Traffic Law DUI/DWI Newsletters
Admissibility of Evidence of Drug Use in Driving Under the Influence of Drugs Cases
The finding of a drug of abuse in a subject's blood or urine may result in extreme prejudice against the defendant even if evidence of impairment is not convincing. The mere presence of such a controlled substance may be enough for conviction. For this reason, many courts require probable cause for suspecting drug impairment before a sample can be taken and/or analyzed for the drug. The Drug Evaluation and Classification program (DRE) evaluation in some cases will be enough to show probable cause.
Failure to Yield Traffic Violations
State highway statutes and local ordinances set forth violations for offenses for which violators may be arrested without arrest warrants. One such violation is the failure to yield the right-of-way. Right-of-way merely means a preference to one of two vehicles asserting the right of passage at the same place and at approximately the same time. Generally speaking, the driver of the vehicle on the left must yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on the right. Moreover, the right-of-way is not absolute as the relative speeds and positions of drivers with respect to the intersection must be considered.
Traffic Control Device Violations
The right to drive on the highways and streets for travel and transportation of goods is not an absolute right, and it is not an unqualified right. A person's use of highways and streets is subject to traffic laws and the person's adherence to traffic control devices such as street signs and lights.
Criminal Offense of Failing to Provide Proof of a Vehicle's Inspection
Many states require a motorist to obtain a vehicle inspection before the vehicle can be titled in the state. The inspections in most states consist of two primary parts. The first part of the inspection is a safety inspection, which covers such items as tires, brakes, and windows. The second part of the inspection is an exhaust emissions inspection, which checks the vehicle's exhaust and tests the fuel system for leaks.
Criminal Offense of Improper Lane Usage
A motorist is under a duty to have all of his vehicle on the right side of the road, and while the driver of an approaching car is charged with the duty of exercising proper care to avoid a collision, he has the right to presume that the motorist of the vehicle on the wrong side of the road will move over entirely to his own side. This idea is incorporated into statutes governing improper lane usage. By its terms, if a roadway is divided into two or more marked lanes of traffic, a motorist must stay in his lane of traffic so far as possible or practical and may not move from his lane without first ascertaining that such a movement could be safely done.
