If you or a friend are impaired and potentially unable to drive due to that impairment, then you have a few options. You may ask a sober driver to take you home, stay where you are until you sober up or take a rideshare or taxi-cab service home.
Rideshare services are likely one of the easier options to choose if you’re not sure if you can drive safely. They have been shown to reduce the likelihood of a DUI-related collision, too, which means that you and others will be safer on the road.
According to research, when a rideshare service (Lyft in this instance) enters a market, there is around 52% decrease in DUI charges. There is also a 40% decrease in DUI arrests based on data from Chicago, Illinois, and a 67% decrease in overall vehicle collisions based on data from Houston, Texas.
Catching a sober ride home is a better option than driving drunk
Even though it may be costly to go home via rideshare when you think you’re sober enough to drive, it’s better to be safe than sorry. You can get a DUI at any blood alcohol concentration, not just when your blood alcohol concentration is at or above .08%. Even at .02%, if you make a mistake on the road and are approached by the police, you could end up facing a DUI.
Avoiding that is possible if you find a sober ride home.
If you can’t get a ride home, think of other options
If it’s not possible for you to get a ride home with a sober driver, consider other options like walking back to your house or staying the night where you are. If you can’t do that and make the decision to drive, you could end up facing a DUI. If that happens, you’ll need to build a strong defense against the allegations.
Any amount of alcohol in your blood could result in a DUI
Remember, even a minimal amount of alcohol in your blood could be enough to result in DUI accusations and charges that could impact your record permanently.