If you’ve ever stayed up too late having a little too much fun, you may be wondering if you are legally able to drive the next morning. As you might imagine, the answer to that question is, “It depends.” There’s no guarantee that you’re legally able to drive again simply because the sun has come up on another day, and it’s certainly possible to get a DUI if you drank the night before. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at the topic of next day DUIs and what you can do to sober up after drinking for an extended period.
Tips For Sobering Up After A Night Of Drinking
Perhaps you’ve heard some old wive’s tales about how you can sober up quickly after a night of drinking. Some of the more popular tips we’ve heard include:
- Drinking coffee
- Taking a cold shower
- Eating food
- Going for a walk
The fact of the matter is, none of these things will help you get to the legal driving limit sooner. The only factor that matters is time. If enough time has passed, your body will be able to effectively metabolize the alcohol in your system and remove it from your bloodstream.
While every person is a little different, a good rule of thumb to consider is that the body can typically metabolize the alcohol from one standard drink each hour, and standard drink typically raises a person’s blood alcohol concentration by 0.01% to 0.03%. So if you start drinking at 6 p.m. and have a beer every 15 minutes for an hour, you should be back to completely sober shortly after 10 p.m. Again, this is just a general guide, and you shouldn’t assume that you are under the legal limit simply because you plugged your numbers into this equation. Err on the side of caution, but you can guestimate that a standard drink increases your BAC by about 0.02% and your body metabolizes about 0.02% an hour.
While you shouldn’t rely on this equation to determine your sobriety, it can help to confirm that you should not get behind the wheel. If you started drinking at 10 p.m. and finished 12 beers and four shots before you finally went to bed at 2:00 a.m., you’re certainly still going to be over the legal limit if you need to leave the house the next morning at 7:30 a.m. No amount of cold showers or black coffees are going to get you back to the legal driving limit sooner.
So yes, it’s certainly possible to earn a DUI the day after drinking, even if you haven’t had any alcohol since you woke up in the morning. Use the dissipation of alcohol rule as a general guide, and never get behind the wheel if you still feel impaired by alcohol, even if you got a few hours of sleep.
For more information about DUIs in Minnesota, or for help with your criminal case, reach out to Appelman Law Firm today at (952) 224-2277.
