Drunk Driving is the act where in the driver drives the vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This is to such an extent that the person does not have any mental balance while driving the vehicle. It is illegal in the United States at all jurisdictions to drive drunk. This criminal offence is known as the driving under influence (DUI) in some of the states of United States whereas in some places it is also known as driving while intoxicated (DWI) or operating while impaired (OWI) and so on. These US laws also applies for pilot of the plane and also a person racing the boat. According to various studies conducted the National Safety Administration department more than 40 percent took place because of intoxicated driving.
What are most often raised defenses to drunken driving charges? Let us understand few of them. If you wish to get more information please fill the form. There are many common defenses.
Inadmissible test results
The defendant has all the chance to argue that the alcohol test shown in the blood is not correct and it cannot be taken as evidence since it is not administered properly. This could happen in case the device is not properly placed or the officer taking the test is not a professional. In some cases the police violate their own rules and regulations for e.g. they do not observe the suspect when they are caught or they may not call for the technical assistance in case the machine does not perform correctly. The defendant can even argue that certain medical conditions have led to the inflated results.
Defendant was not driving
This is the most common argument put by the defendant that the person himself was not driving the vehicle. The defendant proves that since he was drunk he changed seats and the other person was driving the vehicle. The prosecution has to prove that the defendant was driving the vehicle during the time of accident. This is a difficult defense to be raised because in most of the cases the defendant is often seen by the police behind the wheel of the vehicle and also the defendant would have admitted that earlier he was driving.
No Impairment while driving
The defendant presents a witness who proves that he had observed him sometime before and he was driving in a proper manner and there is no reason why the police should arrest him and take the alcohol test. At times it is possible to argue with this defense but the policemen often seek to have a convincing witness.
