What To Know If Stopped By The Police While Driving

If you do not have insurance you will be facing suspension consequences in Ohio. If you do not have a valid license, you also may face criminal charges.
Minor infractions can have some consequences you were not aware of so we always suggest calling a lawyer before deciding to just pay the infraction. It is so much easier to prevent a problem than come in later to fix one.
If police suggest they suspect you of drinking or being under the influence of a substance you have a number of concerns. Understand you have choices.
If asked to get out of the car, you must comply. We suggest you ask about your status at every stage of the encounter with police. “officer am I under arrest?” “Am I free to leave?” Answers to these questions provide you with information from which to make decisions. If you are under arrest, ask for a lawyer. Do not provide any information to police other than identifying information about you. You will not talk your way out of an arrest. Do not try
If you are not under arrest, you still have choices. If asked to perform certain tests by an officer we suggest politely refusing. In our opinion the test are not related to your ability to drive and are designed to make it difficult for anyone to perform well. If you are asked to perform these tests, police suspect or believe you are under the influence. Your performance on these tests may make it difficult to defend you in court if arrested. Why help the officer with more evidence to support her assumptions about you?
If you are asked to submit to a test of your breath, urine or blood we also ask you to consider refusing. At this point you are most likely under arrest. Our experience is an officer will not reverse her decision to arrest you even if test results are below threshold levels. If true, there is little advantage to submitting upon arrest. The driving license suspensions may be longer at first for refusing however some of our clients can get privileges to drive while the license is suspended. Our experience is your case is easier to defend and you are more likely to have a successful result if you politely refuse to take the tests requested.