Why is it that people pulled over for suspicion of DUI/DWI have always just had "a few beers"?

Question

Isn't that still intoxication?

Answer 1

In some states you can be arrested for only having one drink. Sometimes, this law is just applied too harshly, and they do arrest a person who is not actually drunk.

Answer 2

No...not legally.

In order to be legally intoxicated (and chargeable as DUI), you have to have over the requisite serum alcohol percentage (which where I live is 0.08% by volume).

I have heard of one case where a woman was tested and had a 0.04% BAC or less, but when the cop walked out into the street, walked up to the moving car and turned the ignition off, the woman driving, she was passed-out from the alcohol.

DWI is generally reserved for those driving while intoxicated by a narcotic substance.

I know of a cop that managed to get off on a DUI charge because he was tested over an hour after he drank, and was arrested less than 5 minutes after drinking the booze. He got off, because it generally takes about 20 minutes for the alcohol to enter your system, and he had his shots rapid fire before leaving immediately for a 10 minute drive home. Had the cop that arrested him for DUI performed a FST or a breathalyzer on the spot, he would have passed, because the alcohol was not in his system at the time (although, by the time the testing was completed, he'd've been leaglly drunk! ;) )

Now, as for the guys being pulled over only having "a few beers"...people loose count. The driver may have thought he'd only had 4-5 beer over a 5-6 hour stay at the bar, despite the fact that he'd consumed 10-12. (One serving of alcohol works its way through you in one hour. So, if you drink one *serving* (not drink) per hour, you will never be legally drunk.)

Answer 3

1) it isn't always. It isn't even CLOSE to always. It might not even count as most-often. My dad was once pulled over for suspicion of drunk driving, even though he hadn't had any ethanol in his drink for weeks if not months. So, when the cop said he was being pulled over for not staying within his lane, and asked how many drinks my dad had had, his answer was nowhere near "a few beers".



2) becasue whereever it is that they had been consuming the ethanol, they've probably been advised by other patrons to say exactly that.

3) because giving an answer that includes a real number MIGHT not be correct, and in many states, it is a crime to provide false information to a law-enforcement officer, even if it isn't a crime to have been doing what the law-enforcement officer thinks you were doing wrong, whereas giving an ambiguous reply is not illegal at all. Stupid sometimes, but not illegal.

4) because there is nothing illegal about consuming any amount of beers and then driving, but rather for continuing to drive after the statutory blood percentage limit has been exceeded.

5) because so many people are unaware of the fact that they are not required to provide ANY information to a badge-bearer or anyone, so long as they might be suspected of committing ANY crimes. Crack your window just enough to slip out the required documents, and otherwise, say not a single thing.

Answer 4

Im a paremedic and I treat drunks all the time. Its never a few beers by the way. Its always 10 or 15 or a fifth of vodka. Also, the legal limit, well in these parts is 0.10. Depends on the definitation of intoxication.

Answer 5

Getting popped for a DUI/DWI is the proverbial hand in the cookie jar. The answer of just "a few beers" is a result of innate human behavior - the driver does not want to lie, but neither does he/she want to get into trouble - logic does not apply (intoxication is a legal/medical determination).

Answer 6

intoxication is measured by blood alcohol level, measured either by breathalyzer or blood test. It doesn't matter how much you drink, or how little. It depends on your body weight, metabolism, and how fast your body converts the alcohol to sugar. A 300 pound man can drink as nuch as a 105 pouind girl, and while he will be sober, she will be drunk. A normal 180 pound person can metabolize a 12 oz beer, or 4 oz of wine, or 1 oz of hard liquor in an hour.

Answer 7

In 1982 I was pulled over, because I couldn't hold a lane. When asked that question I replied that I had more to drink then I could remember. While mostly true not everyone just had a few.

Answer 8

Because either that's the least guilty response they can think to come up with (the officer already having told them he can smell the alcohol on their breath), or they are so drunk that all they can remember is the first "few beers".
I did have on guy tell me that he couldn't recall how many drinks he had because he had been drinking all night, and he thought he was too drunk to remember something like that, and besides, who was counting?
As long as your blood alcohol level is under the legal limit (.08 in most states) you are OK to drive. I don't recommend self determination on when you've reached the .o8 level however. If your going to drive, DON'T DRINK!

Answer 9

Probably the same reason why a cop uses the same lines and scripts every time he is conducting a D.U.I. "investigation". Just watch a video of a COP and his actions when doing one of these "investigations" the COPS are reading right from a script or playing a role and they are horrible actors(look like they are playing a role in a porno flick). The whole "D.U.I." thing is a big money making scam. Don't fall for big brother's scams.....

Answer 10

Generally they know that the cop's not gonna buy it if they said they had nothing (they can smell it on them), but they're not going to say: "Yes, officer; I've been drinking. 9 or 10 beers and a few shots of Jaeger. Arrest me now."

Answer 11

Actually, if you pay closer attention you will notice not all the people pulled over have always had "a few beers." Some have only had one.

Merry Christmas!