Driving while intoxicated is something that most people, by now should know to avoid. But if this is the case, then why has the problem not gone away but only gotten worse? When I used to work as a police officer, and it was a Friday night or Saturday night, I could usually expect to nab at least one or two drunk drivers. So, what were the sorts of things that we, as police officers, looked for in drunk drivers?
The first thing that we would notice was whether or not their headlights were on. When people are drunk, for whatever reason, they often forget to turn their headlights in their vehicles on. Perhaps it is due to the massive intoxication or simply because they are distracted with something else, but this is often the very first indication that something is not right. The next thing that we would notice was whether or not they were staying within their lane. Sure, occasionally, it s windy out or you become distracted in your car if you drop something; and in these situations, your car might move a little within your lane. However, when you are intoxicated, you often have extreme difficulty staying within your lane of traffic. Often times, you will see intoxicated drivers drifting all the way into an entirely different lane and back again or hitting the curb and riding it down, etc. In the police department, if we saw someone drift in an out of their lane at least three times in a row, then this was cause enough to pull them over and investigate.
The thing that makes driving while intoxicated so incredibly dangerous as well as scary is that there are a massive amount of people who do it and get away with it on a daily basis. You would be surprised to know the true number of people who head to the bars after a long day at work or who keep a secret “stash” of liquor in their cars and grab a few sips before hitting the road. Often times, these are the same people who think that they will never get caught who drive home from a late night at the club or a party with all of the windows rolled down and the air conditioning blasting.
You may have heard of all of the tricks to get alcohol off of your breath such as putting a copper penny in your mouth or gargling with mouthwash before you get behind the wheel of a car. However, when a police officer asks you to “walk in a straight line” or examines your eyes with their flashlight to look for nystagmus, these are things that you cannot easily hide. Your best bet is to avoid the liquor if you know that you are going to be getting behind the wheel of a car shortly afterward. Instead, call a cab or ask a friend for a ride. If worse comes to worse, stay where you are and sleep it off. You ll never be more grateful than for the possible lives that you may have saved by not drinking and driving.
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