If you were stopped for DWI / DUI in New Jersey, you probably received other tickets, in addition to the NJ DWI / DUI ticket.
Very often, a reckless or careless driving ticket is issued as part of the DWI / DUI arrest. These tickets are catch-all tickets that address the overall driving behavior that is alleged to have occurred. Reckless driving or careless driving may actually be a positive ticket to receive, because, if there are reasons to dismiss the DWI / DUI or Refusal tickets, the reckless or careless driving ticket may help to resolve the overall case without having to go to trial. Please contact us to discuss how this situation can benefit you.
Another ticket that is present very often in a DWI / DUI arrest is "failure to maintain lane". This ticket is the officer's probable cause to pull you over. It indicates driving behavior that would support the officer's subjective claim that you were under the influence of alcohol or drugs while operating a motor vehicle. Other similar tickets include illegal turns, failure to observe a traffic signal (running a red light), failure to turn on headlights, or other motor vehicle infractions that may indicate inattention that the officer alleges is due to intoxication.
Speeding, however, is not considered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as an indicator of DWI / DUI. According to NHTSA, speeding requires greater attention to detail that is not indicative of the slower reactions of a person alleged to be intoxicated by alcohol.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has published a guide regarding the visual cues used to detect alleged drunk drivers.
Tickets that are written for non-moving violations might not affect the DWI / DUI charge, and may possibly help the situation. For example, if the probable cause for the stop of your car was a lamp out on your license plate, expired registration, or some other reason that does not suggest improper driving, and if the officer does not claim that your driving activity entered into his or her decision to stop you, that is one less issue to worry about when defending the DWI / DUI charge. Arguably, then, your driving was fine, and that can turn into a positive attribute in your defense.
There are a few situations where only the DWI / DUI ticket is written, and no others. These include roadblocks or checkpoints, and other situations where the officer did not observe any driving activity or vehicle infractions such as resting or sleeping on the side of the road.
Levow DWI Law, P.C. will handle all of the tickets you received as part of our representation of you in your DWI / DUI case.