Drunk driving and holding your phone behind the wheel can get you in trouble, you can get caught by the police, you might be involved in an accident or even worse you can kill someone on the road.

Obviously the first thing you should not do is drive after you’ve been drinking.

Ever.

But let’s say, hypothetically, that you are attending the wedding of one of your high school friends. You never thought he’d get married, and at first you feel betrayed because you were both lifelong bachelors, but you eventually get into the matrimonial thing because you were roped into singing a duet with a girl you dated back in the day. You sing your part of “Endless Love” flawlessly, ironically, you think. But it starts to take on a deeper meaning at the ceremony.

You have a few drinks, pacing yourself. You haven’t been counting the drinks, but you know your judgment is slightly impaired, but not as much as your soused date and everyone else at the reception.

Hypothetically, you are an hour south of Portland, Oregon at a winery in the Dundee Hills.

You grab a fist full of crudités before you hit the (hypothetical) road with your soused date in an effort to make it back to the Pearl District in Portland before the game starts.

Your date’s condition is worsening by this point, but you are feeling fine to drive, but maybe a little concerned that you might be just a bit over the legal limit.

She keeps fiddling with the radio channels until Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf” comes on.

Mouth is alive with juices like wine
And I’m hungry like the wolf

We are both ravenously hungry. We should have grabbed some meatballs or more crudités before we left the reception. But you discover in the back seat, one of the wedding gifts you forgot to leave at the winery. We tear into a box of artisanal feast of snacks. “I’ll buy another box of snacks for the happy couple” you hypothetically say as you bite into another crispy cheese coin and carelessly roll through a traffic stop.

And that’s when the hypothetical police stop you and you suddenly remember you haven’t fixed your broken tail light.

Police officers need a probable cause to make a traffic stop, and you’ve given them more than one.

Culture Club’s “Mistake No. 3” ominously starts playing on the radio.

So now, hypothetically speaking, what do you do?

Here’s some advice should you ever find yourself in this predicament.

Stay in the car. Turn off the radio. (80’s music is not going to ameliorate the situation.) Turn your dome light on. Keep your hands on the steering wheel, and tell your date to keep calm and be quiet. Be courteous and say as little as possible. Resist the urge to be conversational or humorous. The cop’s not going to find your newly-acquired understanding of fine wine ironically amusing.

You are under no obligation to provide the officer with any information beyond that on your driver’s license, vehicle registration, or proof of commercial trucker insurance. The latter is as important as your license, as the former can be invalidated if your license has expired. Learn more at https://www.marketreview.com/insurance/life/ how important it is to keep all your insurances.

If the officer is intent on sticking a flashlight in your face or in your car, it may be because the flashlight is equipped with an electronic alcohol sensor that may detect the presence of alcohol. You do not have to accept this and you can instruct the officer to keep the device away from your face and out of your vehicle. He or she is free to look into your vehicle from the exterior, but you should never voluntarily subject yourself to a search of your vehicle. If you got involved in an unfortunate car accident, then it’s a must to contact a reliable and trusted car accident lawyer such as mesquite car accident lawyers. If ever you’re in need of professional help with your DUI and criminal defense case, you can learn more about how to ensure successful defense of a DUI in Chicago here.



You are not required to perform any test and there is no penalty for refusal. The only reason these tests are given is to give the officer justification to require you to take a chemical test (breath, blood or urine) to determine your blood alcohol content (BAC).

Even the most sober drivers fail to pass these roadside sobriety tests. If you falsely got arrested, it’s important to take note of details such as knowing who to contact when you’re getting out of jail in Norwich. You may also consider consulting with Galveston County DWI lawyers for legal assistance.

Reno 911

Can you recite the alphabet backwards now? I’ve tried on several occasions in my sleep, but I start losing my way at the letter U, no matter how little I’ve had to drink.

Most drivers do not realize how few drinks it takes to exceed the legal standard of 0.08% BAC. For the average sized person, three to four drinks could easily place them in the category of drunk-driver. However, based solely on a police officer’s claim that you were “impaired,” even though your BAC was below the legal limit, you can be convicted as a drunk driver. The only additional evidence needed would be proof of some measurable amount of alcohol in your system.

A breathalyzer test is the most inaccurate means of measuring your BAC. The error factor can be quite high. Some states have even agreed that breathalyzer tests are not trustworthy and therefore restrict their use in court. That means it makes a huge difference if you know certain details like refusing breathalyzer.

The requirements of taking a chemical test vary from state to state, so you should familiarize yourself with the consequences of refusing to take a BAC test in your state. Obviously, if you happen to be pulled over by the police and you haven’t done this research, it’s going to be too late.

Think carefully about refusing to take a BAC test. Every state has implied consent laws. That means that when acquiring a driver’s license you consent to BAC testing. Refusing to take the test may result in harsher consequences than actually consenting. If you’re facing legal challenges related to DUI, Fort Myers DUI Lawyers can provide the guidance and representation you need.

Most states do require a driver to submit to a chemical test, or face severe penalties including a driver’s license suspension of several months and even potential jail time for multiple instances of refusal. Many now allow a refusal to take a chemical sobriety test to be used as evidence against you in a trial. Refusal can lead to an automatic suspension of your driver’s license and a criminal charge with penalties approaching those of a DUI charge. Yet, the lack of test results makes the DUI case against you more difficult to prove. However, if you are taken to jail, chances are you’ll need to contact a 24 hour bail bondsman in order to post bail. Thankfully, there are bail bonds companies and bondsman agents that can help you if you do not have readily available funds. Make sure to find a good bail bonds firm that can be lenient with payments and will adapt to your particular situation. It can be easy to make a rushed decision with the stressful situation you will be in, so try to keep a cool head and choose wisely.


That said, if you are seriously intoxicated, it may be in your best interest not to take the test. You always have the right to contact an attorney before you submit to any test. However, if you were an unfortunate victim of an accident caused by another person’s negligence or he’s probably DUI, the car accident attorneys Detroit MI are your ally in handling the legal side of the situation.

Andy Green, the best DUI attorney in Portland, has this to say:


If you refuse the breath test your license could be suspended for a year, or three years if you have a DUI within the last five years. You will also receive a separate ticket with a $650 fine. Now the suspension is not automatic. You can request a hearing to try to keep the suspension from going into effect. This hearing can only be requested within ten days of your arrest.

In my experience, most Oregon counties district attorney’s offices will charge people with DUI’s even when they blow under a .08%. With that in mind there’s really no safe amount to drink and drive. While it’s not illegal per se to consume alcohol and drive in Oregon, most DA’s take a pretty hard line.

The consequences of a DUI conviction can be so severe that securing the services of the best car accident attorney could help you take advantage of many factors in the case, including the challenge of questionable breath test results.

I am not going to reveal how this hypothetical story turned out. Let’s just hypothetically say that you are glad you sought legal counsel.

And, hypothetically, you never make the same mistake twice.