Troopers with the New Hampshire State Police patrol the interstates to make sure that no one gets hurt, even the drivers who make bad decisions or mistakes behind the wheel. For example, there are many reasons why a driver may be headed the wrong way on an interstate. Impairment is only one reason why that might happen.
Recently, on the same night, New Hampshire State Police took two people into custody accusing them of impairment. Their vehicles were found headed or facing the wrong way on Interstate 93 in separate locations at different times. The first was a woman who allegedly owned a vehicle found parked and facing the wrong direction on the southbound side of the highway. The woman was not even with the vehicle at the time, but police suspect her of driving it to the location and of being intoxicated.
The second instance involved a man on a motorcycle. The trooper who made this arrest apparently witnessed the vehicle traveling the wrong direction in the northbound lanes of the interstate in a different location. Upon stopping the motorcycle, the trooper ultimately arrested the driver on suspicion of impairment.
Driving the wrong way on a roadway does not automatically mean that alcohol or drugs impaired the driver at the time. Moreover, just because an individual is taken into custody on suspicion of impairment, it does not mean he or she is guilty of that offense. Prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law that a particular person committed the offense with which he or she is charged.
