Many people head out and intend to have a single drink and get an Uber home, but sometimes chances are taken.
So what can you do to avoid a DUI, and what are the repercussions?
How much does a DUI or a DWI cost?
The first conviction will vary widely and depends on the judge, the state and how good your defense is. You will want the best representation around, like Sawtooth Defense Lawyers.
In New York, a DUI will run you somewhere in the region of $9,500, but in North Carolina, it is under $5,000.
The added costs to your insurance will also be noticeable after a DUI.
You might also be told to attend DWI School, you might hurt someone, or you may go to jail.
Avoiding a DUI should be simple, but more people get a DUI than you might think. Here are some tips for avoiding a DUI.
How to Avoid a DUI – Know the units
If you have to take your car to an event or a work meeting, you need to know what the unit is in every available drink. For occasions where you will have a glass of champagne to celebrate – do you know how many units are in it?
Portable Breathalyzer
While you should never forget that breathalyzers aren’t foolproof, you can carry one. This way, you’ll know whether it is safe for you to drive, regardless of how you feel.
Since they aren’t always 100% accurate, ensure that you keep yourself as far unit the BAC limit as possible.
BAC
If you have just finished your last beer and you take a personal breathalyzer, you might get a reasonable result that means you could drive safely. However, your BAC levels rise after you stop drinking, so many are sure you leave enough time for the BAC to fall.
It would take about 5 hours for your BAC to drop to zero if you have a BAC of .08.
Eat
One of the worst things you can do is not eat before or during a beer. Eating something that is carb based before you have a drink and snacking as the night goes on can help to reduce your drunkenness.
Although, at this point, it is probably wiser to hand your car keys over.
Non-alcoholic drinks
If you have a long event and you will be there for hours, instead of chasing beer and wine with more beer and wine, have coffee, juice or water. This will space out the time between drinks and mean that you aren’t continually drinking and can more easily count your drinks.
Measure
If you are ordering your drinks from a bar, your bartender will be carefully measuring your drinks, so you know you only get the correct measurements. However, if the drinks are self-pour, you might be pouring way more than the standard drink measurements.
And make sure that if your friends are doing the measurements, they are careful too. If in doubt, refuse the drink because the risk isn’t worth it.
Lights
Drinking liquor, shots and other spirits will get you drunk much faster than if you stick to drinking a light beer.
Mixing your drinks means it is easy to lose track of how much you have consumed.
Taxi
The best way to avoid a DWI or a DUI is never to drive while drinking. But if your personality is more for staying out late, and letting loose, then the safest thing to do is pre-book a taxi. If you have a responsible friend in the group, ask them to hang on to your keys and ask if they would mind making sure you leave in the cab on time.
Responsibility
It can be so tempting to let loose when you don’t go out often or be surprised just how quickly the alcohol can hit you when you don’t drink often. Being responsible about your choices can come second to having fun.
Sweet Drinks
Sweet drinks can be some of the worst for having high levels of alcohol. But since they are so sweet, they are easy and fast to drink – often leading to people being much drunker than they thought.
Most of the time, a bad time in life or high stress can lead to drinking more than usual and making big mistakes: 30 Simplistic Ways to Reduce Stress for Parents.
What else would you add?
Featured image is from Karl Solano onUnsplash.
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