There are many different reasons that people end up facing DUI charges. One common one is that they misjudged how sober they were when they got behind the wheel after a night out.
You can often hear people in bars, restaurants and parties trying to calculate whether they or a friend can safely have one more drink before driving. Or how long they need to wait after finishing their last drink before they can set off. That is a notoriously dangerous guessing game to play. Researchers at the University of Cambridge found that “As many as one in two people in our study underestimated how drunk they were.”
“Under the limit” does not mean “safe to drive”
It is important to understand that being under the legal limit does not mean you are safe to drive, and it does not mean you are safe from prosecution either. Any amount of alcohol will have a negative effect on your driving, thus increasing your risk of crashing.
Not only that, but officers can still charge people who test under the legal blood alcohol content limit if they see evidence of impairment in the way someone is driving. If you were tired after a hard week at work, and the two beers you had made you drowsy, causing you to drift across a lane or to be very late to notice the traffic signal changing, an officer might argue your driving was impaired enough to warrant charges, even though you don’t quite hit the 0.08% blood alcohol content limit when they test you.
A DUI conviction can have a significant impact on your life, so it is always worth seeking legal guidance to examine possible defense options if you face charges.