Top 3 Things To Know About Ocean City DUI Charges

If you are a driver in Ocean City who has been pulled over and suspected of driving under the influence there is a variety of things you should know in order to keep your situation from getting any worse. Below, an Ocean City DUI lawyer discusses three of the most important things to keep in mind and how they can help you avoid serious legal trouble. For more information on DUI charges in Maryland or to begin building your defense call today.

#1 Your DUI Stop Will Be Recorded and Used As Evidence

One of the most important things that people should understand is that most of the time, the stop and the investigation are recorded due to the fact that the majority of Ocean City’s police cars are equipped with audio and video cameras. This can be a very important piece of evidence that the State relies on and they can use those tapes or recordings against the defendant at trial.

For example, there have been cases where the defendant has done relatively well on the field sobriety tests and was only pulled over for a minor issue, but looks incredibly intoxicated on video, slurring words and sounding incoherent. This is very damaging, as are videos of people falling asleep in the back of the police car which also happens in some cases.

#2 Officers Are Constantly Looking For Potential DUI Drivers

Another important thing that people should know about DUIs in Ocean City is that police officers are absolutely riding on  Coastal Highway looking for traffic infractions so they can pull a car over. I would recommend to anybody who is in Ocean City and wants to go out and have a couple of drinks, consider contacting a taxi or utilizing the bus.

Ocean City provides a bus that is $2 and you can ride the bus all day, all night and is certainly a lot safer than getting behind the wheel of the car. With that said Uber is not yet very popular in Ocean City, however there are still a variety of taxi services available.

#3 Ocean City Takes DUI Charges Very Seriously

One final thing that makes Ocean City unique is that it is located on the lower eastern shore of Maryland which generally is a much more conservative, pro-law-enforcement area.

What that can mean to a defendant is that perhaps in another part of the state certain charges would not include jail time. Down here, it very well could mean jail time. For a second offense DUI in Ocean City, the driver can anticipate their sentence is going to include jail time. That is not necessarily true in other parts of the state, but down here in Ocean City for a second DUI the defendant is absolutely in jeopardy of going to jail.