Generally a police officer will begin the search for DUI drivers by spotting vehicles that are driving erratically and appear suspicious. This suspicion of DUI arises by observing how the vehicle is being operated, as in how far the driving deviates from how the average driver would operate a vehicle on the road type they are driving on. Once the officer makes the determination that there is reason to believe the driver of the vehicle is intoxicated he will then execute a traffic stop to investigate further.
The investigation of the driver himself begins the moment the officer approaches the driver side window. The officer will observe how the driver speaks, his physical actions, and try to detect an odor of alcohol emitting from the vehicle. If the officer believes the driver is intoxicated based on these observations he will ask the driver to step out of the vehicle to perform roadside sobriety testing. It is during these varieties of tests the officer gives that he is making his determination if there is probable cause to arrest the driver. If the officer feels the driver did not execute these tests with the proper skill that a sober person would, he will then proceed to make the arrest.
After arresting the driver the officer will take him to the police station to administer the breathalyzer test which is a machine that the driver must blow into which will test his blood alcohol level. Once the officer gets the results he will then take the driver before the magistrate for a probable cause hearing to have a warrant issued for the driver’s arrest. When the warrant is issued the driver will then be taken to jail and given a court date.
