In Pennsylvania, an officer often conducts field sobriety testing prior to asking a driver to submit to a roadside breath test and making an arrest, whether the driver is suspected of intoxication during a traffic stop, sobriety checkpoint or saturation patrol.

A recent Pennsylvania appellate court decision involved a rarely implemented defense in a DUI/DAI case. In Commonwealth v. Clouser, the Pennsylvania Superior Court considered whether a driver was justified in fleeing danger in his vehicle even though he was intoxicated. While the trial court had denied the defendant’s request to argue justification, the Superior Court held that he should have been allowed to present this defense.