Erratic Driving Not Required For DUI

By Amy E. Feldman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A motorist whose car was sideswiped on the Taconic Parkway in New York called police to report the hit and run. When the police caught the driver, they realized that he was drunk and charged him with driving while intoxicated. Which would have seemed like just desserts to the motorist whose car the drunk had hit, except that the police, upon taking an incident report from the man who reported it, realized that he, too, was under the influence of drugs and charged him, too.

But, if that guy did nothing wrong, why should he be ticketed for just pursuing his rights? Can he be charged if there's no evidence that he wasn't driving erratically?

As to the first question, the answer is he was doing something wrong. He was driving under the influence. Just because he was the one who alerted the police doesn't mean he wasn't. And, as to the second, while impaired driving laws are intended to prevent you from, you know, driving while impaired, simply being over the legal limit without any other proof of impairment is still illegal.

Remember, many people convicted of drunk driving haven't been pulled over for driving erratically - they simply find themselves at a sobriety checkpoint and fail the breathalyzer. Bad luck for them. Good for the rest of us on the road.