Are you too drunk to drive? Here's how to tell

 Posted on April 21, 2018 in OWI

Most people who have had a little bit to drink will err on the side of caution and take an Uber home or ask a friend to give them a ride. What happens if you're somewhere in the middle, and you're not sure if you've had too much to drink? What if you're trying to determine if your friend has had too much to drink before letting him or her drive you home?

Whenever you're not sure of how drunk you or your friends are, it's safest to take an alternate way home and avoid driving altogether. That said, here are a couple methods you might want to use for evaluating the state of someone's intoxication:

• Take the one drink an hour test. Add up the number of hours you've been drinking and add up the number of drinks you've imbibed. If the number of drinks exceeds the number of hours, there's a very good chance you're too drunk to drive. That said, you can't drink one beer in the first hour and five beers during the sixth hour. Also, you can't drink five beers on the first hour and one beer on the sixth hour. Use common sense at all times, and remember that smaller people have lower tolerances.
• Use an online calculator. There are numerous online calculators and apps that you can use to input your body weight and size, the amount of time you've been drinking and the number of drinks you've had. Use these systems carefully, as they're not entirely accurate.
• Do a field sobriety test on yourself or your friend. You can try walking in a straight line, counting backward, reciting the alphabet backward and putting your finger on your nose while your eyes are closed. You can do the same tests on your friend. The thing is, if you're even considering doing such a test on yourself, there's little doubt that you're already too drunk to drive.

The safest way to prevent drunk driving is to avoid driving after consuming any quantity of alcohol. If you find yourself in trouble with the law for an alleged drunk driving instance, make sure you understand the best methods for navigating your criminal proceedings and defending yourself against the charges.