Arrested for a DUI And Attempting to Elude Police
A traffic stop makes most of us nervous even if we didn't do anything wrong. If you had too many drinks with friends, then you may be even more nervous, thinking you may get arrested for a DUI, even if you think your driving was fine. Facing all the penalties of a DUI, including loss of your license and thousands of dollars in fees and extra insurance, some people may be tempted to try and get away from the police. But that will usually only make things worse.
If you fail to pull your car over with a police vehicle showing lights or sounding sirens behind you, you can be charged with fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer. Under Georgia law, “it shall be unlawful for any driver of a vehicle willfully to fail or refuse to bring his or her vehicle to a stop or otherwise to flee or attempt to elude a pursuing police vehicle or police officer when given a visual or an audible signal to bring the vehicle to a stop.”
Eluding the police won't just mean a ticket, it can mean jail time. It is considered a high and aggravated misdemeanor, and unlike some misdemeanors, it has a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 days, with the possibility of up to 12 months in prison. If it happens a second time, that carries a minimum of 30 days in jail. A third time? At least 90 days in jail. This is all in addition to fines of up to $5,000.
Even worse, if you get an eluding charge when you are under the influence of alcohol and over the legal limit, the eluding charge will be treated as a felony. Eluding with a DUI will result in a minimum of 1 year in jail, with up to 5 years possible. Don't risk a felony on your record. A felony conviction can limit what jobs you can do, if you get to vote, and even limit your ability to pay for college.
The problem is that many times, a charge of fleeing the police doesn't reflect what actually happened. It may just be the police officer claiming that you were eluding them when you simply hadn't noticed them in your rear view mirror. You shouldn't have to go to jail just because you had your music turned up too much to notice the police siren. Or you may have thought the police were trying to pull over someone else, or there wasn't a safe place to pull over.
Fleeing Atlanta Police When Driving Intoxicated
Make sure you pull over when the police are behind you, otherwise you could face the very serious charge of eluding police. If you or a loved one got arrested for attempting to flee when they were under the influence, you need an Atlanta DUI lawyer to make sure you get the justice you deserve. Just because you made a mistake and got arrested doesn't have to mean you should be convicted. You may have a better chance than you realize. Call me anytime, and I will make sure you are treated fairly by the courts and keep your record clean.