What options do you have if facing a DWI charge?

You might assume attempting to fight a driving while intoxicated (DWI) charge is a dead-end street. Yet, there are many escape routes you might not have considered.

A DWI conviction comes with significant financial penalties, license suspension and even time behind bars. While you might get away lightly the first time, if the police ever gave you another DWI, that first conviction would increase the severity of penalties for the second offense.

3 ways you can challenge a DWI arrest

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Why did the police stop me? Have you ever seen the police standing at the door of a bar, waiting to see who walks out and gets in their car? No, and you will not either because the law gives you the right to go about life without the police constantly breathing down your neck. The police can only stop you in specific circumstances.
• How did the police behave? A court will not overturn a charge because an officer did not say please or thank you. They might if they breached arrest protocols.
• What evidence do they have? Overturning Breathalyzer evidence is not easy, but you can sometimes do it. If the police arrested you based only on a sobriety test or how they say you were driving, you have even more chance to challenge them.

Accepting a DWI charge without a fight may seem like the easiest thing to do now, but you might regret it when you understand the full implications it brings. Finding out more about your options to contest a drunk driving charge can help you choose the best route out of a difficult situation.