True or False: Debunking Common DWI Myths
The truth behind some of the most popular drunk driving myths.
There are many inaccurate portrayals of drunk driving and DWI’s in popular media: TV characters who suck on pennies in order to reduce their intoxication levels, cops in movies that arrest drivers for having alcohol on their breath, celebrates who receive different treatment and charges than others other individuals who are arrested for a DWI.
Combine all of these issues with the fact that many people do not fully understand the DWI process, and it’s easy to see why there are many inaccurate rumors and myths surrounding drunk driving.
Today, we will be touching on just a few of the most common misconceptions regarding DWI’s and the many laws surrounding them. It’s time to officially prove these myths true or false once and for all:
True or False: Sucking on pennies or using mouthwash will help lower your BAC reading
FALSE: Sucking on pennies or anything else that is copper will have no effect on your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) results. As far as mouthwash or breath spray goes, these substances can actually inflate the amount of alcohol found in BAC results, not lower them. Both of these substances contain low amounts of alcohol that an advanced breathalyzer may be able to pick up.
True or False: You are not required to take a field sobriety test
TRUE: While an officer is not required to tell you this, in the state of Texas, the law does not require that you perform any type of test, including a field sobriety test. However, you should know that if you do refuse to perform this test, the officer will most likely arrest you. You should always take in your surroundings and consider whether or not you are able to successfully pass a field sobriety test before you out right refuse.
True or False: Field sobriety tests are always an accurate measure of a person’s BAC level
FALSE: Even the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has said that people, even when they are sober, have difficulty correctly performing field sobriety tests. Several factors such as nervousness, fear, fatigue, weather conditions, leg/foot injuries, etc. can all have an impact on the results of a field sobriety test.
True or False: “Alcohol on the breath” is a reliable sign of alcohol intoxication
FALSE: One fact that many people don’t know about alcohol is that it is actually odorless. What people are smelling when they perceive alcohol on the breath is the smell of the ingredients often included in alcohol. For instance, the breath of someone who has been drinking O’Douls Non-Alcoholic beer will smell the exact same as someone who has been drinking Budweiser. Therefore, breath odor strength estimates are completely unrelated to a person’s BAC level.
True or False: You can’t have an open container of alcohol inside of your car while driving
TRUE: It is a class “C” misdemeanor for a driver or passenger to have an open container of alcohol in their possession while driving. If the seal on a bottle of alcohol has been opened, it must be placed in the trunk of your car or behind the last row of seats in an SUV or truck. If you have a bottle of alcohol in your car that has been opened, even if you haven’t had anything to drink, you can still be ticketed for possessing an open container of alcohol.
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