When the lights go on, and you sense that initial panic, take pause and realize there is a purpose for what is about to happen. You are driving a vehicle while under the influence, and if in your heart you know you are intoxicated, accept your reality. You are breaking the law.
Do not argue with the arresting officer. Do not make excuses that you are only a couple of miles from home. Do not believe that making light of the situation will put a smile on the officer’s face and merit a warning. Once the situation is assessed, the police have little choice but to take you off the street. Know this, the police are not roaming your city streets looking for people whose lives they want to destroy. They are patrolling the roads to save lives, including your own. You are as responsible for that outcome as you are breaking the law. That reality is your first step to handling the agonizing truth.
When you realize you are being stopped, pull over and put the car in park. Don’t try to dash, you could create a dangerous outcome that causes more damage than the potential disaster already looming ahead of you given your present condition. When the officer approaches your car, be as logical as possible, and have your license and insurance ready to put in his hands. When asked if you have been drinking be honest and simply answer with a yes statement.
The laws around DWI are designed to protect innocent citizens who ought not be subjected to your impaired judgment. Accept the officer’s allegation and follow every command to the letter. By doing so, your image in court might be inevitably softer than if you react harshly to the police. Their goal is to remove you from the road in as respectful and less-demeaning manner as possible. Try to realize that most cops are going to treat you exactly that way. Their ‘stubborn attitude’ will win over your own if you try to go toe to toe with them.
How you decide to handle an arrest for driving under the influence could demonstrate the first positive steps you make in this ordeal. If hostilities arise you will deserve everything you receive. Be responsible for your own actions, recognize the purpose of an officer’s intervention, and let the outcome become a learning experience. Devastating as an arrest may be, know the true outcome is protecting innocent people on the road from another drunk driver.