I was thinking about this a while back and thought I would bring it to the round table.


Lets say you are leaving from the bar or restaurant and you know you may not be ah, um , lets say ready to operate heavy equipment. And lets say you get pulled over. Now you may be on the fence weather you will blow a .08 or more.

What would happen if you rolled up your window, pulled a NEW bottle of your favorite beverage out from under the seat in plain view of the official. Showed your license through the window cracked the seal and chugged the whole pint. Now providing you had the keys out of the ignition, and the officer saw it was a closed bottle, could you be reasonably be charged with DWI or DUI? The test would not be accurate and you were not in control of the vehical when you drank.




any thoughts?

 

blood test

 

ok, by the time you were tested the blood would be saturated. in 10 minutes you would be close to blacking out

 

Then it's his word against yours, and he's a sober cop.

 

no it isnt....... He cannot prove that I was drunk before he pulled me over... its about proof

 

I think there it's against the to drink while driving and all you have to be is behind the wheel or the keys in the ignition. He'll either get you for one or the other.

 

yeah marty...im not sure

cause it says you cant have open alcohol in a moving car (operating, passenger or anything blah blah blah)

you might be able to fight that one...just might

 

You would get away with it, but might get an open container. I would highly recommend that you started chugging after the law felt you were sober though.

 

you might be able to get the officer to take the beer and leave....my friend who is ...20? had about 3 cases of Carona in his exploder, and a whole heck of a lot of vodka in his jacket, and he gave an officer a 20 dollar bottle of vodka and the officer left and told him to get to his destination .....

yeah that was Spokane County Police....

 

Well my thought is that It is not an open container until you got pulled over, the keys were not in the ignition, they cannot prove wearther you had anything before you started. Basically, If you cannot use a breathalizer or any of the field sobriety tests because he witnessed you drink copious amounts of liquor after the car was stoped, What could he charge you with? Not Drinking and driving... He cannot PROVE you had alcohol in your system before you drank.

 

First off if he pulled you over he had probable cause to suspect you were under the influance


second a friend of my uncles got a dui in the parking lot of Albertsons on canyon rd in puyallup because my uncle dropped him off at his car and he was too drunk to drive so he got in his car and went to sleep. the police came to check on him for sleeping in the car and because he was in the car and the keys (which were in the center console) were accessable to the driver he got a dui. The judge said the theory was that he could have operated the car drunk and stopped because he was too messed up t go all the way home or he could leave if he got cold and not be sober but what he would think would be sober enough to get home.

Flimsy,shakey, questionable at best but I have heard of this two other times in different jurisdictions.

Personally I wouldn't try it.

 

C. Physical Control


• I am charged with “physical control.” What does this mean? Physical control means being in physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or with a BAC of .08 or higher.

• Is a “physical control” charge just like a DUI? Yes, they are very similar. The only difference is that in a physical control case the car is not moving. The penalties are the same.

• I was parked on the side of the road when the police contacted me, can I still be charged with Physical Control? Yes, you can be charged with it. You may be able to assert the defense of “safely off the roadway.”^back to top

 

I'm with Mike on this one.....you'd most likely get the physical control charge if they dropped the dui, and you're forgetting that the driving behavior prior to the stop is what got him to pull you over in the first place. So, the officer would be able to testify as to ability to control the vehicle prior to the stop, as well as whatever infractions he could add prior to the stop (failure to signal, improper pass, crossing double yellow line, etc, etc, etc). Also, don't forget that while the container being chugged WAS closed, it was opened directly in front of the officer, and hence, becomes another easily proven charge...not to mention public drunkeness, which would be hard to argue against considering that you just downed a pint of liquor.

There is also the consideration of the on board video camera in his cruiser that could testify as to your driving ability prior to the stop. If you're going to argue that you were stone sober, the judge could suggest that you're not qualified to operate a motor vehicle, even while sober. People tend to forget that driving is a priviledge, not a right...and it CAN be taken away.

Personally, I think if a cop had to deal with someone that took a tact like that, he'd add as many charges that are applicable, and it could potentially be more expensive and more of a hassle than the potential dui in the first place. Oh, here's another one...you finish the bottle off, and put it on the floor of the vehicle and open your window, and the officer says, "That was cute, but where is your trash receptacle?" Yup, you got it....another $40 fine. You don't think they'll do it? Go ahead and test the theory...I've actually seen that citation given.

My opinion is that if you were over the limit, and you had been drinking, then you're guilty....period. People are so busy trying to find a way out of everything nowadays....if you did it, own up to it, and accept your lumps. That's what our parents taught us as kids, and it's amazing that as adults we don't really adhere to that too much.

I'm not preaching....just saying that elaborate efforts to mess with the cops can definitively backfire on you. Trust me on this.

 

I am going to make a few phone calls. Its great to know a DUI/DWI attorney.

 

Just got off the phone with a great attorney. He said to make sure the keys are not in the ignition, and not to have a bottle you just opened. It needs to be partial. They won't beable to tell how much you actually drank. Probable cause and physical control are out due to the fact the keys are not in the ignition.

Whitebenz, your buddy got poked in behind according to George. (DUI/DWI attorney)
Marty, George says good work, you are on the right track. Just don't do it.