Counting your drinks might seem simple. You’ve got 10 fingers, after all. Yet when it comes to avoiding a charge for driving under the influence (DUI), it is not how many drinks you had that matters. It’s how much alcohol is in your bloodstream.
Many people make the mistake of thinking they are fine because they have only had a certain number of drinks. Yet they then find themselves facing a criminal record. Here is where it can go wrong:
Not all drinks contain the same amount of alcohol
Three beers are not always just three beers. Three low-alcohol beers are far less likely to land you in trouble than three extra-strength Christmas ales. Three small glasses of beer will contain less alcohol than three pint-sized glasses of the same beer.
Some people process alcohol faster than others
Little guys typically lose when they try to match their oversize buddy’s pint for pint at the bar. Everyone’s body varies in its ability to process alcohol, and your body can vary from day to day.
You might already have residual alcohol in your body
Maybe you only had one glass of champagne this morning to celebrate your birthday. Yet, if you had two bottles of the stuff when celebrating the night before, the combined amount of alcohol in your blood may put you over the limit.
Any amount of alcohol affects your driving
The police can still give you a DUI even if you are under the limit. They may do so if the way you are driving gives them the impression that the alcohol you consumed has made you unsafe.
If you tried to count your drinks and it did not work out, you may still be able to fight the DUI charge on technical grounds. Consider legal help to do so.