If you’ve had a few drinks, it can be hard to know if it’s OK to drive. Learn these signs of impaired driving to see if it’s safe for you to drive.
Say you’ve been out visiting friends, or you stopped for a drink at happy hour after work. It can be hard to know if you’ve reached the legal limit — .08% blood alcohol content (BAC) or not. Many factors affect your level of intoxication and your ability to drive after one, two, three or even more drinks. According to DUI lawyers in Tustin, California, the safe bet is to never drive if you’ve had anything to drink — but if you do drive after having one or two drinks, it may help to know how the police decide to stop drivers for DUI.
The police rely on many methods to catch drunk drivers, from DUI checkpoints to tips from other motorists to their own observations. While they’re on patrol,they may spot a driver that they think is impaired — and then use their knowledge and experience of impaired driving to decide to stop that motorist on suspicion of driving under the influence. So what exactly do police look for when deciding that a driver is impaired?
Signs of Impaired Driving
According to the National Highway Safety Transportation Administration (NHTSA), there are twenty common signs of impaired driving. They came up with a special calculation to determine if a driver exhibiting any of these symptoms is impaired, with a numeric value assigned to each sign, and 10% added to the highest number sign if there is more than one symptom.
Surprisingly, speeding is not on the list — going over the speed limit is not usually a symptom of drunk driving. But of course, if you are pulled over for speeding, the police officer will have an opportunity to observe you and may decide based on the odor of alcohol, red eyes, slurred speech or other symptoms, that you are driving under the influence.
The NHTSA’s list of signs of drunk driving is as follows, with the likelihood that the driver is intoxicated in parenthesis:
- Turning with a wide radius (65%)
- Straddling center or lane marker (65%)
- Appearing to be drunk (60%)
- Almost striking an object or vehicle (60%)
- Weaving (60%)
- Driving outside the designated roadway (55%)
- Swerving (55%)
- Slow speed (more than 10 mph below the speed limit) (50%)
- Stopping in traffic (without a reason) (50%)
- Drifting (50%)
- Following too closely (tailgating) (45%)
- Driving with tires on center or lane marker (45%)
- Erratic braking (45%)
- Driving into opposing traffic (45%)
- Signaling inconsistently with driving actions (40%)
- Stopping inappropriately (other than in lane) (35%)
- Turning abruptly or illegally (35%)
- Accelerating or decelerating suddenly (30%)
- Headlights off after dark (30%)
So, if a police office notices that you are following too closely while erratically braking, the chances that you are driving while intoxicated (according to the NHTSA’s formula) is 49.5%.
These symptoms provide a good guide for anyone contemplating driving after having a few alcoholic beverages. Are you capable of driving without exhibiting any of these signs of impaired driving? If so, then you are probably driving with the care and caution of a sober driver — and it’s probably safe to drive. But some people who drink and drive are too intoxicated to even consider a list like this — and therefore they should not be on the road. If you have any doubt about your ability to drive carefully and cautiously, don’t do it. Call a friend, family member, a taxi or an Uber — just don’t get behind the wheel.
If you are arrested for a DUI, however, you will need a DUI lawyer in Tustin, California who knows how to handle these cases. DUI defense requires a particular skill and knowledge set, from analyzing the scientific evidence to reviewing the facts of the case to determine if the police followed the proper procedure. Contact the Chambers Law Firm today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to learn more about how we can help you if you’re facing a DUI charge.
