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If a police officer pulls you over and suspects you've been drinking, they've almost certainly already decided whether or not to arrest you before even asking you to get out of the car. Many people make the situation worse by panicking, doing everything they can to help the officer build a case against them. This starts with the field sobriety tests, which are generally used to establish probable cause for an arrest. When a police officer asks you to perform one of these standardized tests, the experienced DUI attorneys at Bitar & Bitar in New Kensington, PA, recommend you politely decline.

Most of the standardized field sobriety tests, including the balance test, walk-and-turn, and the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, are not scientifically valid or objective. Each of them relies on the independent judgment of the arresting officer, and they can create false positives based on a variety of other factors. Inner ear problems, for example, can cause a person to fail almost any balance test.

dui attorneyIn addition to the field sobriety tests, the police officer may also ask you to blow into a portable breathalyzer device, which you may think you have to do. However, the “implied consent” component of DUI law only applies after you've been arrested and does not include portable, hand-held devices — which are not alcohol-specific and yield many false positives. If you've been arrested, you have to give a test sample, but DUI attorneys recommend declining to do so beforehand, which only gives the prosecutor more evidence to work with.

Being accused of a DUI is a serious situation and one you shouldn't have to face alone. Bitar & Bitar's DUI attorneys have helped drivers throughout Western Pennsylvania fight their charges, drawing on an extensive knowledge of the law to achieve the best possible outcomes for their clients. To learn more and request free legal advice and a consultation, call their office at (724) 339-1025 or visit their website today. You can also find the law firm on Facebook.

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