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Your Car Can Get You Arrested

YOUR CAR CAN GET YOU ARRESTED

Motorists often drive better than their vehicles do. With wear and tear occurring slowly, drivers rarely detect the gradual deterioration which causes their vehicles to move erratically. Motorists observant enough to detect these irregularities often react to their vehicle's shortcomings by overcompensating when steering. In their arrest reports, police officers often write that motorists drifting into the next lane and weaving within a single lane tipped them off of possible DUI driving. The mechanical consequences of having worn auto parts, the driver's efforts to overcompensate for an auto's deficiencies, and the interplay between driver and autos growing older, can give law enforcement officers the impression that questionable driving stemmed from driver impairment by alcohol, lawfully prescribed medication or illegal drugs.

When appropriate, Loring N. Spolter recommends that clients have skilled, experienced mechanics inspect their vehicles. To preserve the timely legal relevance of the mechanic's findings, the inspection should occur shortly after the DUI arrest. If defects are found, the testimony of a mechanic as an expert witness can help jurors understand that irregular driving patterns can be the fault of the vehicle itself.

Mechanics most frequently scrutinize these components when looking for reasons why vehicles sway, weave and drift:

ALIGNMENT: Sideways drifting is a key indication of alignment problems. Few people pay attention to the slow degradation in their vehicle's alignment.

FRAME: When damaged in an accident, an auto frame changes shape. Those buying used vehicles are often unaware of accidents which prior owners were involved in. Whether left unrepaired or when badly fixed, damaged auto frames cause vehicles to drift sideways.

STEERING: Excessive wheel play causes sloppy steering. The repeated pattern of drifting followed by rapidly correcting vehicle drift creates the same pattern police officers associate with DUI driving.

SHOCK ABSORBERS: As shocks wear, vehicle tires lose their ability to maintain steady contact with the road. The tires bounce on and off the road surface, making vehicle handling difficult. Shock absorbers require replacement years before most people consider trading their vehicles in.


LORING N. SPOLTER represents persons charged with DUI offenses in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties. Practicing in the fields of DUI / Criminal Defense and Employment Law, Mr. Spolter previously worked as a prosecuting attorney in New York City in the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office. The phone number for his Fort Lauderdale law office is (954) 728-3494. Information contained in this article was accurate as of October, 2002. This article is for general information use only and does not substitute for specifically tailored legal advice.