When you are pulled over for a DUI, you are normally flustered and worried. You may forget about your rights, and not know what you can refuse and what questions you need to answer. Admittedly, the police often prey on your panic. They know that you will grant their requests because they know that you will be too terrified to refuse. Yet if you are informed, you may be able to take care of your DUI the right way, and make sure that the police don’t have you fooled on the night of your arrest.

The first DUI secret that police try to hide from you is that refusing a blood or breath test is not admitting guilt. There are times that refusing a blood and breath test may actually be in your favor. If you are convicted of a DUI, then refusing a test may come back to bite you, as it can often add extra fines or jail time onto your sentence. Yet if you are able to get off of your case because of a lack of evidence, then your refusal may merit reward. You will want to brush up on your state laws regarding blood and breath test refusal before you decide whether or not you should comply with the police’s request.

For example, in Georgia you will not get automatic license suspension if you choose to avoid a blood or breath test. If you send a letter with a $150 filing fee to the state driver’s services department then you may be able to get a driver’s license where your case will be reviewed. If you bring a convincing lawyer along with you, then chances are that you won’t end up getting your license suspended after all. Another DUI secret that you won’t hear from the police or from your prosecution is that you can beat a blood or breath test. You may be discouraged if your tests come back with a BAC above the legal limit. At this point, things seem hopeless, and it appears that the police have hard evidence against you.

Yet there is a possibility that you can still win your case. Maybe the breath tests was not administered correctly, or malfunctioned. There have been various instances where dozens of suspects were acquitted of their DUIs because their breath tests were not legal. Maybe you took a prescription drug, or ate something that caused your BAC to go up even though you did not consume alcohol. Also, if the police did not follow proper protocol at your arrest, then you can get away without a sentence.

For example, if you were not pulled over for a just cause, or the police did not read you your Miranda Rights, then you still have an argument. You may not be “drunk” at a 0.08 BAC. In some states, the prosecution will need to prove that you were a threat to others out on the road by driving with alcohol in your system. If you were merely “buzzed” and were still driving safely, then you may be able to argue that you were not a safety hazard at the time of your arrest.

Another secret: if your attorney tells you to plead guilty at arraignment, then he probably isn’t the best attorney. Your attorney probably won’t get the information regarding your case until at least ten days after the arrest. He should watch the police video and review the case information before telling you to admit guilt. If your attorney gave up on you that quickly, you may want to search for someone new.

Also, it’s important to note that field sobriety tests are not reliable indicators of alcohol impairment. You may be unable to walk a straight line because of difficulty balancing and be completely sober. You may be flustered and unable to count backwards because of the high-pressure situation in which you find yourself. As well, you may have a BAC under 0.08 and still be somewhat impaired. While the police may still choose to arrest you, you can argue that you were not in legal violation of the DUI statutes. Did you know that it is perfectly legal to refuse a field sobriety test?

In fact, if you are wearing high heels, have mental or physical disability, are pregnant, are over the age of 65, or have suffered an injury, then the police should not ask you to take the tests at all. If they do, you can politely say no without incurring any extra punishments. Talk to a DUI attorney to learn more DUI secrets regarding your arrest, and get professional representation in court! You want someone you can trust on your side in order to try and avoid license suspension, arrests, fines, and marks on your driving record!