On St. Patrick's Day, it's not unusual to see people going to the bar to have a drink to celebrate. All that partying typically means a busy night for police officers working to keep drunk drivers off the road.
Over the St. Patrick's Day holiday, Collier County sheriff's deputies reported seven DUI arrests. According to former police chief Walt Zalisko, there are several ways for officers to determine whether or not a person is driving under the influence. He says that once an officer pulls someone over, there is a reason for them to suspect a drive is inebriated.
“Most of the time an officer follows a suspected DUI for a few minutes before he decides to pull them over”, he says
Officers are typically looking for erratic behavior behind the wheel such like swerving and sudden breaking. These things suggest that th person behind the wheel is not fully alert. But when they are pulled over, things like bloodshot eyes and the smell of alcohol usually call for a field sobriety test.
It was during these test that Collier County deputies encountered a range of drunken behavior. One man attempted to talk his way out of a field sobriety test, stalling as much as possible after he stepped out of the car. Another man was so inebriated, he had not even realized that he had urinated on himself.
“You can’t talk your way out of DUI, number one no matter how good you are", Zalisko says
during his time as an officer, Zalisko says he saw any people who felt they could drive and after a few drinks, but often their senses deceived them.
“They have to remember, the officer pulled them over for a reason, that their driving ability has been hampered."
