If you’ve been keeping up on my weekly blog posts you now know some important information on drunk driving and why it is important to prevent injury due to drinking and driving. If you have not been keeping up on my blog posts, here are the last three that I have created: Spending time on the Internet Saves Lives, Drunk Driving info that will save your life, and Drinking and Driving: is it worth taking someone’s life?. In this week’s blog post I will be debunking some of the common myths about drunk driving and DUIs.
Myth 1: Coffee will sober you up enough to be able to drive
FALSE. Coffee will not sober you up. Your Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) does not decrease when you drink coffee. Coffee contains caffeine which is a stimulant and counters the effects of alcohol which is a depressant. Coffee can help to cure some of the symptoms experienced when you are hungover, however, it cannot remove the alcohol from your system which still means that you will be at risk of a DUI when you drive after drinking.
Myth 2: Using mouthwash before driving will help you pass a breathalyzer test
FALSE. The thought behind this myth is that you will wash out the alcohol in your mouth and the breathalyzer test will not be able to detect any alcohol in your system. This is not true because the breathalyzer test works by using cell sensors and to create an electrochemical process that oxidizes the saliva sample. Long story short, the breathalyzer is much smarter than mouthwash
Myth 3: Eating a large meal before driving will make you sober enough to drive
FALSE. There are studies done that eating BEFORE drinking alcohol will slow the rate of absorption into the blood. However, once you are already drunk, you cannot decrease or erase the alcohol that is already in your system. This means that if you eat while your BAC is already high, the food will not have an effect on your BAC and driving would not be safe.
Myth 4: Drinking beer and wine don’t have as much of an effect on you as hard alcohol
FALSE. 12 ounces of beer is equivalent to 5 ounces of wine which are both equivalent to 1.5 ounces of hard alcohol. All of these are equal to one drink and having three drinks too close together can push your BAC above 0.08 (a BAC that will result in DUI).
Myth 5: If you are a larger person, you can drink more and still be able to drive
True and False. While it is true that the more you weigh the higher your alcohol tolerance will be, there are many different factors that contribute to how your body processes alcohol. If you are more tired, haven’t eaten much or if you have a fast metabolism, the way you process alcohol will be affected. Just because you are a huge dude, that doesn’t make it right for you to chug beer and then drive a car.
Myth 6: Drunk driving is a minor offense
FALSE. A DUI will result in either a misdemeanor or felony. While a misdemeanor is less serious than a felony, both are criminal offenses and should be taken seriously. Most DUIs will come with hefty fines. The way that a DUI becomes a felony is if you get multiple DUI convictions.
Myth 7: Your BAC has to be 0.08 to get a DUI
FALSE. Most states DUI laws have identified 0.08 as the limit for a safe driving BAC. However, it is up to the police officer’s discretion whether or not they will give you a DUI. If you appear to be “noticeably impared” the officer can chose to give you a DUI even if your BAC is below 0.08.
Myth 8: Time is the only thing that will work to avoid getting a DUI.
TRUE. There is no way to magically reduce your BAC with food or coffee. You must wait the proper amount of time to become sober and be able to drive safely. Your body size plays a part in how fast you will metabolize alcohol and I have provided a chart that highlights the amount of time you need to wait in order to drive safely after consuming alcohol.
It can be hard to decide what information to believe when there are so many different myths and facts talked about when it comes to drinking and driving. I have presented 8 different myths that are common misconceptions about drunk driving and DUIs. I have provided explanations on these myths are/are not true. I hope you will follow a popular twitter profile @veillepr which often posts tweets about debunking drunk driving myths.
Drunk Driving 