The trucking industry is highly regulated, and one way that those regulations are enforced is through the use of weigh stations situated along the highways of the country. Many people are under the impression that all they do at these stations is weigh the trucks. However, the officers who staff these stations are also checking to ensure that the trucks are in good working order and that the drivers are unimpaired. For example, a trucker was recently arrested for being impaired after the administration of field sobriety tests conducted at a weigh station here in Tennessee.
The 25-year-old trucker stopped at an open weigh station on Interstate 81 recently. Officials there determined that his truck was longer than it should have been. When the truck driver was questioned, he was suspected of being impaired.
He agreed to participate in field sobriety tests, which the Tennessee Highway Patrol says that he did not pass. At that point, the man's truck was searched. Officers allegedly found drug residue, syringes and a syringe containing a substance assumed to be methamphetamine. He was placed under arrest, and his bail was set at $4,000. At last report, his first appearance in court was scheduled for Oct. 8.
Anyone arrested on suspicion of DUI has the right to challenge the charges and the supposed evidence. Field sobriety tests are notoriously unreliable. Not only can an individual fail these tests when he or she is sober, but also the tests must be administered in accordance with certain policies and procedures. If these tests do not stand up to scrutiny, their results might not be admissible as evidence in court.
Source: greenevillesun.com, "Trucker Charged With DUI, Drug Possession", Oct. 8, 2016
