How and where do I get a DUI in Nashville?

The first step towards a DUI conviction in Nashville obviously involves consuming alcohol or drugs, either legal or illegal, in such an amount that your ability to operate a motor vehicle is impaired. Many cases I have dealt with involve individuals who rarely drink. Amateur drinkers attending a social event, usually tied to their work, having a little to much and trying to drive. I believe many experienced impaired drivers avoid arrest by carefully following the traffic laws and driving between the lines.

After consuming more than the amount necessary to elevate your blood alcohol level above the legal limit, or taking either legal or illegal drugs to the point of being impaired, or possibly a combination of each, the next step you need to take in order to be awarded a DUI in Nashville involves driving or getting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. You can be found guilty of DUI if you are in the driver’s seat and the automobile is operational. I have represented several individuals who got to their car and realized they were unable to drive, passed out and then were arrested for DUI. Just pulling over or not driving away probably won’t save you from getting charged and convicted of DUI.

Put yourself in the shoes of one of Nashville’s eight DUI officers. Your job is to arrest as many drunk drivers as you can in the forty or so hours a week you’re patrolling the streets of Nashville. Where would you go? It wouldn’t take you long to figure out most drunk drivers are coming from the bars and clubs. The most frequent place a DUI arrest occurs right now is on West End in front of Electronic Express. Twenty-first Avenue, I-440 and the entrance to the Interstate on 4th avenue exiting downtown are all hot spots for DUI officers. I’ve been told by a reliable source that a special DUI checkpoint is formed for every event held at Starwood Amphitheater. As one DUI officer said these are the best “fishing holes.”

At least once a month, the DUI officers will set up a DUI checkpoint someplace around town. Special federal dollars have been provided for officers to be paid overtime for these road blocks. As many know the Downtown area gets intense coverage by all types of police activity, bicycles, horses, motorcycles, and patrol cars.

So quite simply, get yourself into a state of intoxication, and drive in an erratic or illegal matter in one of the most likely areas for Nashville’s DUI officers to hang out. Many arrests currently are based on stops where the passenger failed to have their seat belt on. After hours in certain areas Nashvilles DUI Officers are fishing hard to meet their montly DUI arrest quota. Most arrests occur when someone is stopped for speeding. Failure to turn on your headlights, weaving, driving to slow, or driving with an expired license plate are all good ways to get stopped. All over Nashville, particularly downtown there are no turn-on-red signs or don’t block intersection spots where officers find valid reasons to question or stop those who are probably drinking.