Steps to Take at an Ocean City DUI Stop

When individuals get pulled over by local law enforcement for suspicious driving, it is very important they know what behaviors may incriminate them and what behaviors will benefit them. An Ocean City DUI lawyer is always available to help individuals through the process, and it is beneficial to their defense to contact one right away.

What to Look For on a Ticket

It is probably better for the driver to look at the ticket a little later. The driver needs to understand that when the officer asks a driver to sign a ticket, the signature is simply acknowledging that the driver received a copy of the ticket. The signature of the driver does not mean that the driver agrees with everything that’s written on the ticket and is confessing to having done anything wrong.

Some people refuse to sign the ticket because they think it means that they are agreeing or admitting to some wrong doing, but that is not the case.  The driver should then contact an attorney to look at the ticket and determine if everything was done correctly. If the officer made a mistake on the ticket, it’s possible that that could be utilized as a defense at the driver’s trial. Take the ticket to an Ocean City DUI attorney who can then review it and determine if there is anything on there that is defective or might create a good defense at trial.

If Pulled Over by an Unmarked Vehicle or Plain Clothes Officer

There are crazy people in our world who will go to great lengths to order emergency equipment, put it in a vehicle that looks like an unmarked police car and attempt to stop vehicles, typically women drivers, to harass and potentially harm them. The idea of being pulled over by an unmarked vehicle by a person in plain clothes can be frightening. The reality is that there are many unmarked police vehicles out there.

Typically, an unmarked police vehicle is going to have emergency lighting somewhere in the front grill area of the car. It’s going to be a series of blue lights and strobe lights that indicates that it’s an actual emergency vehicle. An officer may be in plain clothes, but that officer should still have his badge clearly visible either hanging around his neck or in some sort of wallet where it is provided to the driver for inspection to be seen by the driver.

All police officers are issued an ID from their law enforcement agency that has their photograph on it. There is nothing wrong with asking to see that badge because in this day and age, they can be duplicated and can get into the hands of the wrong people. You can anticipate that if you see somebody in an unmarked car and they are not wearing the uniform, it is still very likely that that person is a police officer. However, if something doesn’t seem quite right, if the person doesn’t provide identification or ask questions that seemed very bizarre, it would make sense to call 911 and verify that you  are being stopped by an actual law enforcement officer.

Biggest Mistake to Avoid in Ocean City Traffic Stops

When being stopped by the police, the driver should be attempting to maintain a balance of being cooperative, but not being so cooperative that they are basically giving the police everything they need to convict themselves of some sort of wrong doing. The driver should be polite and respectful to the police officer. There will never be an advantage to a driver who is being rude and disrespectful with the police officer. The driver should also not feel the necessity to consent to a search of their car or to consent to performing field sobriety test or other things that are asked of him.

Some of the biggest mistakes people make are when they get argumentative with the police officer. That is not helpful. It is a mistake to consent to a search of your car especially if you know that there is something in there that you do not want the police to see. Most people that consent to a search are under the belief that the officer isn’t going to find the illegal item. If you decide to answer the questions, be respectful but do not feel the need to voluntarily provide information that the police officer doesn’t need to know

Car Searches in Ocean City DUI Traffic Stops

Clients should be prepared that during a traffic stop, the officer may make a determination that the officer wants to search the car. This could be for a legitimate purpose or it may not be. The officer may observe something in the course of his contact with the driver, which makes him believe that there is something illegal in the car. If the police officer asks for consent to search the car and the driver gives him consent, then the police officer can go ahead and search the car. The police officer does not necessarily have to ask for permission to search the car however. If the officer is able to articulate some sort of probable cause to believe that there is something illegal in the car, then the officer can search the car without the driver’s consent.