With the arrival of Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial beginning to the summer season, Florida drivers need to be wary about drinking and driving. The first tropical storm of the hurricane season, Tropical Storm Alberto, has already rolled through Florida and the kids will be off school for the summer soon. This prompts many people to head for the beach or plan a barbecue or a night out with friends or family. Although these are all extremely fun activities, sometimes they can lead to a person drinking more than he or she would otherwise tend to under normal circumstances.
However, drivers need to be wary of having too much to drink during the summer season and then getting behind the wheel. Under Florida law, drivers cannot get behind the wheel of a vehicle with a blood alcohol content (BAC) level of 0.08 or more. Drivers who choose to operate a motor vehicle after having too much to drink are risking loss of a driver’s license, a potential term of imprisonment and other potential penalties. Therefore, if you find yourself in the position of having had one or two drinks too many this summer, do yourself and everyone else on the road a favor and take an Uber, a Lyft or use a designated driver to get home. Not only will this potentially save your life as well as those of the people around you on the road, it may also save you your driver’s license and potential jail time as well as other negative consequences…all for one mistake when you were not thinking clearly because you had too much to drink.
The Importance of Knowing Your Limits When Out Drinking
Whether you are on vacation or just out for a night on the town with friends or family members, it is particularly important to be mindful of your limits when drinking in Florida. A BAC of 0.08, the legal limit in Florida, is not a large amount of alcohol, particularly if you are not used to consuming alcohol on a regular basis or you are dehydrated. According to a graph produced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a 200 lb. man who has consumed four beers in one hour is over the legal limit for driving in Florida. Although four beers in an hour may seem like a lot, keep in mind that the average person only “loses” .015 of BAC per hour after consuming a drink, so alcohol can linger in your system much longer than you may think it does. Therefore, you may feel perfectly fine to drive, but your BAC may still be above the legal limit, even several hours after having had your last drink.
You Can Be a Pulled Over for a DUI at Any Time of Day or Night on Any Day
It is also important to understand that you can be pulled over for, arrested for, and charged with a DUI at any time of day or night. Police officers may not be specifically targeting those who have had too much to drink at 2:00 in the afternoon on a Saturday, but every police officer is trained to spot the signs of an intoxicated driver on the road. If you were at the beach and had a few beers and are weaving in and out of traffic on the way home, chances are good that you may raise the suspicion of a passing police officer or a nearby motorist who may call police on the suspicion you are driving under the influence. Therefore, if you were at the beach with friends and had five beers over a period of several hours and no water whatsoever, you could very well be pulled over for a DUI in the middle of the day on a Saturday or Sunday. The consequences of doing so can be catastrophic, from loss of your driver’s license to a potential term of imprisonment.
Options for Those Who May Have Had Too Much to Drink
If you nevertheless find that you have had too much to drink and need a way to get home, do not get behind the wheel of your car, thinking that police are unlikely to catch you. There are many more options for drivers who have had more drinks than planned than even five years ago. Uber and Lyft are both available throughout South Florida with cheap fares. In addition, having a designated driver can be a viable option as well. Just make sure that whatever option you choose, you do not get behind the wheel if you have had too much to drink. There is always a back-up option, whether it is Lyft, Uber, a designated driver, a cab or simply waiting a couple hours until you sober up enough to drive home.
Contact Experienced West Palm Beach Criminal Defense Attorney Bryan Raymond if You Have Been Arrested for a DUI in Palm Beach County, Florida
Experienced West Palm Beach defense attorney Bryan M. Raymond of the Law Office of Bryan Raymond has experience representing those who have been arrested for or charged with driving under the influence in Palm Beach County. If you made a mistake and chose to get behind the wheel and were pulled over and arrested for driving under the influence, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney to help you ensure your rights are protected in any resulting criminal proceedings. Bryan is experienced in defending those who have been arrested for or charged with a DUI in Palm Beach County. Therefore, if you have had one too many and chose to get behind the wheel and were arrested, contact experienced criminal defense attorney Bryan Raymond today at (561) 682-1115 or [email protected].
