A lot of people assume that as long as they get home safe after a night of drinking, they don’t need to worry about getting a DUI. For the majority of people, that is true, but just because you didn’t drive late at night doesn’t mean you’re immune from a DUI the next morning. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at DUIs the morning after drinking and what you should do if you find yourself facing an unexpected DUI charge.
Morning After DUI
Sleeping will certainly help to decrease your blood alcohol content, but that doesn’t mean you’ll always be in the clear to drive the day after consuming alcohol, especially if you stay up late and have a particularly high blood alcohol content. And while this isn’t perfect science, our BAC typically drop about 0.02 an hour, so you can see how easy it would be to still have a blood alcohol content above 0.08 if you didn’t stop drinking for very long.
Over the course of our years in practice, we’ve handled countless cases of DUIs that were received in the morning after an individual had gone to bed and woken up the next day, and it typically comes back to the same sentiment. Oftentimes our clients say something like:
- “I assumed I was fine to drive because I didn’t drink in the morning.”
- “I thought I had slept it off.”
- “I didn’t know I was over the limit when I woke up.”
For example, let’s say your blood alcohol content was twice the legal limit when the bars closed at 2 a.m. You ubered home and had a nightcap before heading to bed at 3 a.m. If you woke up at 7 a.m. and got in your car to get breakfast the next day, there’s a very good chance that you’re over the legal 0.08 driving limit. If you drink more or stay up later, it only gets easier to end up in handcuffs for a DUI.
So what should you do if you end up getting a DUI the morning after drinking? From the client’s perspective, it should be handled similar to a standard DUI. You’ll want to avoid giving police any evidence that could hurt your case, and then you’ll want to contact an attorney as soon as possible. They’ll be able to secure your release from jail, comb through the police reports and start developing a defense. They will be your biggest ally and resource as the case plays out, and they’ll likely be able to get you the most favorable result possible.
So if you stay up drinking into the wee hours of the morning and only get a couple hours of sleep before you get behind the wheel, know that there is a good chance you’re still over the legal limit and in jeopardy of being arrested for DUI. If you don’t feel safe to drive, even the next morning, call an Uber or wait until you know you’re sober. And if you need help with your DUI or related criminal matter, reach out to Avery and the team at Appelman Law Firm.
