Top Ten Ways to Avoid a DUI

(1) Don’t Drink and Drive. This is the only way to guarantee you can avoid a DUI conviction.

(2) Consult your physician for the risks of driving after taking any medication (you can get a DUI for driving while on legally prescribed medication or the combination of alcohol and drugs).

(3) Don’t do drugs and drive.

(4) If you are driving and you realized you may be impaired, immediately pull off the roadway. Park in a legal and safe parking spot and call a friend or a cab.

(5) If you are driving and an officer turns on his overhead lights, pull over as soon as it is safe to do so.

(6) Keep your license, registration, insurance and driver’s rights card together and in a place where you can get to them easily. Present them to the officer when asked.

(7) You have the right to remain silent.  Use It!  Do not admit to consuming alcohol, taking drugs, driving, or anything else.  The officer is not looking for excuses, but rather statements that can and will be used against you.

(8) Do not submit to voluntary roadside “sobriety” tests, portable breath test or any other voluntary testing. You have the right to be free of unreasonable searches. Do not give permission to search yourself or your vehicle (also, don’t obstruct the officer from searching your vehicle if they decide to do it anyway). 

(9) Call a Washington DUI attorney before making any decisions about whether to answer questions or submit to any breath or blood testing.  A lawyer can help you make these decisions in a way that will best protect your rights and the presumption of innocence you are entitled to.

(10) See Rule #1