When people speak about impaired driving, it tends to conjure images of rowdy teenagers with beer on their breath, but charges for impaired driving cover a wide range of behaviors. You can be arrested for a DUI if you are impaired by alcohol or drugs and you drive a car, truck, streetcar, boat, etc. In fact, you will get a DUI if your ability to operate a vehicle is impaired. That means any substance that might make you drowsy, drunk, or high could lead to a DUI charge if you drive while impaired.
We will now see to 5 different reasons people are charged with impaired driving.
- Drinking alcohol
The most common reason for being charged with a DUI is drinking alcohol. You can be convicted without ever driving or even getting into a vehicle. If you are spotted stumbling around in public, you may be arrested and charged with impaired driving. This is very common, especially on New Year’s Eve.
- Smoking cannabis and other drugs
If you are impaired by cannabis or another drug and you get behind the wheel of a vehicle, you can be charged with a DUI. This can happen even if you don’t smell like pot, because the law states that being impaired by cannabis means having any detectable amount. You can be charged with a DUI if you were high on cannabis or any other drug, even if it was only in your system for a short time.
- Sitting in a vehicle intoxicated
Police have the right to search your car and arrest you if they suspect you are intoxicated. If they find alcohol, drugs, or anything else that might make you intoxicated, you could be charged with impaired driving.
- Prescription medications
If you are prescribed medication for a medical condition and your prescription is in effect, you can be charged with a DUI. The law states that any drug that might impair your ability to drive is illegal.
- Refusing to test
The law states that you can be charged with DUI if you refuse to take a breath test. Your BAC can be checked at a breath test station, blood test station, or chemical test station. If they suspect you are impaired by alcohol or drugs, they can make you take the tests and then arrest you.