These facts are meant to help motorists refrain from drinking and driving this holiday season.
The holidays are meant for spending time with friends and family and making memories that are expected to last a lifetime, not a time to spend behind bars. Unfortunately, during the holidays, many individuals find themselves consuming a little too much alcohol at the parties they attend only to have to drive themselves back home once it is over. Now, because the Baton Rouge, LA DWI attorneys at Miller, Hampton & Hilgendorf understand just how serious driving while intoxicated is, below we are sharing with you some sobering facts provided on behalf of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help deter you away from even considering getting behind that steering wheel of yours drunk or even buzzed.
Sobering DUI Facts You Should Consider Before You Decide to Drink and Drive This Holiday Season
- If you decide to drive drunk and your BAC, blood-alcohol content level raises to .08% or higher, you put yourself at risk of being arrested and charged with DWI. Just how much is .08% equivalent to in terms of alcohol for men and women? Well, it actually depends on your body weight. For example, for men who weigh approximately 160 lbs., it would take them about four drinks in one hour to raise their BAC level to .09%, which puts them over the legal limit [Source: Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission]. And for every hour that passes by after having consumed those four drinks, you would reduce that by 0.15.
Now, let’s look at a woman who weighs 120 lbs. It would only take a woman weighing this much to raise her BAC level to .08% after consuming two drinks in just one hour. Something you should remember is that the information we are providing you with are estimates and some individuals might have a lower tolerance than others which means their BAC level might spike quicker after having consumed the same the number of drinks mentioned above. So, if your weight is something other than the ones we highlighted, check out the chart the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission provides that will give you an estimate of how many drinks you can consume before you are considered to be over the legal limit.
- About one in three deaths in the U.S. involve a drunk driver.
- Between 2003 and 2012, 3,046 people were killed in the state of Louisiana after engaging in a collision involving a drunk driver.
- On each day that passed in 2016, approximately 29 people were killed in the U.S. in alcohol-related accidents. That equates to one person every 50 minutes [Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration].
- A first time DWI offender will likely be faced with jail time, fines/fees, probation, loss of driving privileges, etc.
When you go out for the holidays this year, remember, just because you believe you are capable of operating a vehicle or that your vision is barely distorted, don’t take the risk of getting behind the wheel drunk. Not only do you put your life at risk when you do this, but also all the others who occupy the roadways with you. Aside from that, you also don’t want to end the year with a DWI/DUI charge that will remain on your record and potentially affect your job or other opportunities you had coming to you.
In the event you were recently charged with driving while intoxicated in Louisiana and need a DWI defense lawyer to fight for your freedom, contact our office to speak with an experienced Baton Rouge, LA DWI lawyer. Whenever a person is charged with DUI/DWI in Baton Rouge, they are always encouraged to seek legal aid rather than take on the case themselves as an attorney can help you fight your charges or even get them reduced.
You can reach Miller, Hampton & Hilgendorf at:
3960 Government Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70806
225-343-2205