Getting driving under the influence (DUI) charges placed against you is less typical than you might think. It’s not always about going to the bar, making the mistake of driving home,and getting pulled over. There are many state laws on how a DUI is termed, and technically it goes beyond the 0.08 alcohol level. Even if your blood alcohol level is less, most officers have the right to pull you over for a DUI if you’re obviously driving incorrectly.

This leads to problems, of course, since some people simply cannot drink even a little without getting “buzzed” or incoherent while driving. And sometimes the problem is the legal medication or drug you are taking which together with a glass of wine or half a beer leads to problems. This is far too important to not go over in detail, so we’ll go over the specific state laws, which sometimes vary, to help. If you’re reading this looking for help, hiring a professional DUI lawyer is a wise choice. They can go into even more detail, can explain local laws, and will help you make decisions.

What Substances Lead to DUI Arrests?
This is obviously a broad use of the word, as many medications are clearly not to be taken with alcohol, and some you might not be aware of also effect your driving abilities. It could be the medicine for depression you took last night. It could be no alcohol involved, in fact, which leads to you getting pulled over. After all, alcohol, illegal drugs, and even legal drugs can lead to a DUI.

The State Laws
The laws are fuzzy on this. Technically, if you tell the officer who pulled you over you took some medication, you might be admitting to a DUI. All 50 states do call use of legal medications leading to impaired driving as DUI or DWI. It may not seem to be a big deal, but be careful in what you say, and better yet, be clear on what the medicines effects might be on you. And some medications combined with alcohol clearly not only hurt your driving and lead to arrests, but can be dangerous for you and others on the road.

So What’s a DUI?
A driving under the influence case is made by two points. First, you’re driving a vehicle. Two, you’re impaired by some form of alcohol, illegal drug, legal drug, or combinations. If you took a heavy prescription and it led to an accident or you were pulled over, you could be at fault and need legal guidance.

How Do I Proceed?
The best answer for all these questions is to meet with a DUI lawyer in your state who can go over the specific laws with you. While taking a daily medication may seem to be safe, as millions do it and drive, in some cases it can hurt your driving. That said, you have the right to fight against the DUI, and the best route is with a professional DUI lawyer.

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It is illegal in most states for minors to be partaking of alcohol, marijuana, and other controlled substances, and to drive while doing so puts them in double jeopardy. Yet, teenagers are doing so at alarming regularity. Some studies show that 70 percent of teenagers drink alcohol, and 60 percent of all teen deaths in car accidents are alcohol-related. So, why do teenagers drink and then drive?

The answer varies, but I am sure the reason why most teenagers drink and then drive has not really changed all that much since I was a teenager some 45 years ago.

I can remember like it was just yesterday. I was home from my first semester in college, and I met my older brother in the bigger city at a nightclub some 30 miles from where I grew up. Many of our friends from our small hometown were there including Chris and Vance, who, like me, were underage. My brother was one of the few in our group who was of age.  Even in those days when we had no computer at home, we all had learned the art of faking our identification. Being 19, it was fun to be able to go to a nightclub, drink, dance, and meet new girls. After all, it was simply just socializing, something we had seen our parents do all our young lives.

Of course, the night must always come to an end, and just as sure as the sun was going to come up the next morning, we were still 30 miles from home. Having consumed more than the legal limit of alcohol, we each mounted our trusty vehicles and drove back home. My brother and I left a little earlier than our friends, something to do with the next morning. By the grace of God, I like to think, we made it back safely to our cozy beds our Mom had so lovingly made for us. Vance and Chris were not so lucky.

Driving a 1965 Ford Mustang, the cops estimated they were doing 105 mph when they hit the curve just four miles from their own safe and cozy bed. The curve was sharp and had multiple telephone poles sunk into the ground with a one inch steel cable passing through them acting as a guard rail. Four of the poles were no match for the mass of the Mustang’s steel as it tumbled and rolled, snapping the poles like breaking tooth picks. Both Chris and Vance, not wearing seat belts, were thrown from the vehicle.

Vance was killed instantly when he landed directly on his neck breaking it in multiple places, and Chris died in the hospital earlier that morning having lost his lower jaw, they later said, when the Mustang rolled over him. Was this just another case of a teenage alcohol related accident? Being a small town, there was never a need to publicly humiliate the parents by announcing the blood alcohol content of the boys, but my brother and I, who had partied the previous night with Chris and Vance,  knew the real truth. The local police never asked us about where we were that fatal night, but the memories still haunt me to this day.

We all have to get from one place to the next, and socializing is in our nature. Before you consider drinking and driving in New York, please know that regardless of whether or not you are a teenager, a first time DUI conviction can cost you up to a $1000 fine, up to one year in jail, a driver’s license suspension for six months, a mandatory conviction surcharge, being ordered for alcohol screening and evaluation prior to sentencing, and the knowledge a conviction goes on a permanent criminal record that is public information.

If you are a teenager or have a teenager that has recently been accused of a DUI in Albany, Schenectady, or Troy, New York, you are going to need professional help. Contact us right now and we will help you find a traffic attorney in your area who is not only understanding of the laws affecting teenage drunk driving, but they remember and understand what it was like when they were a teenager. They were once young, but they grew up, and now, they want to help you.

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