Quick answer: The three-layer script: driving cues (weaving, wide turns, speed variance), window observations (odor, eyes, speech, ‘how much have you had tonight?’), then voluntary field sobriety tests. Each layer justifies the next in the report — and each can be challenged against the video.
Our attorneys are former police officers — we’ve written these reports and taught the script. The traffic violation is the legal hook; the case is built at the window: odor of intoxicants, bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, admission of drinking. The phrases repeat nearly word-for-word across thousands of reports — which is their weakness when the video tells a calmer story.
DPS trooper stops dominate here — and trooper reports follow the template most rigidly of all, which makes video comparison the core defense work.
Related questions
Do I have to answer questions at the window?
Provide license and insurance, then politely decline. You are not required to narrate your evening — and ‘two beers’ appears in more police reports than any other phrase.
Are the roadside tests mandatory?
No — field sobriety tests are voluntary in Texas with no automatic license penalty for declining, unlike post-arrest chemical tests.
More: Bastrop County DWI defense · All locations
Free consultation — 24/7. We review your stop, explain your options, and quote a flat fee. Criminal defense in Travis, Hays, Williamson, Bexar, and Bastrop counties is provided by Stephen T. Bowling, DWI & Criminal Defense Attorneys.
General legal information for Texas — not legal advice about your specific case. Last reviewed July 2026.