Do You Know Your Rights In A Traffic Stop For DUI?
Page reviewed by DUI attorney Patrick F. Lauer
If police pull you over on suspicion of driving under the influence in Harrisburg or anywhere across Pennsylvania, do you know your rights? The choices you make at the roadside often determine whether a stop leads to a jail sentence, license suspension or dropped charges.
At the Law Offices of Patrick F. Lauer, Jr. LLC, we have been defending drivers as a dedicated DUI firm in Pennsylvania for over 33 years. Our partner attorney, Patrick F. Lauer, literally wrote the book on DUI defense in Pennsylvania. We bring the localized legal knowledge that prosecutors and judges respect, helping you protect your rights at every step of the process.
If you are stopped on suspicion of DUI, assert your rights immediately and call us at 717-985-8595.
What Should You Do If You Are Pulled Over For DUI?
You must be prepared if you see flashing lights in your rearview mirror – even if you are completely sober. Taking the right steps during a traffic stop helps protect your constitutional rights and safeguards your defense:
- Remain calm and civil: Be polite with the officer, but stay firm when asserting your rights.
- Provide only necessary documents: Hand your driver’s license, vehicle registration and proof of insurance. Do not volunteer any other information.
- Do not answer incriminating questions: If the officer asks, “Have you been drinking tonight?”, respectfully decline to answer. If you admit to drinking even one beer, it gives the officer reason to expand the investigation. In fact, with every word you say, the officer is checking for the smell of alcohol on your breath or listening for slurred speech.
- Hand over a “Notice to Officer” card: If you carry a roadside legal rights card, hand it directly to the officer. While it will not stop an arrest, it goes on the record that you respectfully declined to answer questions without legal counsel.
- Politely request an attorney: If the officer continues questioning you, say that you wish to contact your attorney. Asserting this constitutional right will not be held against you in court.
- Decline field sobriety tests: Politely refuse physical tests such as the walk-and-turn or the one-leg stand. You are under no legal obligation to complete field sobriety tests in Pennsylvania. They are subjective, difficult to perform even while sober and designed to collect evidence to justify your arrest.
Exercising these protections early prevents law enforcement from gathering self-incriminating evidence before you ever speak with a lawyer.
Do You Have To Take A Roadside Breathalyzer Test In Pennsylvania?
No, you are not legally required to take a roadside breathalyzer test in Pennsylvania before an arrest. These are known as Portable Breath Tests (PBTs). Here is what you need to know:
- Right to refuse: You have the right to decline a roadside PBT without facing an automatic license suspension.
- Not admissible: The numeric results of a roadside PBT are generally not admissible in a Pennsylvania court to prove exact blood alcohol content (BAC).
- Used for probable cause: Police use the PBT solely to establish probable cause to arrest you for DUI.
- Different from official chemical tests: A PBT is different from the official breath, blood or urine test administered after an arrest. Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1547, if you refuse the official chemical test after being lawfully arrested, your driver’s license will be automatically suspended for at least one year.
Understanding this distinction denies officers extra grounds to justify your initial arrest.
What If You Meet A DUI Roadblock?
Law enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania often set up checkpoints to catch drunk drivers. Because police do not have individual probable cause when pulling cars into a checkpoint queue, protect yourself by doing the following:
- Say as little as possible. Do not admit to drinking alcohol.
- Do not agree to field sobriety tests.
- Do not submit to a roadside breath test unless you are formally arrested and directed to official chemical testing equipment.
Treating a checkpoint stop with extreme silence limits the officer’s ability to claim reasonable suspicion based on your conduct or speech.
What Should You Do If You Are Arrested?
If the police place you under arrest, remain focused on mitigating the legal impact of the charge:
- Exercise your right to silence: Remain polite, but stop talking about your evening. You cannot reason or talk your way out of an arrest.
- Reiterate your right to counsel: Clearly state that you want to contact your lawyer right away.
- Do not refuse the official chemical test: Unlike roadside PBTs, refusing the postarrest chemical test (blood, breath or urine) at the station or hospital triggers Pennsylvania’s Implied Consent Law. This causes an automatic one-year license suspension regardless of the criminal trial outcome.
Submitting to the station test preserves your driving privileges today while leaving your defense team ample opportunity to challenge the testing machine’s calibration or calibration records in court.
What If You Have Already Been Arrested For DUI?
If you are reading this after your traffic stop, do not panic. Even if you made incriminating statements, performed physical sobriety tests or blew into a handheld PBT, strong legal defenses remain.
Whether this is your first DUI or a repeat offense, attorney Patrick F. Lauer examines every detail of the stop:
- Was there actual probable cause for the initial traffic stop?
- Was the chemical testing equipment properly calibrated and administered within the legal timeframe?
- Did medical conditions or environmental factors distort the officer’s observations?
Uncovering even a single procedural flaw or equipment calibration error can be sufficient to suppress key prosecution evidence and collapse the state’s case.
Did You Refuse The Chemical Test?
Perhaps you were scared, had bad advice or the alcohol affected your judgment. It may not be too late to correct your mistakes. Attorney Lauer can often get to the arresting officer before they report your refusal to the state licensing authorities (PennDOT) to avoid the automatic suspension. We can then defend your DUI case and license suspension on their merits.
If you refused a chemical test and your license was suspended, you may be eligible for an occupational limited license (OLL), which helps drivers, such as commercial drivers, maintain their ability to drive while they serve a license suspension.
What Behaviors Alert Police To Drunk Drivers?
According to research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), police look for specific driving patterns to suspect impairment. Notable indicators include:
- Making wider-than-necessary turns
- Straddling lanes, weaving or drifting across road lines
- Driving on nondesignated roads or shoulder areas
- Swerving or braking erratically without cause
- Driving more than 10 mph below the speed limit
- Stopping inappropriately in traffic lanes or taking unusually long to respond to traffic signals
- Following other vehicles too closely (tailgating)
- Driving without headlights on after dark or in heavy rain
Note that contrary to common belief, excessive speeding alone is NOT considered a primary indicator of alcohol impairment by NHTSA.
Why Choose Patrick F. Lauer For Your DUI Defense?
When your freedom and driving privileges are on the line, having proven legal authority on your side makes a critical difference:
- Over 33 years of focused practice: As a dedicated criminal defense firm in Pennsylvania for over 33 years, our firm has successfully handled thousands of DUI cases throughout the region.
- Author of Pennsylvania DUI law book: Partner Patrick F. Lauer wrote the book on DUI defense in Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Drunk Driving Defense: Laws, Tactics and Procedures), a recognized legal manual used across the state.
- Recognized legal media authority: Attorney Lauer’s legal insights have been featured on TV networks including WHP CBS 21, ABC27 and Forensic Files, as well as major newspapers such as The Patriot-News, the Evening Sentinel and Gannett.
- Unrivaled local knowledge: We understand local court systems, prosecutors and police procedures in Harrisburg and throughout Pennsylvania.
Partnering with a veteran author and trial attorney sends a clear message to prosecutors that you will not accept an unfair plea deal.
Regardless Of The Time, You Should Talk To A Lawyer About Your DUI
The need to talk to an attorney arises the moment the police stop you. We know that you may be pulled over at any time of the day, which is why we answer our phones 24/7 at 717-985-8595 and routinely check our email messages.
Arrange a free initial consultation with our DUI defense attorney. Call us immediately or submit an inquiry online to protect your rights, your driver’s license and your future.
