Having a beer or a Manhattan can be the perfect way to unwind after a stressful day at work. You may have a local bar where you like to stop because they have great specials or a particularly sympathetic bartender.
Getting a drink after a long day at work maybe your reward for not letting your attitude show to your boss or for closing a big sale. However, some people who stop off at happy hour won’t make it home like they plan. Instead, they will get pulled over by a police officer and arrested for operating a vehicle while under the influence (OWI) offense.
Why might taking advantage of happy hour lead to drunk driving charges?
There are many reasons why a routine happy hour stop could lead to allegations of impaired driving. The most obvious is that you simply have more to drink than you usually do, possibly because you had a particularly bad day or a big sale.
However, you could drink the same amount and be at increased risk of criminal charges. Maybe you skipped lunch at work because things were so busy. Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach will increase how quickly the alcohol hits your bloodstream and how strongly it affects you.
On the other hand, maybe you had just got your drink when you got a call that you need to head back to work or to get home as quickly as possible. Drinking alcohol rapidly can also increase the impairment it creates.
Finally, switching to a different alcohol, whether you change from a domestic beer to a really strong IPA or from a single glass of wine to a mixed drink could mean that the alcohol affects you differently than you expect or that there is more alcohol in a single drink venue anticipate.
There is always a defense option
You may feel embarrassed and very stressed about the pending charges against you. You may worry about missing work or losing professional licensing. Thankfully, there may be several defense strategies that could work in your situation. From challenging the traffic stop to producing medical explanations for an elevated blood alcohol concentration (BAC), there could be multiple ways for you to avoid a conviction.
Identifying and avoiding risk factors for OWI offenses can be as important as actively fighting back after an arrest.
