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Stay Safe and Avoid a Holiday DUI

Stay Safe and Avoid a Holiday DUI

The holidays are great; twinkling lights, exchanging gifts, wonderful food, spending time with friends and family, and perhaps some warm fuzzy holiday cocktails. If your merriment will involve some alcohol infused beverages make sure to be responsible to keep yourself safe and everyone else safe. Being a responsible drinker is also the best way to avoid being busted with a holiday DUI charge.

Holiday Party / Avoid Holiday DUI

Stay Safe and Avoid a Holiday DUI

  • Of course the simplest way to stay safe while driving and avoid getting a DUI (driving under the influence) charge is NOT to drink any alcohol and abstain from drugs.
  • If you know you will be drinking with someone or a group of people, choose a designated sober driver ahead of time.  A designated driver is someone who does not consume any alcohol or drugs throughout the day.  Often times people will take turns being the designated driver.
  • If you don’t have a designated sober driver and you plan to drink, take advantage of all the great public transportation options; taxi, bus, party bus, Uber, Rideshare, etc.
  • If you’ve only had a few drinks and feel fine, it is best NOT to drive.  DUI patrols are increased during the holiday.  If you happened to be pulled over by law enforcement and they believe you are under the influence, they could still charge you with DUI even if you are under the legal limit of a BAC of 0.08.
  • If you see a friend or family member under the influence of alcohol or drugs and wants to drive, try to get their car keys and suggest an alternative way for them to get home safely. See our blog, “How You can Prevent a DUI – Tips on getting the Car Keys” for helpful hints.

 

Staying safe and avoiding a holiday DUI charge isn’t difficult.  It just requires planning ahead and making good decisions. Make sure to drink responsibly and keep everyone safe!

Happy Holidays from the staff and DUI attorneys of David O Defense.

 

How You can Prevent a DUI – Tips on getting the Car Keys

How You can Prevent a DUI – Tips on getting the Car Keys

You can prevent a DUI by taking the car keys away from a friend, family member, or someone who appears to be under the influence of alcohol. Follow these key collecting tips provided by the U.S Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

GET THE KEYS: How You Can Intervene

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Advertising Council’s Innocent Victims public service campaign emphasizes the need to intervene and get the keys away from someone about to drive drunk. Here are some helpful tips and advice from focus group research on how people can get the keys away from a drunk driver.
  1. If it is a close friend, try and use a soft, calm approach at first. Suggest to them that they’ve had too much to drink and it would be better if someone else drove or if they took a cab.
  2. Be calm. Joke about it. Make light of it.Vector Car key ring
  3. Try to make it sound like you are doing them a favor.
  4. If it is somebody you don’t know well, speak to their friends and have them make an attempt to persuade them to hand over the keys. Usually they will listen.
  5. If it’s a good friend, spouse, or significant other, tell them that if they insist on driving, you are not going with them. Suggest that you will call someone else for a ride, take a cab, or walk.
  6. Locate their keys while they are preoccupied and take them away. Most likely, they will think they’ve lost them and will be forced to find another mode of transportation.
  7. If possible, avoid embarrassing the person or being confrontational, particularly when dealing with men. This makes them appear vulnerable to alcohol and its effects.

 

If you have any questions about how to prevent a DUI or if you have recently been charged with a DUI, call David O Defense, 206-459-6392. Our DUI lawyers are here to help!