DUI Cues and Your Driving Pt. 1

A commonly asked question by drivers who are stopped by the police and charged with DUI is why a police officer decided specifically to pull them over. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTHSA) researchers developed a list of more than 100 driving cues that are asserted to factor into predicting blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or higher. Hence these driving cues are used by police in order to determine whether or not to pull a driver over. This article and a subsequent one will discuss four of the criteria used by police officers to decide whether to pull a driver over or not.

The NHTSA researchers* developed a list of more than 100 driving cues, this list was reduced to 24 cues and these cues fall into 4 categories which are:

Problems in maintaining proper lane position

Speed and braking problems

Vigilance problems

Judgement problems

One such example is where an officer observes a driver to be weaving or weaving across lane lines, the probability of DUI is asserted to be more than 50%.

Problems in maintaining proper lane position - this action on its own is a big giveaway for a DUI. Impaired drivers are said to have an extreme difficulty maintaining proper lane position. Such actions are referred to commonly as ‘weaving’. Weaving is when the vehicle alternatively moves toward one side of the lane and then toward the other. The pattern of such movement can be fairly regular as one steering correction is closely followed by another. In extreme cases, the vehicle’s wheels even cross the lane lines before a correction is made. In some instances officers have observed vehicles straddling a center or lane line; that is, the vehicle is moving straight ahead with either the left or right tires on the wrong side of the lane line or marker. Another form of weaving is drifting; this is where a vehicle is moving in a slightly straight line but at a slight angle to the lane. Some examples of failing to maintain proper lane position include:

Weaving

Weaving across lane lines

Straddling a lane line

Drifting

Swerving

Almost striking a vehicle or other object

Turning with a wide radius or drifting during a curve

Speed and braking problems - breaking properly can be a hard task if a driver is impaired. For example, it is asserted that there is a good chance that the driver is driving under the influence if an officer observes any type of stopping problems. Some examples of speed and braking problems include the following:

Stopping problems, e.g., too far, too short or too jerky

Accelerating for no reason

Varying speed

Slow speed

In addition to the use of driving cues, police officers administer a follow-up post-stop investigation to attempt to detect drivers driving under the influence. Some examples of claimed predictors of DUI include the following:

Difficulty exiting the vehicle

Fumbling with the driver’s license or registration

Repeating questions or comments

Swaying, unsteady or balance problems

Slurred speech

If you have been arrested for a DUI seek out a defense attorney in Jersey City.

Resource Box: For the top DUI attorney in NJ, the author recommends the Law Office of Bartholomew Baffuto.

This article will discuss cues that fall into two categories relating to the prediction of blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher. Please note that the following discussion should be understood only as a general overview.