A police officer does not have to observe a DWI personally to have probable cause for the arrest. Although, typically in a case the police officer will follow and observe an individual who seems to be displaying signs of intoxicated driving, the police officer can rely on a reliable third party informant. That informant can remain anonymous. The officer has to be able to take the clues based on the informant’s description and using the officer’s experience and knowledge and history dealing with DWI arrests and education as to what some of the signs are of an individual who is driving while intoxicated to make the determination that probable cause exists for this stop to occur.
When a police officer either before or after administering the standardized field sobriety test feels like he has probable cause to arrest an individual based on the fact that he believes that they were driving while intoxicated, the officer will give DIC-24 Warnings. The DIC-24 Warning states if you give a specimen and the specimen and analysis shows that you have a alcohol concentration of .08 or more, your license permit or privilege to operate a motor vehicle will be suspended.
The statutory warning is given along with a temporary driving permit in most cases.
The temporary driving permit authorizes the individual to drive forty five days after the date they were arrested. At that point, their license is suspended for a period of ninety days if they provided a specimen of blood or breath or 180 days if they refused to provide a blood or breath specimen.
However, the temporary driving permit also states that if you file a request for an Administrative License Revocation Hearing within fifteen days of the date of the arrest then you are entitled to drive until your ALR Hearing. At the Administrative License Revocation Hearing the Department of Public Safety will have the burden of proving beyond a preponderance of the evidence that there was a reason to stop you or probable cause existed that you were intoxicated. If that happens, then you can petition the court for an Occupational Driver’s License to allow you to not only get to and from work but to take care of your daily routine.