DUI Cues and Your Driving Pt. 2

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) researchers developed a list of more than one hundred driving cues that were purportedly found to predict blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or higher. That list was later reduced to twenty-four cues and these cues are ostensibly used by police officers in determining a person’s DUI. A previous article discussed two categories relating to the identified driving cues predicting blood alcohol concentrations of 0.08 % for higher. The previous article discussed the categories:

Problems in maintaining proper lane position

Speeding and braking problems

This article will discuss cues that fall into two categories relating to the prediction of blood alcohol concentration of the 0.08% or higher. These categories are:

Vigilance problems

Judgement problems

Vigilance problems - in respect of driving, vigilance allows a driver the ability to pay attention to a task or to take notice of changes in their surroundings. A vigilant driver may be able to take note of the sun setting and turn on their headlights accordingly. However, for a driver whose vigilance has been impaired by alcohol it is possible to forget to carry out what is normal. For example, an impaired driver may forget to signal a turn or lane change, or the signal is inconsistent with their maneuver, e.g. signaling left but turning right. Alcohol impaired vigilance also results e.g., in motorists driving into opposing or crossing traffic and turning in front of oncoming vehicles. Some examples of cues showing vigilance problems include the following:

Driving without headlights at night

Failure to signal a turn or lane change or signaling inconsistently with actions

Driving in opposing lanes or the wrong way on a one-way street

Slow response to traffic signals

Slowness or failure to respond to a traffic officer’s signals

Stopping in a lane for no apparent reason

Judgment problems – operating a vehicle requires a driver to continuously make decisions. Unfortunately, a driver’s judgment abilities can be affected by alcohol ingestion. For example, alcohol impaired judgment can cause a driver to follow another vehicle too closely, resulting in tailgating or an unsafe stopping distance. Alcohol impaired judgment can also result in a driver taking risks or endangering other road users. Some examples of judgment problems cues include the following:

Following too closely, tailgating

Improper or unsafe lane change

Illegal or improper turning, too fast, jerky, sharp, etc.

Driving on other than the designated roadway

Stopping inappropriately in response to an officer

Inappropriate or unusual behavior

Appearing to be impaired

Police officers have sometimes used the four categories comprising the so-called twenty four cues in order to determine which driver to pull over for a DUI. However, the officer’s work is not done after pulling the driver over. Further, an officer ostensibly uses post-stop cues that are predictors of DUI, including the following:

Difficulty with motor vehicle controls

Leaning on the vehicle or other object

Odor of alcoholic beverage from the driver

For a lawyer with knowledge of the top DUI laws in NJ contact a DUI law firm today.

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For a DWI lawyer in NJ the author recommends the Law Office of Bartholomew Baffuto.