This appeal arises from this Court’s grant of Rauf Tunali’s application for interlocutory review of the denial of his motion to suppress evidence obtained during a traffic stop. Tunali contends that the trial court erred because 1 the State failed to demonstrate the basis for the investigating officer’s suspicion justifying the initial traffic stop, and 2 the investigating officer administered an alco-sensor test without first giving Tunali an implied consent warning. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. While the trial court’s findings as to disputed facts in a ruling on a motion to suppress will be reviewed to determine whether the ruling was clearly erroneous, where the evidence is uncontroverted and no question regarding the credibility of witnesses is presented, the trial court’s application of the law to undisputed facts is subject to de novo appellate review.1 Here, the relevant evidence is undisputed, and we therefore review the trial court’s legal rulings de novo. The record shows that Tunali was driving on an interstate highway in a Ford F250 pickup truck, which displayed a hazardous materials placard.2 An officer from the Department of Public Safety “DPS” stationed at a commercial vehicle weighing and inspection station observed Tunali drive past the station without stopping. Based on Tunali’s failure to stop, the officer pursued him and conducted a traffic stop. As the officer spoke with Tunali and directed him back to the inspection station, he noticed an odor of alcohol on Tunali’s breath. When the officer asked Tunali if he had consumed any alcohol, Tunali said that he had done so eight hours before the officer stopped him. The officer asked Tunali if he would blow into an alco-sensor to detect the presence of alcohol. Tunali consented and blew into the sensor, which registered positive for alcohol.
The officer allowed Tunali’s passenger, who was properly licensed, to drive the vehicle to the inspection station where the officer performed an inspection of the vehicle for compliance with commercial vehicle standards. Based on his encounter with Tunali, the officer issued him citations for DPS rules violations based on exhibiting a detectable level of alcohol while driving a commercial vehicle and having a broken rear brake light/turn signal that the officer noticed after he executed the traffic stop.
