An officer’s first job is to watch the moving car to note any initial cues of a possible DWI violation. At this point, the officer must decide whether there is enough reason to stop the car. You should talk to DWI Lawyer Raleigh in order to evaluate how mistakes during a phase I observation may affect your DWI case.

If the officer has a “reasonable articulable suspicion” that the driver is impaired, he can stop the car. Or if the officer sees the driver committing a traffic or criminal violation – broken headlight, running a red light, speeding, etc. – the officer can stop the car to issue a citation for the offense.

At this point, the officer is not required to arrest the driver for a DWI based on this initial observation. Instead, the officer should try to gather all evidence that may suggest a DWI.

For instance, the officer may see the way the driver responds to the officer’s signal to stop, and note any other evidence of a DWl violation, including:

• unusual driving actions
• weaving within a lane,
• moving at slower than normal speed,
• evidence that the driver is drinking while driving.

Based on these initial observations of the moving car, the officer must decide whether there is “reasonable articulable suspicion” to stop the vehicle.

At this point the officer has three choices:

• stop the vehicle,
• continue to observe the vehicle,
• or disregard the vehicle.

A top DWI lawyer will examine the officer’s behavior during Phase I carefully to figure out whether the police officer jumped to a conclusion without forming a “reasonable articulable suspicion.”

“Reasonable articulable suspicion” (RAS) or “reasonable suspicion” has a specific legal meaning. It is a standard that requires the officer to development enough specific facts so that a reasonable officer in the officer’s situation would have had suspicion to believe a crime was afoot.

An officer can’t simply say that he had a “hunch” that the driver was committing a DWI. The officer must give specific facts that caused him to have the suspicion that driver was committing a DWI.