Drunk Driving Information For Everyone

Driving drunk and being caught carries serious consequences. Drunk driving information obtained from law enforcement agencies shows strict guidelines by which impaired drivers are prosecuted and new national legislation is enacted every year.

Thousands of alcohol-related fatalities occur annually which could have been prevented and more than 1 million people were arrested for driving drunk last year. The following information on drunk driving is important to any person who drinks alcohol.

If a person is driving down the road and begins to swerve between lanes, repeatedly change speed, or seems to be nodding off to sleep, a law enforcement officer will stop the vehicle and begin to interview the driver. This road side interview is based on the officer’s education and professional information on drunk driving.

First, there will be general information questions like the request for identification, insurance and vehicle ownership. Next, is the field sobriety test which consists of performance of several small tasks which a non-drinking driver would be able to correctly complete.

These sobriety tests include proving mental coherence by repeating numbers and letters backwards, proving motor coordination by walking a straight line and proving balance by standing on one foot with closed eyes. The last and most definitive, step is the breathalyzer test. The breath alcohol content (BAC) test is administered by having the suspected drunk driver exhale into a mouthpiece attached to a breath collection chamber.

This device is equipped with a scale to measure the amount of alcohol in the blood stream. If the BAC is .08% or higher, the drunk driver is arrested and taken to jail, the car will be towed to an impoundment lot and criminal DUI charges are filed against the driver.

A coin operated breath analyzer, found at responsible bars and other establishments where alcohol is served, is a safety measure designed to immediately determine if a driver is safe or a potential traffic safety hazard. This low cost and easy to use technology can save drinking drivers their drivers’ license, time incarcerated, legal costs and the pain of being involved in a drunk driving crash

It is important to remember driving while drunk is not only illegal, but it is dangerous to the driver and the general public. Knowing the law, self testing of BAC and staying off the road while impaired are the best ways a driver can stay safe.