DUI LAW: TIPS EVERY DRIVER NEEDS TO KNOW BEFORE GETTING BEHIND THE WHEEL

Ever leave your favorite dinner spot after having a couple glasses of wine and wonder if you should really be driving? It is so easy to misinterpret whether or not you are over the legal limit. One moment you are at dinner and before you know it, you are in the back of a police car under arrest for driving under the influence. However, these tips will guide you to make smart and calculated choices before taking the wheel.







1. It takes your liver approximately one hour to process each drink

A  "drink" is the equivalent to:  a beer that is 12oz and is 4.5% alcohol by volume (abv), a glass of wine that is 5oz and is 4.5% abv and a shot of liquor that is 1.5oz and is 40% abv.

For each of these drinks, it takes the liver no less than one hour to process the alcohol that your body intakes. If you have more than one drink in an hour, you are playing with fire and it is probably not the best idea to get behind the wheel of a car.

2. Not consenting to a DUI test may resulted in a suspended license

When you are pulled over with the suspicion that you are driving under the influence, an officer will more than likely conduct a field sobriety test. If you fail the field sobriety test, an officer will ask you to consent to a urine or blood test which will determine your blood alcohol level. You have the choice to not consent to these tests, BUT if you refuse, your driver's license could be suspended for an extended period of time.

3. Driving with a suspended license, as a result of a DUI, may lead to jail time. 

If you are charged and convicted of driving under the influence, your license will most likely be suspended for an extended period of time. If this is the case, we would HIGHLY recommend not getting behind the wheel of a car until your license is reinstated. 

If your license is in fact suspended because of a DUI charge, and you are pulled over, jail time may be a very viable consequence. Please do not drive a car with a suspended license. The consequences are really just not worth it.

4. Uber or Lyft can be your best friends if you let them.

Yeah I know what you are thinking. The idea of having a stranger come and randomly pick you up and drop you off is a weird concept to many. However, taking an Uber or a Lyft is the much smarter choice if you think you might be slightly over the legal limit. The worst case scenario is that you leave your car parked overnight, and you spend an inconvenient thirty dollars back to your house and again the next morning to get your car. Isn't this the much better option though then getting pulled over, spending the night in jail, having to go to court, and having your license suspended? Jones & Associates certainly thinks so.

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