Virginia Beach Drug DUI Enforcement

In Virginia Beach, DUIs in general are a pretty big priority. Virginia Beach comes down harder on DUIs than most of the other jurisdictions in this area. Virginia Beach has a lot of military people and just in general, the officers and courts are really strict there as well. This means that enforcing and prosecuting drug DUI charges are a priority because Virginia Beach is doing their best to keep everybody safe.

It is common consensus among the law enforcement officials in the area that driving under the influence affects more people than just the driver behind the wheel; with all the tourists in the area and it being such a big city, there is always the possibility that a person will inadvertently cause harm to innocent bystanders should they get behind the wheel of a vehicle while under the influence.

Drug DUI charges are definitely something that are heavily monitored. Call today to schedule an initial consultation with an experienced DUI drug attorney in Virginia Beach to discuss your unique case.

Enforcing Regular DUI v. Drug DUI

There is not really much of a difference in terms of how law enforcement officers enforce DUIs that result from alcohol consumption and DUIs that result from drug ingestion. The officers are just looking for anybody whose driving is impaired and they are not going to be specifically looking out for either alcohol or drugs.

Virginia Beach police officers will not know what is potentially leading to a person’s driving behavior until well after the individual has already been pulled over. The only difference is going to be later on when they decide what test to administer to the driver, whether it be a blood test or breathalyzer test.

Challenging the results and/or administration of a blood test or breathalyzer test is how a Virginia Beach DUI drug attorney typically fights these types of charges. Though the results are weighted pretty heavily in court, it is still possible to argue that the results or tests were mishandled.

How Virginia Beach Police Look for Drugs

In general, police officers are going to be looking for any signs of impairment in the driver. Because of this, eventually it will becomes a little more evident whether the person is impaired by alcohol or something else. The officers are looking for slurred speech, bloodshot or glassy eyes, someone who’s stumbling or incoherent or is unable to follow or remember directions well.

Discerning Alcohol or Drug Impairment

Because the signs of impairment for drugs and alcohol are similar, sometimes it can be difficult to discern that someone is under the influence of drugs. However, in general, there will be a few clues that will suggest that someone is impaired by alcohol or drugs.

Sometimes, there will be an open container or someone will just stink like alcohol. Other times, they will have a bag of marijuana in the vehicle, or they will readily admit that they took their allergy medicine or something like that.

One of the most important pieces of advice a Virginia Beach DUID attorney can give a client is to not admit anything to a police officer until they have their Virginia Beach drug DUI lawyer by their side.