If you are pulled over while driving or stopped at a sobriety checkpoint, it is always a good idea to cooperate with law enforcement if you’ve been suspected of driving while intoxicated. Although the law states that an officer must have probable cause to stop you if you’re driving, sobriety checkpoints are legal and you may be asked to take a test to check your alcohol content. If you feel you’ve been stopped unjustly, you need to seek help from experienced DWI attorneys to ensure your rights have not been violated.
Refusing Breath Tests
The usual method for testing a driver’s alcohol content is to give him or her a preliminary breath test if the driver has been stopped at a checkpoint, has been involved in an accident, or has been stopped on reasonable suspicion of a DUI/DWI. Refusal to take a preliminary test can result in having a driver’s license revoked for one year. If the preliminary test shows the driver is over the legal alcohol limit, which is .08% in most cases, he or she will be arrested.
Additional Alcohol Content Tests
When you are arrested and processed, you will be asked for another alcohol content test, which may be a breath test, a blood test, or a urine test. This test has to be administered within two hours of being arrested, so if it isn’t done within that timeframe, then experienced DWI attorneys in Fargo, ND could argue that the test is invalid and shouldn’t be used against you. Again, refusing to take the test will result in your license being revoked.
Do not to fight a DUI/DWI on your own. Hire one of the experienced DWI attorneys to defend you and try to get your charges reduced or dropped if the proper procedures were not followed when you were arrested.