Next week is Thanksgiving, which begins the holiday driving season. The weather in our region may temper the number of cars on the road next week, but it may not have an effect on the number of suspected drunk drivers that law enforcement believes will be on New Jersey highways. Because of this, it is expected that additional patrols will be implemented.
There is a political agenda to having extra drunk driving patrols during holiday weekends. Essentially, drunk driving accidents that occur during these times gain numerous headlines, which tend to put pressure on elected officials. To combat this, there is an intense motivation to limit the possibility of such tragic accidents.
Does this mean that law enforcement agencies are too quick to pull someone over and arrest them? No. However, it does not mean that when the police arrest someone that they are guilty of breaking the law. After all, mistakes over the evaluation of a potentially intoxicated driver can be made, and they are done all the time.
Intelligent minds may disagree over this notion, but the overarching purpose is to ensure that a person accused of drunk driving is treated fairly and benefits from constitutional protections that are guaranteed.
With that said, we hope our readers enjoy the holiday weekend with their friends and family. If they have the misfortune of being stopped by the police and arrested on suspicion of DUI, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney so that they can have a legal advocate on their side.