• Home
  • About
    ▼
    • About
    • Ben Sessions
    • Andrew Fleischman
    • Locations
      ▼
      • Atlanta, GA Office Location
        ▼
        • Personal Injury
        • Atlanta DUI
      • Macon, GA Law Office Location
        ▼
        • Macon Car Accident
        • Premises Liability
        • DUI Attorney
      • Columbus, GA Office Location
      • Milledgeville, GA Office Location
        ▼
        • Workers’ Comp
        • Truck Accident
        • Motorcycle Accident
        • Car Accident
        • Personal Injury
    • Areas We Serve
      ▼
      • Albany
      • Americus
      • Atlanta
      • Bartow County
      • Bibb County
      • Brookhaven
      • Centerville
      • Chatham County
      • Chattanooga
      • Clayton County
      • Cobb County
      • Columbia County
      • Columbus
      • Coweta County
      • DeKalb County
      • Doraville
      • Douglas County
      • Dublin
      • Fayette County
      • Gray
      • Griffin
      • Gwinnett County
      • Hall County
      • Hawkinsville
      • Henry County
      • Hinesville
      • Houston County
      • Jackson County
      • LaGrange
      • Lowndes County
      • Macon
      • McDonough
      • Milledgeville
      • Muscogee County
      • Newton County
      • Paulding County
      • Perry
      • Pooler
      • Richmond Hill
      • Roberta
      • Rockdale County
      • Savannah
      • Walker County
      • Walton County
      • Whitfield County
  • Practice Areas
    ▼
    • Personal Injury
      ▼
      • Car Accidents
      • Motorcycle Accidents
      • Truck Accidents
      • Slip-And-Fall & Premises Liability
      • Pedestrian Accidents
      • Bicycle Accidents
      • Elder Abuse
      • Product Defect Attorney
      • Defective Product Injuries
      • Negligent Security
      • Wrong Prescriptions
      • Wrongful Death
    • DUI Defense
      ▼
      • 2nd DUI Offense
      • DUI Drug Offense
      • Child Endangerment DUI
      • License Suspension
    • Criminal Defense
      ▼
      • Drug Charge Defense
      • Sex Crime Defense
      • Domestic Violence
      • Probation Violation
      • Vehicular Homicide
    • Appeals
    • Post-Conviction Relief
    • Workers’ Comp
      ▼
      • Calculating Workers’ Comp Payments
      • Fall at Work
  • Testimonials
    ▼
    • Case Results
  • Resources
    ▼
    • Resources
    • Preparing for Our Meeting
    • Personal Injury Resources
      ▼
      • Health Insurance Reimbursement
      • Personal Injury Blog
      • Attorney for Back Injuries
      • Spinal Cord Injuries
      • Nerve Damage
      • Attorneys for Broken Bones Caused by Accidents
      • Brain Injury
      • Scarring
    • Car Accident Resources
      ▼
      • Injuries Caused by Distracted Drivers
      • Injuries Caused by Drunk Drivers
      • Injured by a driver following too closely?
      • Most Common Car Accident Causes
      • Do I Need a Lawyer for My Car Accident Case?
      • Car Accident Blog
      • Step-By-Step Car Accident Guide
    • DUI Defense Resources
      ▼
      • DUI Defense Blog
      • Georgia DUI Process
      • The “Walk and Turn” Test in DUI Cases
      • The Eye Test
      • Your Driver’s License After a DUI Arrest
      • License Suspension in A DUI Case
      • Ignition Interlock Permit
      • Importance of Your Driving in Your DUI Case
      • Your Criminal Record & a DUI
  • Contact Us Now
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Sessions & Fleischman, LLC

FREE CONSULTATION

470.225.7710

  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Ben Sessions
    • Andrew Fleischman
    • Locations
      • Atlanta, GA Office Location
        • Personal Injury
        • Atlanta DUI
      • Macon, GA Law Office Location
        • Macon Car Accident
        • Premises Liability
        • DUI Attorney
      • Columbus, GA Office Location
      • Milledgeville, GA Office Location
        • Workers' Comp
        • Truck Accident
        • Motorcycle Accident
        • Car Accident
        • Personal Injury
    • Areas We Serve
      • Albany
      • Americus
      • Atlanta
      • Bartow County
      • Bibb County
      • Brookhaven
      • Centerville
      • Chatham County
      • Chattanooga
      • Clayton County
      • Cobb County
      • Columbia County
      • Columbus
      • Coweta County
      • DeKalb County
      • Doraville
      • Douglas County
      • Dublin
      • Fayette County
      • Gray
      • Griffin
      • Gwinnett County
      • Hall County
      • Hawkinsville
      • Henry County
      • Hinesville
      • Houston County
      • Jackson County
      • LaGrange
      • Lowndes County
      • Macon
      • McDonough
      • Milledgeville
      • Muscogee County
      • Newton County
      • Paulding County
      • Perry
      • Pooler
      • Richmond Hill
      • Roberta
      • Rockdale County
      • Savannah
      • Walker County
      • Walton County
      • Whitfield County
  • Practice Areas
    • Personal Injury
      • Car Accidents
      • Motorcycle Accidents
      • Truck Accidents
      • Slip-And-Fall & Premises Liability
      • Pedestrian Accidents
      • Bicycle Accidents
      • Elder Abuse
      • Product Defect Attorney
      • Defective Product Injuries
      • Negligent Security
      • Wrong Prescriptions
      • Wrongful Death
    • DUI Defense
      • 2nd DUI Offense
      • DUI Drug Offense
      • Child Endangerment DUI
      • License Suspension
    • Criminal Defense
      • Drug Charge Defense
      • Sex Crime Defense
      • Domestic Violence
      • Probation Violation
      • Vehicular Homicide
    • Appeals
    • Post-Conviction Relief
    • Workers’ Comp
      • Calculating Workers’ Comp Payments
      • Fall at Work
  • Testimonials
    • Case Results
  • Resources
    • Resources
    • Preparing for Our Meeting
    • Personal Injury Resources
      • Health Insurance Reimbursement
      • Personal Injury Blog
      • Attorney for Back Injuries
      • Spinal Cord Injuries
      • Nerve Damage
      • Attorneys for Broken Bones Caused by Accidents
      • Brain Injury
      • Scarring
    • Car Accident Resources
      • Injuries Caused by Distracted Drivers
      • Injuries Caused by Drunk Drivers
      • Injured by a driver following too closely?
      • Most Common Car Accident Causes
      • Do I Need a Lawyer for My Car Accident Case?
      • Car Accident Blog
      • Step-By-Step Car Accident Guide
    • DUI Defense Resources
      • DUI Defense Blog
      • Georgia DUI Process
      • The “Walk and Turn” Test in DUI Cases
      • The Eye Test
      • Your Driver’s License After a DUI Arrest
      • License Suspension in A DUI Case
      • Ignition Interlock Permit
      • Importance of Your Driving in Your DUI Case
      • Your Criminal Record & a DUI
  • Contact Us Now

Your Driving & The Defense of Your DUI

The Importance of the Quality of Your Driving in Your DUI Case

The importance of your driving in your DUI case cannot be understated. One of the charges that you will most likely face is that you had an impaired driving ability as a result of alcohol or drugs. There are four (4) major categories of evidence that typically comprise the State’s DUI case:

  • your manner of driving,
  • your appearance and demeanor,
  • your performance on field sobriety tests (FSTs) or your alleged refusal to submit to field sobriety testing, and
  • the results of the blood-alcohol or drug test or refusal to submit to the request for testing.

(It is important to recognize that, particularly in Georgia, there are significantly appeals pending addressing the admissibility of refusal of field sobriety tests, chemical tests submitted to pursuant to the State’s current implied consent advisement, and refusal to the submit to testing pursuant to the implied consent advisement.)

There are some very common observations of a suspect’s driving that we hear from officer’s in DUI cases, and a skilled lawyer can effectively use those observations to your benefit or, at a minimum, neutralize the impact of the observations.

  • Speeding as the basis for a DUI stop. An officer’s testimony about a suspect’s speeding can be used favorably by the defendant. On cross-examination, the stopping officer should be led to admit that control of a vehicle requires greater judgment and coordination as speed increases. If an area is posted for 45 miles per hour, for example, that is what is considered the maximum safe speed for a normal, sober driver. It should be pointed out through questioning (and later in argument), that driving in excess of that speed without mishap requires an even greater degree of judgment and coordination than that expected of a “normal, sober” person — and certainly much greater than that expected of an intoxicated driver.
  • Weaving as the basis for a DUI stop. Weaving is probably one of the most is almost universally found in the arrest report of drunk driving cases. During cross-examination of the officer(s) and in closing argument, it should be pointed out that weaving within one’s own lane is not nearly as unusual or indicative of impairment as it sounds. Don’t overlook explaining the defendant’s “erratic” driving behavior by the condition of the vehicle. When a police officer follows a driver for any distance: black-and-white fever. The normal reaction of most motorists to being followed by a marked police vehicle becomes understandably nervous. More important, consider asking the arresting officer why he did not pull the defendant over at an earlier point. why did he permit him to continue on for almost a mile and endanger the lives of dozens of others on the highway?

A skilled DUI lawyer understands the importance of attempting to use the manner of driving to show that there was an innocent explanation for the driving and the driving actually demonstrates that the driver was not impaired.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Research on The Relationship of Driving to DUI

Many officers attempt to testify to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) “Guide for Detecting Drunk Drivers at Night” regarding the relationship between certain driving observations and their determination that the driver was impaired. According to NHTSA, there are 19 common traffic maneuvers or mistakes that reliable initial indicators of drunk driving. NHTSA also provided a statistical probability that a driver that commits these infractions will be under the influence or DUI.

Turning with wide radius – 65

Straddling center or lane marker – 65

Appearing to be drunken – 60

Almost striking object or vehicle – 60

Weaving – 60

Driving on other than designated roadway – 55

Swerving – 55

Slow speed (more than ten miles per hour below limit) – 50

Stopping (without cause) in traffic lane – 50

Drifting – 50

Following too closely – 45

Tires on center or lane marker – 45

Braking erratically – 45

Driving into opposing or crossing traffic – 45

Signaling inconsistent with driving actions – 40

Stopping inappropriately (other than in lane) – 35

Turning abruptly or illegally – 35

Accelerating or decelerating rapidly – 30

Headlights off – 30

Primary Sidebar

Get Your Free Consultation

  • Hidden
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow Us

Atlanta Office:
3155 Roswell Road, Ste 220
Atlanta, GA 30305

Macon Office:
544 Mulberry Street, Ste 319
Macon, GA 31201
Milledgeville Office:
300 East Montgomery St.
Milledgeville, GA 31061
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Copyright © 2023 Sessions & Fleischman, LLC
Disclaimer Privacy Policy