A lot of drunk driving arrests take the drivers by surprise – and you may wonder, “Didn’t they realize they were too drunk to drive?”
Probably not – and you probably aren’t any better at judging your own sobriety levels, either.
Blame it on your friends – mostly
Research indicates that humans are inherently bad at figuring out just how intoxicated they are, and that’s usually because they measure their own drunkenness relative to the people around them. This is particularly true for social drinkers who don’t regularly imbibe since they’re less familiar with their own drinking limits.
So, if you’re out with a group of friends or in a social gathering of some kind and your uncle has already moved onto the “lampshade on the head” stage of intoxication or you just talked your best friend down from dancing on a table, you may think that you’re virtually sober – even though you’re just “far less intoxicated” than they are.
What’s the solution? Well, you can always count your drinks or carry a pocket Breathalyzer device to see how you measure up before you hit the road. None of those methods are entirely secure, of course; if you really want to avoid the possibility of a drunk driving charge, the only option is to simply not drink and drive. That means making sure that you have a designated driver on hand at all times – or Uber or Lyft downloaded on your phone and ready to go so that you can get home safely.
If you do make a mistake and end up facing charges, don’t try to talk your way out of the situation. It’s far better to exercise your right to remain silent until you can fully explore the possible defenses.