Dale City Drug DUI Arrests

DUI drug charges are taken incredibly seriously in Dale City. Such a charge can have a severe impact on both an individual’s personal and professional life, and can bar an individual from driving for an extended period of time. Law enforcement officers take Dale City drug DUI arrests very seriously as they are a top priority in the area.

If you have been charged with a crime as a result of a Dale City drug DUI arrest, it is pertinent that you contact an attorney immediately. An experienced lawyer will be able to help effectively lessen any penalties associated with your charge.

Severity of a Drug DUI Case

Drug DUI cases are a big priority for law enforcement officers in Dale City for two reasons. The first is because it is very common for people to take certain types of prescription drugs that they may think are harmless, but that could lead to dangerous driving behavior that puts people on the road at risk.

Law enforcement officers really want to crack down on this and protect the safety of other individuals on the road. Secondly, drug DUI cases are a priority for these officers because the officers are trying to cut down on the illegal drug trade by prosecuting any kind of illegal drug use.

One of the things that a Dale City drug DUI arrest will do is give law enforcement the names and the substances that the individual is using, especially if they are illicit substances. If somebody is pulled over for a drug DUI and they happen to have drugs on them, that would also serve for the basis of a drug possession charge. Sometimes that individual can give information allowing law enforcement to then make future arrests for perhaps dealers or other people involved in any kind of organization surrounding the drug crimes.

DUI vs. Drug DUI

The driving behavior between a DUI arrest and a drug DUI arrest in Dale City itself is very similar. The problem is that the officers might not look for something specific that would indicate drugs over alcohol, but what they would look for is driving behavior that looks impaired.

The umbrella of impaired driving behavior can include many things like erratic driving behavior, weaving, stopping in the middle of the highway, taking a very short turn, or cutting somebody off in traffic. There is a whole range of actions that could lead officers to believe that somebody is under the influence of something that would cause their driving behavior to be impaired.

Reasonable Suspicion

All the officers need is some type of reasonable suspicion to pull a person over. It does not have to be reasonable suspicion that a person is driving under the influence, it just has to be reasonable suspicion that a person is committing a crime. If a person cuts somebody off, the officers may suspect that a person is driving under the influence of something, but even without that confirmation they still have enough justification to pull that person over.

Officers are going to look for any kind of driving behavior to pull a person over. Certainly, things that are indicative of DUIs and drug DUIs are going to look very similar. It is going to be things that show that a person is not in control of all of a person’s motor skills or a person’s judgment.