Your right to remain silent is one of the most important aspects of our justice system. It keeps you from implicating yourself in an accusation, and the police can’t use your words against you. They will do just that, and they warn you upfront. Part of your Miranda warning states that “anything you say can and will be used against you.”

Your right to remain silent extends to traffic stops. When the police pull you over, you should give them your basic information like your name and ID. Other than that, you are not obligated to answer any other questions.

If you speak during a traffic stop, you could be accused of a DUI.

Police Use Tricky Language

If you think about it, there is a subtle difference between these two questions:

• “Have you had anything to drink tonight?”
• “How much have you had to drink tonight?”

Police need a reason to arrest you for a DUI. Sometimes, they can rely on their assessment of your behavior, but they know that is flimsy evidence. The more ammunition they have against you, the more likely they are to assume you have been drinking.

Cops often use questions like the second one, “How much have you had to drink?” to trap you. If you give them an answer that indicates you’ve been drinking at all, they have all the evidence they need. It doesn’t matter if you had one drink hours ago and a full steak dinner since. When police can link your behavior to drinking, they can arrest you.

Police Can Blame Your Driving on Virtually Anything

A DUI is not exclusive to alcohol consumption. You could be arrested for being high on drugs, pills, and the like.

Technically, anything that impairs your driving could result in a DUI arrest. This is another reason why it’s important to stay silent. Police could use anything, regardless of its legality, to accuse you. You could be drinking kava tea, taking antihistamines, or simply having too much coffee. If the cops believe an outside substance impaired your driving, they can secure an arrest.

Once again, just stay silent. Don’t tell the police where you’re going or where you’ve been. Don’t tell them about any medicine you’ve had or anything else you’ve put in your body.

It’s Easy to Make Mistakes

Being questioned by the police is an intense situation. You’re under a lot of pressure, and it’s easy to get confused. You may have temporary problems recalling the answers to questions, which will make you seem inebriated. Even if you are stone sober, you could easily phrase something the wrong way and suddenly find yourself arrested.

The justice system used these technicalities against people for a long time. That’s why, in 1966, the country implemented the Miranda warnings. Staying silent is a way to keep from accidentally implicating yourself. Whenever you are under suspicion of anything, just remain quiet. Your attorney will do the speaking for you.