People may drink and drive without even realizing that they’re doing so. It’s not that they don’t know that they drank, of course. They just think that they had a “normal” and “safe” amount of alcohol and that driving shouldn’t be a problem. This can lead to DUI charges when they actually find themselves over the legal limit.
This is an issue because, as it turns out, most people have no idea how much they really drink. They tend to massively underestimate it. For instance, they think that they never binge drink when the reality is that they just do not understand how many drinks it takes to qualify as a binge. They may feel like they have average drinking habits when they actually consume far too much.
They may also be surrounded by other people who do the same thing. They could then follow the examples being set for them. If a group of friends goes out to the bar and everyone says that they’re safe to drive, is the one friend who is considering calling a cab really going to do it? Probably not. He or she will likely just try to drive home like everyone else, assuming that it’s safe because it just seems like the accepted decision at that time.
Misconceptions about drinking culture in the United States can cause you to make serious legal mistakes. You may not realize how serious they are until you’re facing drunk driving charges. That’s when you need to know what options you have and what legal defense tactics to use to defend yourself in court.