Ways To Prove That You Weren't Driving Anyone In Your Ride-Sharing Vehicle During A DUI Case

Posted on: 2 April 2019

If you're a ride-sharing driver, you likely appreciate the ability to earn income simply from driving passengers around your city. In this capacity, you're responsible for the safety of your passenger, so driving safely is imperative. While it's never a good idea to drink before getting behind the wheel of your vehicle, this is especially true when you're a ride-sharing driver. A DUI charge while you're carrying a passenger can often be more serious, and you may face additional charges, too. If a police officer has charged you with DUI and has somehow indicated that you were carrying a passenger immediately prior to the stop — something that you strongly deny — here's how to fight this allegation in court.

Share Your Pickup Logs

For ride-sharing drivers, nothing tells the story of what they've been doing that day better than their pickup logs. This data, which you can find on your smartphone, will show when you picked up passengers, where you took them, and how long they were in your vehicle. If your goal of fighting the ticket in court is to plead to a simple DUI and defeat the additional charges associated with driving while intoxicated as a ride-sharing driver, sharing your pickup logs could indicate that you hadn't had a passenger in several hours before the arrest.

Show Your In-Car Footage

Many ride-sharing drivers have a security camera inside of their vehicle as a way to document what goes on in the vehicle. This footage can be instrumental in proving that you had not been carrying a passenger in the time leading up to your DUI arrest. Security camera footage is typically time-stamped, so make sure to share copies of this footage with your DUI attorney, as it may be critical in showing that you were traveling alone, just as you've said.

Get A Witness

It's possible that as you drove around prior to the arrest, you were on the phone with a friend or a family member. He or she can be valuable for your defense of the additional charges that may come based on your role as a ride-sharing driver. For example, this person could testify that you told him or her that it was a slow day and that you hadn't had anyone in your vehicle for a period of time. This person may also indicate that you were talking about things that you wouldn't have been discussing had there been a passenger in your vehicle.

Together, these defenses may not get your DUI charge dismissed if there's good evidence against you, but they can help you to defeat any passenger-related additional charges. For more advice, work with a DUI personal attorney

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