In Alexandria, DUI laws are strictly enforced making it important that you consult with a DUI attorney in Alexandria if accused. Call today and schedule a free consultation to speak with an experienced attorney about your case.
Yes. police officers heavily enforce DUI laws in Alexandria. It is commonly charged. It is heavily enforced. There are even special task forces that go out looking for drunk drivers. There are several areas with a lot of bars and restaurants in Alexandria and police hone in on those. But they also enforce throughout the city and they enforce it very heavily and very thoroughly.
Yes. Checkpoints are fairly common. I wouldn’t say they are a regular occurrence. However, as we speak today, there is actually a DUI checkpoint scheduled for tonight. So, they do perform checkpoints. It does happen in Alexandria and is definitely one of many methods that police use to enforce the DUI laws.
A DUI can be charged in numerous ways in Alexandria. The most common way is that a person is driving a motor vehicle while their blood alcohol concentration is 0.08 or above.
DUI can also be charged if there is no blood alcohol concentration if a person is exhibiting signs of intoxication that are observable to the officer, meaning that the person’s manner, speech, disposition, or coordination is affected by alcohol to the point that the officer can observe. And in almost every DUI stop the suspect is asked to perform a series of field sobriety tests that help the officer determine whether that person is under the influence. So even if someone refuses to blow into the machine, the police can still charge someone with driving under the influence based upon their observations of the defendant alone. Additionally, in Virginia, there are charges that can be brought for driving under the influence of drugs, or a combination of drugs and alcohol, or just alcohol. So there are numerous ways a DUI can be charged in Alexandria.
Drug-related DUI is a little bit harder for officers to charge because drugs are a little harder to detect than alcohol. But the officers will still make observations about someone’s speech, their eyes (whether they’re bloodshot or not), their coordination, their ability to comprehend, and their disposition. And the police will put suspected DUI-drug drivers under a battery of field sobriety tests to assess their coordination, their ability to follow instructions, and their ability to have diverted attention. Based upon those observations and any admissions of drug use the driver may make, plus any other indication of drug use such as the smell of recently burned marijuana, someone may be arrested and charged for DUI-drug related offense. Police are entitled in the Virginia Law to get blood tests very shortly after the driving behavior to determine if there actually were drugs in your system at that time, whether you allow them to or not. And obviously, those results will help in convicting someone of driving under the influence of drugs.