DOES THE WEATHER EFFECT DUI ARRESTS?

---

Weather can impact DUI arrest numbers in different ways. For instance, it can impact the manner inwhich a DUI will be investigated, whether a police officer will be called to the scene of a DUI, or whether people will commit a DUI. There are many different scenarios in which weather can play a role in DUI defense.

More people go out to events during nice weather than bad weather. There are more outdoor concerts, outdoor sporting events, and open air markets, for instance, during the warm dry seasons. Many of these events serve alcohol.

Now contrast this with cold weather. There’s no beach volleyball or outdoor concerts. No outdoor festivals. Most people are hibernating during the colder weather.

There are less people out celebrating during the winter with the exception of the holidays. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s usually bring people out to celebrate. These celebrations usually include alcohol as well. So, there are more places to go and drink during the warmer months. As a result there are more people on the road with alcohol in their system during these warm months also.

So let’s now consider police officers. They know there are more people who are potentially DUI during the warm dry weather then the warm wet weather. So, they also know that there odds are greater for making DUI arrests during the warmer weather than during the cold weather. They also likely prefer getting out of their vehicles to make these arrests during the warmer weather than cold and wet weather. Additionally, it’s harder to instruct a person to do FST’s in the rain or snow than in warm weather.

One final consideration is the fact that driving is a lot more difficult during wet weather. It’s easier to get in an accident in the snow or rain slicked roads than it is to get into an accident on dry roads during warm weather. If the person is in an accident with only their car and calls a tow truck driver, the tow truck driver will notify police if he detects alcohol consumption. If there is more than one party involved in the accident, the odds are greater that someone will call the police to write an accident report. Once in an accident the police have probable cause to approach you and initiate a DUI investigation if they detect alcohol or drugs were used by the driver.

So, in closing, as addressed above weather can play a role in DUI arrests as well as DUI investigations. I hope you found this recent edition informative.