You make plans to avoid getting a DWI. You know that you’re going out with your friends, and you’re going to be drinking. You deliberately use a taxi service or rideshare company to get to and from your destination, meaning that you don’t have to drive at all. Even if you’re not sure that you’re over the legal limit, you know that you don’t have to worry about it.
But then you get pulled over the next morning, perhaps during your commute to work. Would it be possible to get a DWI the day after you were drinking?
Understanding how your BAC works
It certainly is possible to get a DWI the next day, and it does happen. The key lies in understanding how your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) works and how it could still be elevated the following day. Just because you weren’t drinking that day doesn’t mean that you have dropped back down to having a BAC of 0.0%.
The truth is that BAC generally only drops by about 0.015% every hour. So the question to ask is, when did you have that last drink? How long has it been? It’s also important to consider how elevated your BAC may have been that night and how long you slept. There are situations in which people can wake up the following morning with a BAC that is still at or above the legal limit. Plus, you can be charged for impaired driving even when you’re under that legal limit.
What options do you have?
If you are facing these charges unexpectedly, then it’s important for you to take the time to look into all of your defense options.