An incident in which a woman was charged with drunk driving in Florida after ramming a school bus is making news, primarily because she then agreed to an on-camera interview with a local news crew. "Not where you want to find your face after a good morning of drinking and school bus ramming," is how the Miami New Times put it.
An experienced Fort Lauderdale drunk driving defense attorney will tell you that silence is your best defense in the wake of an arrest. Obviously, giving an interview to a news crew violates that advice. But too often, more mundane statements and actions can also come back to haunt a defendant facing a DUI charge in Broward County or elsewhere in South Florida.
As we have discussed here before, whether you submit to a breathalyzer test is a personal decision. Refusing to do so will result in an automatic suspension of your license but will also deny the state a key piece of evidence used to convict you of drunk driving. Field sobriety tests are worthless and should be politely declined. Beyond that however, your words and actions can have a great deal to do with whether you are convicted of drunk driving.
Unfortunately, defendant's sometimes make the correct choices when it comes to field sobriety tests and breathalyzer examinations but they are belligerent, violent, or altogether too talkative throughout the arrest and booking process.
Stress, alcohol, fear, anger and embarrassment can all play a role. When it comes to your words and actions in the wake of a drunk driving arrest, we encourage you to be polite and silent.
Fort Lauderdale DUI Attorney Carlos Canet is an aggressive and experienced drunk driving defense attorney, representing clients facing DUI charges in Fort Lauderdale, Miami and West Palm Beach. Call 866-7ASKDUI to discuss your rights.
