Can You Get a “day After” Dui?

Many people who are arrested on DUI charges get pulled over the same day that they’ve been drinking. Maybe they were out at a bar with friends and tried to drive home, but their BAC was still over the legal limit. They may be unhappy with the charges, but it’s at least understandable.

One thing that surprises people, though, is when they get pulled over for DUI the next day. They counter that they haven’t had anything to drink today, so how could they still fail a breath test?

The rate at which your BAC declines is steady

The most important thing to remember is that your blood alcohol concentration generally only goes down by about 0.015% per hour. This simply isn’t very fast, and it can take hours for someone’s BAC to drop back into the legal range.

For example, say that a college student stays out late on a Thursday night, drinking with friends even though they know they have class the next morning. At 2:00 a.m., they finally get in bed, and they have a highly elevated BAC of 0.2%.

With the average rate of decline, by 10:00 a.m. that morning, the student’s blood alcohol concentration would still be right at 0.08%, or the legal limit. If they woke up at 9:00 a.m., feeling groggy and nursing a headache, and tried to drive to campus to go to class, they could certainly be picked up on drunk driving charges. Enough time has not elapsed for their BAC to return to normal.

Your defense options after a DUI charge

Are you facing serious drunk driving allegations that could impact your ability to get an education and much more? Be sure you understand all of your legal defense options.