Seattle DUI Attorney | Seat Belt Patrols Pretext for DUI Stop

I think everyone out there agrees that seat belts save lives. And I would even agree that seat belt education is important, and people should wear them. But is it really necessary to have saturation patrols to catch and ticket people that aren't wearing their seat belts? Aren't there better things our patrol officers could be doing, like at least catching people who are putting other people at risk? And if there isn't, should we be doing this anyway?

In the news today is a story about a statewide seat belt saturation patrol. And on top of it, it is a night saturation patrol. I am not making this up, but on May 21 and several date thereafter, there will actually be "sting" operations set up where an officer will be on the lookout for individuals that are not wearing their seat belts, who will then radio ahead to another officer who will pull over and ticket the individuals (at $112 a pop). The patrols will be occurring in King County, Auburn, Black Diamond, Kent, Kirkland, Maple Valley, Redmond, and Shoreline.

Like I said, I am all for wearing seat belts, but this crackdown on seat belt use sounds like one of two things: (1) a backdoor way for cities and counties to fill their coffers with traffic fines; and (2) a backdoor way to find and cite individuals with Seattle DUI. If either is the case, I wish they'd just come out and say it instead of cloaking it as some safety initiative. And that they are doing it at night because more accidents happen at night is ridiculous. How are these officers going to be able to see is someone in wearing their seat belt? Are they going to shine a spotlight on each passing car as it approaches?

As a Seattle DUI attorney I see instances all the time where people are stopped for minor traffic violations so they can in actuality be investigated for DUI. It is sneaky and it is underhanded, and pretextual stops are technically not allowed. But if I get to use all of the rules to my advantage, so do they.

I guess, then, on that note, the message is clear. Make sure you wear your seat belt. Don't give the spotters a reason to pull you over. And besides, wearing your seat belt is good for you.

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Seattle DUI Attorney | Burien City Manager Gets DUI

As expected, Burien City Manager Mike Martin was formally charged with driving under the influence of alcohol by the King County sheriff's department on Wednesday. If you remember, several weeks ago Martin was cited for DUI in Seattle after he hit a planter located at a house on his way home while trying to turn around in the street.

In the story that followed today in the Des Moines news (you can see it here), some other interesting facts surfaced. The property owner who had their planter run over by Mr. Martin opined that he thought Martin was "really drunk."

And the police officer noted that Martin had a smell of alcohol on his breath and that his eyes were watery and bloodshot (when haven't you heard this though - this is almost automatic cop speak when arresting someone for DUI). Also, Martin refused to take field sobriety tests (which you should always do) and refused to take a breath test (which you should only do after consulting your DUI attorney - something you are allowed to do under the law).

What is really interesting about this case are some of the city's leaders reactions. One of the city councilwomen wrote a scathing editorial calling for Martin's resignation, while others, one of whom is a recovering alcoholic, have stood up for Martin and stood by him. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

In any event, the lesson to be learned here is the same: don't drive drunk, but if you do drink and drive (not the same as driving drunk), know your rights, and don't be afraid to stop answering the officer's questions and ask to speak to your Seattle DUI defense attorney.

As always, thanks for reading the Seattle DUI Attorney Blog. Come back for more DUI news, tips, tricks, and decisions.

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