Officers are taught to “approach, observe, and interview” the driver while the driver is still behind the wheel. They know to look for any signs of impairment, and are taught to use their senses of sight, hearing, and smell to do so. Here is a breakdown of what they are taught to be aware of:
- What they see
- Bloodshot eyes
- Soiled clothes
- Fumbling fingers
- Alcohol containers
- Drugs and drug paraphernalia
- Bruises, bumps, and scratches
- Other unusual behavior
- What they hear
- Slurred speech
- Admission of drinking
- Inconsistent responses
- Unusual or nonsensical statements
- Abusive or foul language
- What they smell
- Odor of intoxicating beverage
- Marijuana
- Heavy use of “cover up” odors like Febreze or other deodorizers
A collection of some of these (and believe it or not sometimes ALL of these) clues will wind up in the officer’s report if he decides to charge a person with DUI. In fact, experienced DUI lawyers will tell you that the phrases “I smelled the odor of an intoxicating beverage” and “the subject had glassy, bloodshot eyes and slurred speech” appear so frequently near the beginning of DUI officer reports that they appear to be copied and pasted from report to report across Mississippi.
The officers are also taught to question the driver extensively and to use a technique called “divided attention” questioning. Divided attention questioning usually begins with the officer asking the driver to produce two things: their drivers license and their insurance card. This makes the driver remember two simple tasks, to retrieve both items and hand them to the officer. If the driver has difficulty remembering to give him both items, the officer is taught that this may mean they are impaired.
The officer is then to ask the driver questions while he is fishing for his license and insurance card. This is the core of the divided attention questioning technique: it makes the driver think about multiple things at the same time. The inability to do that is a pretty good indicator that the driver is impaired by alcohol or some other substance, at least according to the NHTSA. The officer will ask questions like “where are you coming from?” or “where are you headed?” while closely watching not just what the driver says (nonsensical answers) but also how the driver says it (slurred speech). The officer may also ask unusual questions, like “what is your middle name?” to further test the ability of the driver to answer.
At this point, the officer is taught he should be on the lookout for any potential medical issues that might mimic drug or alcohol impairment. They are taught they should ask the driver if they have any physical disabilities, are under the care of a doctor, are diabetic or epileptic, or are on any medications. If they don’t ask these things that doesn’t mean they can’t go forward with the DUI investigation. It just may hurt them later at trial if a medical condition is actually a factor.
The officers may decide at that point that the driver isn’t likely impaired and release them, or they may ask the driver to exit the vehicle for further testing. But before the testing starts, the officer is looking for even more clues as you step out of the vehicle. Read about that here.