Question: I drank and went to sleep and when I woke up in the morning I drove to work. While on my way to work, I got stopped for speeding and the Sandy Springs cop asked me if I’d been drinking. I said no, and I said the last time I drank was the night before. He said I smelled like I’d been drinking.
The cop asked me to get out of the car and do some tests, which I did, because I didn’t know I could refuse them. I think I did alright on them but the police officer arrested me for DUI and I took a breath test at the jail. I was pretty surprised that I got a .115 at the jail because it’s over the limit. I really went to sleep after drinking and I must have slept for at least five or six hours before I woke up to go to work.
I never thought I’d get a DUI driving to work in the morning. It’s crazy that the cop gave me a drunk driving ticket while I was driving to work. Now I need a local criminal defense lawyer.
I’ve only had one other DUI and that was almost three years ago in Cobb County. I was in college and I was driving with my girlfriend and she drank so much I thought she was going to puke in my truck. So I was speeding home to get her out of the vehicle and into bed, but a cop saw me and I caught a DUI. I never actually made it home, and she got sick in my truck after all.
Can you really get a DUI in the morning while driving to work? And are the punishments less because I wasn’t trying to drive drunk?
F.F. in Sandy Springs, GA
Answer: Being arrested for a DUI in the morning following a night of drinking is actually fairly common. We have had many clients who were arrested in the morning on the way to work, driving to get breakfast or simply traveling to a store.
A driver can get pulled-over in the morning for the same reasons as in the evening: speeding, failure to maintain lane, going thru a stop sign or a red light. Sometimes in the morning there is an accident involved.
As for punishments, they are the same for people charged with DUI in the morning as they are for those charged at night. It doesn’t matter what time of the day or night you were arrested, it won’t have an impact on the sentence.
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Valerie Sherman and Bill Sherman are defense lawyers who have the experience that can really help you, having served as a judge and a prosecutor.
When you need a Sandy Springs DUI lawyer, just call us. We’re here for you 24/7. Our phone number is 678-712-8561.