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As the holidays approach, the invitations to family and work celebrations arrive, and many of these parties include alcoholic beverages. Whether your event is held at somebody’s home where the host is pouring freely or at a commercial establishment where an open bar is being paid for by the company, it’s easy to overindulge. At Wallace Law, we are DWI attorneys in South Jersey with extensive experience in representing those who have been charged with driving under the influence. We are ready to represent you if you need us, but urge you to rethink that drink! You may already be impaired.
One of the things that you need to know when you’re at a holiday party is that alcohol can affect your body in ways that you don’t realize. You may be significantly intoxicated before you begin to feel the effects, with the impact being that your decision-making skills are no longer as sharp as they were when you were a drink or two earlier. One of the reasons for this is that when you have your first drink it actually makes you feel energized, happy and stimulated. You may be more talkative and friendly and feel like a better version of yourself, but those characteristics are a sign that your judgment is impaired – and that means that your driving skills have diminished as well. With another drink your reaction time slows and you lose control over some of your fine motor skills. You also may become more aggressive, and though that can sometimes lead to arguments, it can also lead to driving too quickly or making reckless moves while behind the wheel.
One of the things that happens when somebody has had too much to drink is that they become unaware of themselves or their own behavior. They don’t’ hear that they are slurring their words, but they are, and this is an indication that the depressive action of the alcohol that they’ve consumed is starting to take effect. Though some people will eventually pass out, others’ have strong enough muscle memory and alertness to continue acting in an engaged way, and thinking themselves capable of driving.
One other thing that is important to remember is that even if you stop drinking after two or three drinks, the alcohol that you’ve consumed is still going to have an effect and stay in your system for several hours. No amount of coffee or water being consumed offsets the alcohol that you’ve drunk, and that means that you are in no shape to drive. If you are going to a party, the smartest thing to do is either opt out of drinking or make arrangements for somebody else like a car service to drive you home. If you do drink and drive, you run the risk of hurting yourself or somebody else on the road. If you get pulled over after drinking and driving and you need a DWI attorney in South Jersey, call Wallace Law for experienced legal representation.