Accidental Intoxication
– HI, Texas
Answer:
Just this past week, I drove after accidentally taking a pain killer early in the morning. I then took an anti-anxiety medication (dealing with a six year old would stress any 40+ year old dad) that I would never mix with pain killers.
I woke up feeling fine, in retrospect a little too fine. I didn’t truly realize my mistake until I was in the middle of rush hour traffic and it was harder than normal to stay in my lane. At that point I was halfway to work and I continued on.
Luckily I avoided being pulled over. Had I been pulled over, I might have consented to testing and failed. The same thing can happen when you’re drinking. You might not consider the interaction between your prescription med and drinking, you might think your med wore off before you had those two beers with the guys.
Maybe the bartender is in a good and pouring a little strong. If you’ve been drinking or are pain meds or anything that makes you sleepy, don’t drive. If you do drive, don’t consent. You may be more intoxicated than you think.
You also not be able to create one of those “prosecutor lies” explaining your behavior. If stopped at the scene I would have no idea why I felt the way I did. When I got home I found the two bottles close together and realized my mistake.
Don’t let an honest mistake mess up your life.
This answer does not constitute legal advice, which can only be rendered after a full consideration of the facts of your case which is not possible in this format; nor establish an attorney-client relationship, which can only be done after you and an attorney meet and agree on the terms of that relationship. This answer is intended solely to provide general information about the justice system. Further, it does not provide the basis for making decisions about a course of action. Before making any decisions about a course of action readers are strongly encouraged to contact a lawyer and secure an attorney-client relationship. Readers must also understand that this format does not provide for confidential communication. Moreover, links to information on this site are for your convenience only and are not an endorsement or recommendation of those sites, and no responsibility is taken for any information at these linked sites, nor makes any representation or warranty with respect to these sites or the information contained therein.