How To Avoid A DUI During The Holidays – Part I

With Thanksgiving and Christmas quickly approaching, the increased opportunities to get arrested for a DUI approach as well. This article provides common sense tips to avoid drunk driving.

Tip 1: Don’t drink alcohol and then drive. This is the simplest piece of advice. As a DUI / DWI attorney, I have learned to never trust so-called alcohol detection technology. Portable breath testing devices (PBT), evidential breath testers (Breathalyzer, Alcotest, etc.), and laboratory blood testing are all flawed to some degree. Moreover, the people operating those devices often make errors. Sure, a qualified attorney can be hired to defend you against any bogus charges, but why put yourself in that situation? When I am driving, I never touch a drop of alcohol, because I am suspicious of every part of the DUI investigative process and prosecution.

Tip 2: If you insist on drinking alcohol, then be smart about it. Eat enough food to have a full stomach. The consumption of food will delay the absorption of alcohol. Therefore, the alcohol in a person’s body will be absorbed over a longer period of time. This will help to prevent a spike in alcohol intoxication.

Tip 3: Don’t rely on the “rule” of one drink an hour. Generally, one drink should be absorbed and eliminated from the human body in one hour. Nonetheless, more than one client of mine has reported that this “rule” was followed before being arrested for a DUI. In reality, alcohol metabolism is a complex process that is dependent on many variables, such as gender, body weight, body hydration, and food content in the stomach.

Tip 4: Being close in proximity to your home does not increase your chances of getting away with drunk driving. Once again, I have heard from many clients that they were located less than a mile from their homes when stopped and arrested by the police. The police will not cut you a break because you live nearby.

Avoiding intoxicated driving generally involves common sense. However, when a person starts drinking alcohol, common sense usually goes out the door. Aside from the danger posed to yourself and other people on the road, there is much to lose from being convicted for a DUI. Those penalties will be discussed in Part II of “How to Avoid a DUI during the Holidays.” Before making a decision to drink alcohol and drive, all of the consequences of a DUI conviction should be kept in mind. Knowledge of these consequences should serve as a deterrent to drunk driving.