What to Do (And What NOT to Do) If You’re Pulled Over for DWI in Dallas

The decisions you make in the first ten minutes of a DWI traffic stop in Dallas can define the next two years of your life. People who have had a few drinks make choices under stress and anxiety that they would never make with a clear head — and those choices become the evidence the State uses against them.

I spent years as a Dallas County prosecutor watching how these cases were built. Here is what I tell every client about what to do — and what absolutely not to do — when those lights come on behind you.

DO: Pull Over Promptly and Safely

The moment you see lights, signal and pull off to the right side of the road as safely and promptly as possible. Do not speed up, do not drive erratically looking for a safe spot, do not ignore the lights. How you respond to the traffic stop is the officer’s first observation — it goes into the report, and it goes into their body camera footage that the jury will see.

DO: Have Your Documents Ready Before the Officer Arrives

Once stopped, turn off the engine, turn on your interior lights, and retrieve your license and insurance before the officer reaches your window. Fumbling through your glove box while the officer is already at your window looks like impairment. Having everything ready when they arrive looks controlled and organized.

DO NOT: Volunteer Information About Drinking

The officer will ask whether you have had anything to drink tonight. This is not a casual conversation — it is a question designed to elicit an admission that will appear verbatim in the police report. You are not required to answer it.

You can respond: I would prefer not to answer questions without my attorney present. This is not incriminating. It is a constitutional right. It will likely not prevent an arrest if the officer intends to make one, but it prevents you from handing them a gift-wrapped admission.

What not to say: I only had two beers. Almost every DWI defendant says some version of this. Prosecutors call it the magic two beers statement because it appears in virtually every DWI arrest report. It is an admission that you drank, that you drove, and that you knew enough to minimize.

DO NOT: Agree to Field Sobriety Tests

Field sobriety tests — the walk-and-turn, one-leg stand, and horizontal gaze nystagmus — are completely voluntary in Texas. You are not legally required to perform them, and refusing carries no automatic license penalty.

These tests are designed to fail people. They are administered on the side of a highway, often at night, on uneven pavement, with traffic rushing by, under the stress of a police encounter, and judged subjectively by the arresting officer who has already decided you may be impaired. Even sober people fail them.

Refuse politely but clearly: I decline to perform field sobriety tests.

KNOW: The Breath Test Is More Complicated

The breath test (Intoxilyzer 9000 in Texas) is different from field sobriety tests. Refusing a breath test triggers an automatic Administrative License Revocation — a 180-day suspension for first-time refusals — and the refusal itself can be used as evidence against you at trial.

However, a breath test result is also evidence — potentially the most damaging piece of evidence in the case. If the officer obtains a warrant for a blood draw (increasingly common in Dallas County for suspected high-BAC cases), refusal no longer prevents a sample from being taken.

DO: Be Respectful and Cooperative on Logistics

Being respectful costs you nothing and could affect how the report is written. You should step out of the vehicle if asked (legally required once stopped), provide license, insurance, and registration, and follow physical instructions. You do not have to answer their questions.

DO: Call an Attorney Immediately After Arrest

Once you are in custody, you have the right to an attorney. Use it. The 15-day ALR window begins the night of your arrest — every hour you wait to call a lawyer is time you may not recover.

Our goal is to get your case dismissed. Call The Goolsby Law Firm at (972) 394-2141 — the sooner you call, the more options you have.