DUI Offenders

The Texas Police Department follows three phases of DUI/DWI detection.

Phase 1 – Vehicle in Motion

In this phase, the police officer initially observes the vehicle. Whether he will stop it or not would depend on the way it’s being driven.

Phase 2 – Personal Contact

In the second phase, the police officer conducts an initial exchange with the vehicle driver by asking him specific questions. He will observe the driver’s condition and decide from there whether he should ask him to step off the vehicle or not.

Phase 3 – Pre-Arrest Screening

This is the phase where the police officer would base his decision on whether he should arrest the vehicle for DUI/DWI or not. In general, the pre-arrest screening phase involves a series of tests to determine field sobriety. There are three standardized tests for field sobriety: the one leg stand, the walk and turn and the horizontal gaze nystagmus. In addition to these, police officers usually conduct an initial breath test along with other non-standardized tests for field sobriety.