what to tell the cops when I've been drinking?

Question

What should I say when they ask me if Ive been drinking when I get pulled over (If I've had a couple too many, but am not noticeably drunk?)

Spare me the "don't drink and drive in the 1st place!" That's obvious. I know cabs are less expensive than DUI's, it's immoral yada yada yada. Even a responsible person gets behind the wheel after 3 or 4 beers during the course of a night every once in a while. I've heard conflicting reports of what exactly to say. Some say deny, deny, deny doing any wrong, others say being honest would work best. I was pulled over once in the past after a couple beers, denied drinking, and didn't have a problem (no sobriety test.) I was hoping some cops would answer this because I really wanted their opinions.

Answer 1

There isn't a law against drinking, and driving. The violation is driving while under the influence. If you've had too much to drink, there really isn't much you can say.

Answer 2

First off, if he can smell alcohol your screwed because he already knows the answer to the question.

Do you watch cops? What's the first thing people say when a cop asks them having they been drinking.
NO
OR I had 1 or 2 beers

No is your best bet assuming you didn't just breathe your bacardi 151 all in his face.

If you say 1 or 2 you just pleaded guilty to being under the influence, now it's just a matter of how drunk are you. Are you OVER the limit. So the next step is a breathalizer, or field sobriety check.

Chances are you don't now if you're over the limit or not, even if you feel fine.

Here's what you can do to help things before it happens.

1. Don't spill drinks on yourself, otherwise you'll smell like alchol when you're driving.

2. Pop some gum or have some listerine in your car. Take before you drive not while you're being pulled over.

3. Burp as much as possible (before driving not when you're being pulled over). Alcohol metabolizes through your breath.

4. DENY DENY DENY.

5. Don't drive if you've had a few too many.

Answer 3

You tell them you haven't had anything at all to drink. Honesty, in this case, is a policy that will get you arrested.

Don't make it any easier for an officer to pull you out of the car and give you a sobriety test or a breathalyzer. If you admit to drinking even one beer three hours ago, the officer now has all he needs (pretty much) to justify further investigation as to whether you are drunk.

Of course, you would rather just call a cab. DUI's are very expensive, and you risk having to live with taking another human life accidentally, and/or losing your own in an accident.

If you drink, don't drive!!!!!

El Chistoso

Answer 4

I think the standard answer on Cops is "I had a couple of beers". Better idea, don't get yourself in the situation. Grow-up. A cab is far cheaper than a DUI fine.

"Even a responsible person gets behind the wheel after 3 or 4 beers during the course of a night every once in a while." - No, we don't. That is why we are considered responsible.

If you refuse a field sobriety test the officer will arrest you and you will be required to take a breath/blood or urine test. Refusing the test buys you NOTHING and will be used against you. Passing the test is the only way you don't ride.

Say you are at .4 but smell of alcohol. You are able to pass the field test. You refuse. You get arrested and taken downtown. You get released and pay cab fair back to your car. WOW, sure beat the system there.

If the officer has a portable breathalyzer and you refuse to submit to the test, that is a refusal by law. Here in Washington you AUTOMATICALLY loose your license for a year REGARDLESS of the DUI charge and/or conviction.

Answer 5

All the times ive been in a car and had way too drunk firends driving and always getting pulled over....the best thing to do is be honest and tell the officer yes ive had some to drink i thought i was sober enough to drive ,but after a while i guess the sip of the last drink i had kicked in as i was driving and has kinda impaired my driving...im sorry officer i wont do this again can i please have a sober firend or family member come get me so im not a danger .see if thell let someone get you usally they let you.but if you lie thell give you a breathalizer and if you fail most the time thell put you in jail.it all depends on the officer.but drinking and driving is very stupid to do many people get killed i was just giving an example but i think its best just too drink lots of water if your going somewhere or atleast wait at a gas station and put your keys under your car till you sober up.

Answer 6

Cops don't ask answers they don't already know the answer to. If they ask if you have drinking they already have a pretty good idea. They have also made up their mind already whether or not they are going to give you a field sobriety test. Your answer is not going to change that, they are just checking your honesty. If you say no the test will reveal otherwise, and it will just go badly for you.

The only way you can sway a police officer in your favor is by being honest. Telling a lie will sway how the exam goes, but not in your favor.

Answer 7

First, you shouldn't be drunk and behind the wheel of a car. So grow up and call a taxi or a friend the next time you decide to drink so much you need to wonder what to tell the cops when you get pulled over. And worse than that, you could end up killing an innocent person because YOU think you're above the law and can drive drunk.

Tell them the truth, because if they find out you're lying - it will be much worse for you.

Answer 8

D.U.I.s are big bucks and That is what it is all about, not "saving lives". The second a cop mentions alcohol in a traffic stop ,you are going to go to jail ,so the best thing for you to do is politely decline ANY tests,including the circus tricks that most people who never drank a day in their lives can't do..Never, ever give them anything they can use in court especially blood,urine or breath tests, the 5th amendment to the United States constitution says you do not have to do anything to incriminate yourself so don't fall for it no matter what the officer tells you. Even M.A.D.D. has to use false statistics to back up their propaganda saying that someone dies every X seconds in the U.S. as the result of a drunk driver and then when you run the numbers you find that that many people do not die PERIOD in the U.S every year. The whole thing is a sham!!!

Answer 9

I think 2 beers can get you a DUI/DWI. I think I admitted I had been drinking, but that it had been hours ago. I flunked a breath test.

Basically if they suspect you have been drinking, and are going to give you a breath test, it doesn't really matter if you tell them you are wasted or not. But before they ask you to get out and perform a field sobriety test, I would deign having drank anything. In my case the cop told me the car "reeked of alcohol", so I was basically doomed. lol

Best advice is to not place yourself in this situation in the first place. If you kill someone in a wreck while drunk, you are going away for many many moons.

Answer 10

Why did you pull me over Officer? Have sodas for your last 2 drinks and sip them. This should buy you enough time to be sober enough to drive. If it isn't then you are way too drunk to be driving and you won't remember anything that's been said here anyway-Sure we may not be obligated to answer as Mr. State Trooper says but how well will we be treated when we refuse? You guys hold the keys to our freedom in my opinion and I won't give you a reason to use them. Cherish your freedom while we still have it...

Answer 11

First, you can choose not to answer any question a police officer asks you. You can also choose not to allow them to search your car without a warrant. As for the question at hand, don't tell them you have been drinking. Either opt to "plead the 5th" or tell them you haven't been drinking. Even if they prove that you were drinking, you won't get in trouble for lying since you are not under oath. You don't ever want to admit to doing anything wrong, they have the burden of proof in court, so make them prove it. If you admit to it, you just won their case.