Orlando DUI Arrests Spike During Memorial Day

Orlando DUI Arrests Spike During Memorial Day

Orlando DUI Arrests Spike During Memorial Day

 

As the weather warms up, families take advantage of long holiday weekends to skip town. Memorial Day weekend is perhaps the most popular holiday of all for weekend getaways. Just last year, AAA estimated about 2 million people from all over the country traveled to Orlando over Memorial Day weekend.

Memorial Day weekend provides an opportunity to engage in festivities with friends and family. These festivities often involve drinking. A surplus of travelers plus a spike in intoxicated drivers make Memorial Day one of the riskiest holidays to travel by car. A study conducted by Value Penguin points to Memorial Day as the most dangerous weekend for drivers due to the increase in fatal car accidents. As a driver, you can also expect an increase in police activity — and more aggressive conduct — on the road.

Orange County Police Crack Down on Holiday DUIs

Orlando police officers know that each year, the number of intoxicated drivers skyrockets over Memorial Day weekend. As such, police pursue DUIs more aggressively. Police departments in large cities like Orlando routinely set up checkpoints to screen drivers during busy holiday weekends. In 2018, police set up dozens of DUI checkpoints in Orange County. The simple truth of the matter is that your chance of being arrested for DUI spikes during these types of holidays. If you plan to travel by car during the long weekend, you should understand the fundamental rights you have at a DUI checkpoint.

What Happens at a DUI Checkpoint?

At DUI checkpoints, drivers are expected to turn over their licenses and proof of vehicle registration and car insurance as if they were stopped for a traffic violation. Police generally ask a few questions to observe how drivers answer them. Slurred speech, the smell of alcohol on your breath, and certain responses may indicate to the officer that he should conduct a more in-depth investigation.

Drivers should know that they have the right to avoid answering police questions at DUI checkpoints. Other than providing your name and confirming basic information about yourself, you are under no obligation to provide information that the officer could use against you in court.

If, after speaking with law enforcement the officer decides you may be under the influence, he or she may ask you to perform field sobriety tests. Under law, you do not have to consent to these tests; however, you may face consequences for failing to submit to a breathalyzer test.

Exercise Your Right to Legal Representation

At all times, you have the right to obtain an Orlando DUI defense attorney to stand up for you when you face charges. At The Umansky Law Firm, our DUI attorneys have decades of experience protecting the rights of those accused of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs throughout Central Florida. Do not hesitate to call our firm for a free consultation or reach out to us via email.

Orlando DUI Arrests Spike During Memorial Day
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