Driving & Walking Under the Influence of Alcohol

With the many series of unfortunate events recently, we will be very thankful when businesses including restaurants and bars are fully reopened to celebrate the end of stay at home orders. Often, we are distracted and lose track of the number of drinks we know we can have. How we try going home later that night can have serious consequences.

Usually, the thought is that we are “ok to drive.” However, our perception of intoxication is not relevant to law enforcement. Under Oklahoma law, it is illegal to drive a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration, or BAC, of .08. “I am ok, because I know I am not at the limit” is a common thought. However, one can still fall within the DUI laws if one is driving a motor vehicle with an “impaired ability” due to alcohol or an intoxicating substance.

Likewise, it is not necessary for one to drive a motor vehicle to fall within the drinking and driving statutes in what is called Actual Physical Control or APC. Anyone who the law deems to be in actual physical control is subject to a criminal charge. This means that anyone who is able to operate a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol may face APC charges. So, while one might think that that he or she can sit in the driver’s seat and “sleep it off” and be fine, they will be sadly mistaken.

Lastly, another possibility is walking or riding with a designated driver. However, anyone who is intoxicated in a “public place” can also face criminal charges.

If charged with any of these crimes, one could face harsh punishments. The range of punishment for some of these charges can be up to a year in jail. For others, if they have a prior criminal record, they could face a felony charge with imprisonment in the penitentiary. While many of us are aware of ride sharing apps on our phone and use those after a social night with friends, some of our friends and loved ones might not be aware or simply did not plan accordingly.

I, along with the entire team at Foshee & Yaffe, am always ready to represent those facing criminal charges.