Merry Christmas : Safe Driving Tips

Merry Christmas,
Christmas will soon be here! Some driving tips to keep Christmas merry for you by avoiding unwanted contacts with the police are today's topics. The best way to avoid a DWI conviction is to avoid driving altogether after drinking. This is a great weekend to select a designated driver at the beginning of the night if you are going out in a group. Here are some others:

If you have interest or questions about any of these you can find more detailed information on my web site at:

http://www.byebyedwi.com/

REMEMBER:

1. CHECK YOUR EXPIRATION DATES for inspection stickers and registrations. An unwanted stop for expired inspections and registrations has led to many a DWI arrest.

2. CHECK THOSE PLATE LIGHTS AND BRAKE LIGHTS: You can be driving perfectly lawfully and not know your rear plate lights are out until you see the unwanted spectre of flashing blue lights in your rear view mirror. Check these frequently!

3. PRACTICE RETRIEVING YOUR LICENSE AND REGISTRATION BEFORE YOU ARE "UNDER PRESSURE": A little practice on this task can make a big difference in your DWI case. Hopefully you won't drink and drive. If an officer smells any alcohol on you, however, or thinks he does, he'll be watching for any delays or fumbling when you produce your license and registration. Practice producing these items until you can do so smoothly in the comfort of your home or garage or other safe place before you are compelled to do so under the pressure of flashing blue lights. A registration holder can help avoid some confusion here. Email me for a registration holder if you don't already have one for all your vehicles, boats and OHRVs.

4. BE POLITE: Politeness is better than a bad attitude during a traffic stop. It certainly doesn't mean you need to do any testing at the roadside, but a courteous, "no" to a request for field sobriety testing will serve you better than a vulgar refusal.

5. DON'T DRIVE IF YOUR LICENSE IS SUPENDED: Recent case law in our state allows the police to run random checks of license plates for any reason or for no reason at all. This greatly increases the likelihood of you getting caught for an operating after suspension charge even if you were not committing any moving violations.

6. DON'T DRIVE WITH AN OPEN CONTAINER OF ALCOHOL IN YOUR CAR: If you get caught with an open container in your car, even if you are just bringing it home, you can be charged with illegal transportation of alcohol in your case.

Merry Christmas and have a safe weekend,

Mark