Many states have taken extra steps to protect law enforcement officers who are engaged in traffic stops on the side of the road. In most cases, states will require drivers to move over one lane away from the traffic stop, which will allow the law enforcement officer more room and hopefully prevent any accidental collisions in tight quarters. Some officers take extra safety steps on their own by conducting traffic stop questioning through the passenger’s side of the suspect vehicle as opposed to the driver’s side with their back to traffic. However, regardless of how many additional safety precautions are taken, sometimes accidents will still occur.

Some of our Philadelphia readers may have heard by now of the collision which took place on March 31 between a driver and a police cruiser. According to the reports, a Philadelphia police officer was conducting a traffic stop on the side of the road at approximately 1:45 a.m. when a driver struck her police car, which then hit the officer and knocked her down. Fortunately, the police officer did not suffer serious injuries. However, the driver who hit her police cruiser is probably looking for a Philadelphia DUI attorney right now, as he was arrested after the incident on DUI charges.

Any drunk driving defense attorney would probably be able to tell our readers that there are a variety of ways in which a driver could be suspected of driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Traffic stops are one of the most common ways, and they usually occur after a police officer observes some minor infraction, such as failure to use a turn signal. Officers are probably even more apt to stop a driver for these types of infractions during the late evening hours, because that is when many people are making their way home after imbibing in alcohol beverages. But causing a car accident is another type of incident which will catch attention from police.

Philadelphia residents who face DUI charges need to know that a conviction could have serious implications for a lifetime. Although most DUI charges are misdemeanors, any type of criminal conviction can make life harder under a wide variety of circumstances. Fighting DUI charges should be a primary consideration.

Source: NBC10 Philadelphia, “Officer Hurt as DUI Driver Rams Patrol Car,” Dan Stamm, March 31, 2013