Walk It Through: Pulled Over In Michigan
The license, the insurance on a phone, a pistol, the phone law and a breath test.
Lights behind you on a dark road. You pull onto the shoulder and the officer walks up.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One stop, four moments. Whether the stop itself was lawful, what an officer may ask beyond the license and insurance, the roadside physical tests, and what follows an arrest are not covered here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- High BACAn alcohol content of 0.17 or more, the higher tier of the OWI section. A first conviction carries 1 or more of up to 180 days, a fine of $200 to $700, and up to 360 hours of community service.
- Implied consentThe rule that a person who drives on a Michigan highway is considered to have consented to a chemical test on arrest for the offenses the section lists.
- Operating while intoxicatedOperating a vehicle on a highway or any place open to the public or generally accessible to vehicles, parking areas included, while under the influence, or with an alcohol content of 0.08 grams or more per 100 milliliters of blood, per 210 liters of breath, or per 67 milliliters of urine.
- Operating while visibly impairedOperating a vehicle when the ability to operate is visibly impaired by alcohol or another substance.
- PointsThe entries the Secretary of State records on a driving record for each conviction or civil infraction determination, by the schedule in the section: 1 for more than 1 and up to 5 mph over, up to 6 for the most serious offenses.
- Preliminary breath testThe breath test at the roadside, before any arrest. Refusing it on a lawful request is a civil infraction for most drivers.
- Immediate disclosureA concealed pistol licensee's duty, when stopped by a peace officer, to disclose immediately that a pistol is being carried, on the person or in the vehicle.
- ObstructUnder the resisting and obstructing statute, the use or threatened use of physical interference or force, or a knowing failure to comply with a lawful command.
- Hold (a phone while driving)To physically support a mobile electronic device with any part of the hands, arms or shoulders, which a driver may not do while operating a motor vehicle.