You may find yourself in a scenario where you need to drive your car, but you know that it would be unsafe and illegal to do so. You know that you’ve had too much to drink and you’re in danger of being impaired and/or over the legal limit.
Ideally, you would simply find another mode of transportation, but what if it’s not possible? Is there anything you can do to sober up quickly?
The myths don’t work
There are a lot of myths about sobering up quickly. People will tell you to do things like:
- Getting some exercise
- Getting some sleep
- Eating a meal
- Taking a cold shower
- Drinking a cup of black coffee
However, these things are not going to impact your intoxication or impairment level at all. Alcohol is generally processed by your body so that your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) will fall at a rate of 0.015% per hour. This is true no matter what you eat, if you take a shower, if you go to sleep, or anything else.
Out of all of these tactics, going to sleep is probably the most beneficial. But this is simply because of the time that it takes. It could be hours before your blood alcohol concentration will return to zero. Drinking a cup of coffee for half an hour isn’t going to change much, but sleeping for six hours could make a difference. That said, if you’re looking to sober up quickly, things like getting some sleep or getting exercise are probably not realistic options to begin with.
Unfortunately, people will sometimes drive when they shouldn’t, believing that they have done enough to be protected from legal charges. If you do find yourself facing DUI charges, be sure you know what legal defense options you have.