Ohio Traffic Stop Defense: Why Were You Pulled Over?

Where a case begins, before the stages in our guide to the OVI court process.

Almost every OVI in Ohio begins with a traffic stop, and the stop itself is often the first and best place to fight the case. To pull you over, an officer must have a reasonable and articulable suspicion that a law was being broken. If there was no valid reason for the stop, the stop is illegal, and that can lead to the suppression of everything that followed, including the OVI. This page explains the common reasons police use to stop drivers and how those stops are challenged. Call (937) 318-1384 for a free consultation.

It sits alongside the other OVI defenses.

The Stop Is the First Place to Fight an OVI

The Fourth Amendment requires reasonable suspicion that a crime is being committed or is about to be committed before an officer can stop you. If you are able to demonstrate that there was no reasonable and articulable suspicion for the stop, your stop is illegal and may lead to the suppression of evidence. When the stop falls, the State often loses the field sobriety tests, the chemical test, and the officer’s observations along with it. That is why an experienced OVI attorney examines the reason for the stop before anything else.

A bad stop is argued through a motion to suppress.

Common Reasons Police Use to Stop You

Marked Lanes and Weaving (O.R.C. 4511.33)

A marked lanes charge is often a companion charge to a DUI/OVI offense. It is also a “cue” that the officer may look for based on National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) training. NHTSA has developed a guide for detecting drunk drivers that identifies 24 clues that potentially impaired drivers exhibit, and many of those clues relate to the driver’s ability to maintain proper lane position. Many people believe that weaving, in and of itself, is both a crime and an indication of drunk driving. That is not necessarily so.

Your attorney should aggressively defend your driving and point out to a judge or jury other possible causes of weaving, such as texting, eating, telephone calls, conversations with other passengers, changing the radio station, stretching, or fatigue. Your attorney should also be prepared to argue that your driving may not have violated Ohio law at all. Courts have recognized that a minor, de minimis marked-lanes movement, such as briefly touching the fog line, may not by itself establish the reasonable and articulable suspicion needed to justify a stop.

Assured Clear Distance and Following Too Closely (R.C. 4511.21(A))

Ohio Revised Code 4511.21(A), Assured Clear Distance, is a law requiring that you drive your vehicle in such a way as to be able to bring your car to a stop to avoid an accident. As a driver, you are required to take into consideration night driving, weather conditions, hills, curves, turns, and poor lighting. If a car is traveling or stopped in front of you in the same lane of travel, you must be able to bring your car to a stop to avoid a wreck. This is a frequently cited reason for a stop, especially where an accident is involved.

Speeding (R.C. 4511.21)

Ohio’s speed law prohibits operating a vehicle at a speed greater or less than is reasonable or proper, having due regard to the traffic, surface, and width of the roadway and other conditions. A speeding allegation is one of the most common reasons an officer gives for a stop that turns into an OVI investigation.

Equipment and Plate-Light Violations

Minor equipment issues, such as a license plate light that is not illuminated, are also commonly used as the basis for a stop. Whether such a violation actually justified the stop, and whether it was supported by the evidence, is a fair question to raise.

Challenging the Stop

When we review a case, some of the first questions we ask are whether the evidence demonstrates that the officer had a legitimate reason for stopping your vehicle, whether the officer amassed enough evidence to continue the detention after the stop, whether there was enough evidence to begin an OVI investigation, and whether the officer had enough evidence to ask you to step from your vehicle.

The video often matters more than the officer’s report. In one Ohio case, an officer alleged the driver was weaving and crossing the center line, but when the dash-cam video was viewed at the motion-to-suppress hearing, no weaving and no crossing of the center line was observed, and the court suppressed the stop. Reviewing the cruiser and body-camera video can reveal whether the reason given for the stop actually happened.

Why Trust Charles M. Rowland II

Charles M. Rowland II has established himself as a top OVI attorney in Ohio and the Dayton area and beyond. He lives by the motto, “Work hard, play by the rules, and never quit!” Preparation, dedication and perseverance are his touchstones. He will vigorously fight for you and will genuinely care about the outcome of your case. He wants the most favorable outcome including acquittals, dismissed charges, or advantageous reduced charges.

He has been recognized by his clients and his peers as a top OVI attorney. He has been a “Super Lawyer” since 2013, a Fellow to the Ohio State Bar Foundation, the Nations Top 1%, the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 for Criminal Defense, a Dayton Bar Association Foundation Fellow, and has appeared in Time and Car & Driver Magazine for OVI defense. He completed the same NHTSA standardized field sobriety testing course that police officers attend and later became an instructor. He is a lecturer on OVI defense to police agencies, attorneys, judges, and students, and he taught OVI trial practice at the Greene County Peace Officer Training Academy for over fifteen years.

Charlie is a member of the Dayton Bar Association, the Dayton Bar Foundation (2022 Foundation Fellow), the Greene County Bar Association (past President), the Clark County Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Foundation (2005 Foundation Fellow), the American Bar Association, and the American Bar Foundation.

Frequently Asked Questions About Ohio traffic stop defense

Free Consultation

If you were pulled over and charged with an OVI in the Dayton area, call Charles M. Rowland II at (937) 318-1384 for a free consultation.