When people get behind the wheel in Philadelphia, they have certain responsibilities. They must obey the driving laws, be aware of their surroundings and ensure that they are driving in a manner to keep themselves and other drivers on the road safe. In order to do this the driver must pay attention to the road and their surroundings. Distracted driving can be dangerous, and that is why there are laws for texting and driving and drinking and driving.
However, despite there being laws prohibiting driving under the influence many people in Philadelphia are charged with DUI each year. There were a total of 13,305 DUI arrests in Philadelphia metro area in 2015. In January there were 1,037, in February 1,074, in March 1,163, in April 1,264, in May 1,228, in June 986, in July 1,078, in August 1,155, in September 996, In October 1,133, in November 1,101 and in December 1,090.
These are just the arrest numbers though. This does not mean that all of those people ended up with a DUI conviction. After all, just because a person is arrested doesn’t mean they are automatically guilty. There may be a number of defenses available to people who are arrested for DUI. Many of the defenses start with whether the police officer lawfully pulled the vehicle over and whether there was probable cause that the person was actually under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If the police did not have a lawful reason for the stop, then the subsequent evidence of alleged alcohol consumption may be suppressed. In addition, field sobriety tests could be improperly interpreted or Breathalyzer tests may not be accurate.
As the statistics show, thousands of people in the Philadelphia area are arrested for DUIs. However, everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and defenses may be available. Understanding these defenses may result in the person avoiding a conviction for the DUI charge.
Source: Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System, “Summary Arrest Reports” accessed on April 4, 2016
