I stepped out of the office to run some errands around 11:30 a.m. yesterday. I headed for the Browne’s Addition Rosauers and while waiting at the light on Second, noticed a woman pulled over on the side of the road, doing a sobriety test! At 11:30 a.m.! Okay, I guess there’s nothing stopping you from getting drunk (or using drugs) at any time, but I’ve never seen a DUI stop that early in the day. Does anyone know how common, or uncommon, this is?
When I was in law enforcement years ago, daytime drunk drivers were rare. However, the driver who scored the highest breathalyzer I'd ever seen was busted at three in the afternoon. He was a long term, hard core drinker who needed a lot of alcohol just to function. The breathalyzer said .35. We recalibrated the machine and repeated the test to make sure. Then, even though he exhibited so little of the impairment we were used to seeing, we took him to the hospital. It was unreal.
Holy cow! Most of us would be dead if we blew .35! Or at least in a coma. I know people who have been arrested the morning after drinking when there was still alcohol in their system, but never during the daytime.
Speaking of getting arrested the next morning, KXLY did a story a couple years ago about that topic and they had a big graphics package with music and everything that said 'DRUNK- THE NEXT DAY!!!' It was very dramatic so I couldn't help thinking about it and laughing yesterday when I saw that woman on the side of the road.