injuries to unsuspecting victims. One of these methods is to increase the number of patrols, particularly around the hours when bars close and drunk driving activity peaks. By increasing patrols, police can catch drunk drivers early, so expect to see more police presence particularly around areas with a lot of popular bars or alcohol-serving restaurants.
The Northern city of Clarksville is one of several cities which began utilizing extra patrols to improve drunk-driving law enforcement, beginning yesterday on December 15th. Officers from all police departments will be focusing heavily on DUI enforcement as part of the statewide “Booze It and Lose It” campaign.
In addition to extra patrols, expect to see more DUI checkpoints this holiday season, particularly on major roads that see an increased level of traffic during peak drunk-driving hours. DUI checkpoints are an effective way to catch drunk drivers quickly, so expect to come across them, particularly on weekends over the next few weeks.
FACING AN ARREST?
If you are arrested for DUI this holiday season, it is important to remember that you have rights. You are not required to submit to a field sobriety test, such as the “walk-and-turn” or standing on one leg. You will be required to submit to a breath or blood test. If you do test over the legal limit, you should not hesitate to contact a skilled attorney who can assist you with fighting back against your charges. Chemical tests can be unreliable in many ways, and your lawyer may be able to help you prove this a fault in your evidence in court.
If you are arrested for DUI this holiday season, trust your case to The Clarke Law Firm. Call today at (615) 796-6299 to schedule a consultation!
