You get pulled over for a DUI and you immediately start panicking because you are afraid the officer is going to arrest you. What should you do?

1. Remain calm and don’t act nervous: The more nervous you are, the more you are going to arouse the officer’s suspicion that you are doing something wrong.


2. Remain silent: It is the police officer’s job to get all the information he can possibly get regarding how much you drank, when you drank and when you stopped drinking. All of this information can be used against you in trial, so don’t tell him anything. Don’t tell him where you were, where you are coming from, whether you drank, etc. Simply invoke your right to remain silent. Long story short, don’t answer any of his questions.


3. Don’t do any field sobriety test: We have all seen police officers conduct DUI tests on people on TV and in real life. The purpose of these tests is for the officer to make a determination as to whether you are impaired or not. If these DUI tests were being conducted fairly then a certain percentage of people would pass them. However, if you blow a .08 or above or your blood test comes back .08 or above, your chances of the police officer testifying that you passed your field sobriety tests is about zero percent. I can honestly in the hundreds of DUI cases I have handled, I have never seen anyone pass the field sobriety tests. And the reason why no one ever passes is because…. you guessed it… police officers lie. It’s their job to convict you, not write an accurate report. Therefore, you should refuse the eye test, walk and turn, one leg stand, everything… Do not take ANY DUI test.


4. Do not take any breath test unless you are under the age of 21. See #5


5. You are required to take either a chemical breath test or a blood test, but not both. Modesto DUI attorney Ben Roberts recommends that you take the blood test for two reasons: 1. Your blood can later be retested by your own retained expert. 2. More time will pass if you request a blood test as opposed to a breath test. The average person burns off alcohol at a rate of .015% to .018% an hour. That means that if you are a .08% at the time you are stopped and it takes the officer 45 minutes to get you to the hospital and get your blood withdrawn, then your blood should come back at about .06 or .07%. Congratulations, you beat your DUI. In that same scenario if you had immediately blown into a breath machine, you would have registered a .08%. However, if you are under 21 then you must submit to a PAS breath test or you may face a one year license suspension. Drivers over the age of 21 can refuse the PAS breath test with no consequences.


6. You have 10 days from the date of your arrest to request a DMV hearing to save your license. Make sure you request this hearing ASAP.


7. Make an appointment with undefeated DUI trial lawyer Ben Roberts. Modesto DUI lawyer Ben Roberts will review your case to see what problems the government may have in proving your guilt.