During the time period of August 17th to September 5th, Rhode Island state police reported the arrests of 35 drivers for DUI. Additionally, police reported issuing 820 summonses for failure to wear a seatbelt. It was not reported how many of these seatbelt summons resulted in arrests for DUI or other violations.
Read the entire local Scituate, Rhode Island article here.
Rhode Island DUI laws are some of the strictest in the nation, and may result in heavy fines, jail time, mandatory alcohol awareness classes, loss of insurance, required ignition interlock (a Breathalyzer attached to your vehicle’s ignition), and the loss of your driver’s license and auto insurance.
With the recent passage of a Rhode Island state law that allows police officers to stop drivers for not wearing a seatbelt, officers now have another means to apprehend motorists, submit them to field sobriety tests and a Breathalyzer exam, and possibly arrest them for suspicion of DUI.
If you have been arrested for DUI, you should immediately contact an experienced attorney with a record of defending DUI cases.
With an experienced attorney on your side, the arresting officer’s evidence of “reasonable suspicion,” execution of the field sobriety tests, and even the results of Breathalyzer are all subject to your defense attorney’s legal defense of your case. By convincing the Court that the arresting officer did not follow proper protocol, or that your rights were violated, you have a much greater chance of suffering minimal consequences as a result of your DUI arrest.
