Summer Drinking: Stop Legal Trouble Now

Stop drinking and driving. Stop drinking and boating. Stop drinking and lawn mowering. Seriously, it is becoming a problem here and around Mobile.

I know it is hot; you want to go to the beach, fish for Red Snapper, and get that boat in the water. However, it is hard to swim, fish, or boat from jail, so watch the summertime drinking.

Here are some facts from my years of practicing law and dealing with the chaos that drinking drivers cause:

Alcohol only makes you think you are performing well.

Here is the truth – alcohol dramatically diminishes your ability to react. This is potentially tragic when you must react to multiple signals at once. For example, a car swipes you – do you put on the brake, put on the gas, throw you arm out over your passenger, grab the wheel with both hands, change lanes? You get the idea. With even one drink, it takes longer for your brain to get information … and still more time for you to react.

Beer, wine, and liquor will get you just as drunk.

If you feel that beer is less intoxication, think again. Even if your math skills are a little sketchy, trust me that one 12-oz. beer equals 5 oz. of wine or 1 ½ oz. of 80 proof liquor. Bottomline, drinking a lot of beer will get you drunk.

Diluting hard liquor can actually increase absorption.

Though using fruit juice or water may reduce the speed of alcohol getting into your blood system, here comes the shocker – carbonated beverages increase absorption, and you will get drunk more quickly.

No amount of coffee will sober you up.

In fact, cold showers will not sober you up either. It can provide for a clean drunk, however. Only your liver can get rid of the alcohol. For every drink you consume, it takes about 2 hours for the liver to do its job.

You can still be arrested if high on prescription drugs.

You are required by the state of Alabama to operate a vehicle safely. No doctor’s orders will override that.

These are a few facts from my decades of practicing law. I truly hope you have a fun and safe summer.

If you suffer from a personal injury like an auto/railroad wreck, wrongful death claim , or slip and fall, you can talk to us at the Law Firm of Eiland and Ritchie for free. We want to help you get back on your feet.

Also, join us on NBC 15 LawCall here in Mobile every Sunday night at 10:30, right after the news. We will take your calls live. We do like answering your questions. We also have lawyers standing by at our offices on Monday mornings.

Allen Ritchie

Mobile Personal Injury Attorney

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