One of the best defenses  to avoid a Tennessee drunk driving conviction is to review the traffic stop. Police must have reasonable suspicion that a traffic offense occurred before a car or truck can be stopped for a traffic violation. The National Highway Traffic  Safety Administration ( NHSTA) has created a list of visual detection clues.One clue is weaving.

Problems in Maintaining Proper Lane Position

Maintaining proper lane position can be a difficult task for an impaired driver. For example, we have all seen vehicles weaving before. Weaving is when the vehicle alternately moves toward one side of the lane and then the other. The pattern of lateral movement can be fairly regular, as one steering correction is closely followed by another. In extreme cases, the vehicle’s wheels even cross the lane lines before a correction is made. You might even observe a vehicle straddling a center or lane line. That is, the vehicle is moving straight ahead with either the right or left tires on the wrong side of the lane line or markers.

WeavingWeaving

San Diego DUI lawyer Rick Mueller wrote  a recent blog post that reviewed several states laws on weaving.However , he didn’t discuss any Tennessee criminal law in his post.

In State of Tennessee v. Binette , the Tennessee Supreme Court held  that weaving is not sufficient grounds to pull a motorist over unless it is a pronounced movement.Bottom line is that weaving as a defense to a traffic stop is on a case by case basis.It also sure helps to have a video of the traffic stop.