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Sober or not, it may still be possible for you to be arrested for driving under the influence even if another driver bumped into your car. We’ve listed the most likely scenarios and possible defense strategies for each of them and how a Las Vegas DUI attorney can defend you from the following as well as any other DUI scenario.
Scenarios
You were the designated driver for your friends after a night out of drinking. Someone suddenly bumped into your car while you were driving, accidentally or not. When the police arrived, they noticed the smell of alcohol coming from your vehicle. If the police hastily jumped to a conclusion or if you refused to do the breathalyzer test for some reason, you may be charged with DUI.
What you should do:
- If you are truly sober or only drank enough to be under the BAC limit, you cannot be charged with DUI. If this is the case, taking the BAC test will work in your favor.
- You should not take the field sobriety test even if you’re sober because taking it can work against you. It would be in your best interest to refuse doing them because they are optional.
- If the results somehow show that you have a high BAC even if you are sober/within BAC limits, then it’s possible to claim that the device has been incorrectly configured.
You were actually drinking and driving. Because of your state of inebriety (i.e. stopping suddenly), which could have caused you to collide with the driver behind you. When the police arrived to investigate, they saw that you were intoxicated, and arrested you.
What you should do:
- Even if you were drinking, it’s not illegal if it’s within the BAC limit.
- Field sobriety tests are already difficult even for sober people. Always refuse them.
- While drinking can increase the chances of causing an accident, they still have to prove that you were the cause of the accident.
Like the above but instead of waiting for the police to arrive, you fled the scene to avoid the police (hit and run), but they still found you later anyway.
What you should do:
- If an accident occurs even when you’re drunk, do not leave the scene of the crime. You may be charged with hit and run on top of DUI if this happens.
- Depending on your level of intoxication, you may actually cause an accident yourself if you continue to drive, especially when fleeing from the scene of the crime.
The police collided with you, drunk or not. To get out of trouble, they filed a false police report that incriminates the victim of a DUI. Here’s a sample of similar case.
What you should do:
- It will be very hard to prove even with the support of witnesses or evidence (i.e. cameras). You should contact a criminal defense lawyer at once if this happens.
Image from: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Side_on_collision.jpg