(757) 455-0077Intoxicated Driving in Virginia Beach – Can I Drive Safely After Two Drinks?
Over the summer months, intoxicated driving in Virginia Beach is a major problem. Many people are out at bars, breweries and restaurants. They often take a chance and get behind the wheel after drinking. Some people believe they can drive safely after two drinks.
If you get behind the wheel after a couple of drinks, you may not fail a breath or a blood test. However, there is no guarantee you will not receive a DUI. Intoxicated driving in Virginia Beach and elsewhere depends on a wide range of factors including your weight, your sex, your metabolism and how much you have eaten.
Many people take the chance. You may get away with it now and again. However, if you repeatedly drive after drinking alcohol, your behavior will likely catch up with you. You may be arrested for a DUI. Worse, you may cause an accident that kills or injures someone else.
What Blood/Alcohol Content Will Trigger a DUI Arrest in Virginia Beach?
You will be arrested and face a DUI charge if your blood/alcohol concentration (BAC) is 0.08 percent or above in Virginia. However, drivers whose BAC is below this level may be impaired and arrested if alcohol or drugs impacts their ability to drive, states Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.
I Took a Small Amount of Drugs. Can I Be Arrested for Intoxicated Driving in Virginia Beach?
Yes. A driver does not have to be drinking alcohol to be arrested for driving under the influence (DUI). Drivers may be arrested for DUI with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.00 percent if there is proof that their impaired driving is due to drug use. Driving after using drugs in Virginia is most common among young drivers. DMV states 13 percent of those arrested are 16-20 years old.
Does the Type of Alcohol Impact Drunk Driving?
No. An alcoholic drink is a drink. A typical alcoholic drink equals about half an ounce of alcohol (.54 ounces). This is the approximate amount of alcohol content in:
- A shot of distilled spirits, or
- A single 5-ounce glass of wine, or
- one 12-ounce beer.
What Other Factors Affect Intoxicated Driving in Virginia Beach?
Many factors affect whether you will be arrested for intoxicated driving in Virginia Beach and elsewhere in the Commonwealth. For this reason, it’s unwise to assume you won’t be arrested if you have just two pints or two glasses of wine. How quickly a driver’s blood/alcohol content rises depends on.
- The number of drinks you have consumed. The more you drink, the higher the BAC;
- How quickly you drink alcohol. When alcohol is consumed very quickly, you will reach a higher BAC than when it is sipped over a longer time period;
- Your gender. Women typically have less water and more body fat per pound of body weight than men. Alcohol does not go into fat cells as easily as other body cells. This means more alcohol remains in the blood of women and they may become intoxicated more quickly than men;
- Your body weight. The more you weigh, the more water is present in your body. Water dilutes the alcohol and lowers the BAC. Typically, it may take more drinks for an overweight person to become drunk;
- Food in your stomach. Absorption will often be slowed if you’ve had something to eat.
- Medications or other substances. Some medications like mouthwash contain alcohol and may increase your BAC. If you are taking prescribed drugs with alcohol, you may become more impaired behind the wheel even though your BAC is unlikely to be affected.
How Can You Tell if You are Intoxicated Driving in Virginia Beach?
It’s very difficult to gauge if you are driving impaired because of a multitude of factors that affect BAC. People who are drinking are often the worst judges of whether they are intoxicated.
Although small amounts of alcohol affect one’s brain and the ability to drive a car, motorcycle, or a truck, people often believe they are “fine” after several alcoholic drinks.
In fact, the failure to recognize alcohol impairment is a frequent symptom of impairment. While the lower stages of alcohol impairment may not be apparent to others, the drinker had a vague idea when the “buzz” begins. A person will likely be too impaired to drive before he or she appears to be drunk.
How Do I Prove a Driver was Driving Intoxicated in Virginia Beach?
If you have been injured or lost a loved one to a drunk driver in Virginia Beach you will likely have grounds to sue that driver. A police or arrest report will establish if a driver was drunk.
However, drunk driving accidents often require expert toxicologists. If you were injured by a drunk driver, it may be clearly that driver’s fault, but in order to prove the driver’s BAC at the time of the wreck, specialized evidence is often necessary. A Virginia Beach drunk driving crash attorney will help you build up a case.
In Virginia, if you are found to be even 1% responsible for your accident, you are barred from seeking compensation via a personal injury lawsuit. That’s why it’s important to have an experienced car accident attorney on your side. An injury lawyer can make all the difference – even in the seemingly black-and-white case of an intoxicated driving accident.
In Virginia, additional damages known as punitive damages may be claimed if a drunk driver refused to take a BAC test, or if he or she had a BAC of .15% or above. Punitive damages are meant to punish drivers for willfully reckless actions.
Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer After a Crash Caused by Intoxicated Driving in Virginia Beach
Every year, Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers helps drivers, passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians, who are injured by drunk drivers or those who lose loved ones. Intoxicated drivers wreck lives and ruin families. Please see our resources about injuries and accidents in Virginia Beach and call us for a free and confidential consultation today at (757) 455-0077. We never represent drunk drivers. We sue them.
