It is possible to be arrested for drunk driving even if you haven’t had anything to drink that day. The fact is that you could wake up in the morning, get in your car, and still get a DUI due to your level of alcohol impairment, even if you haven’t had anything to drink since the night before.
This is often called a “day after DUI.” People generally don’t think about it very much, which can lead to some unexpected arrests. It’s important for you to know how this works and why it happens.
Your BAC may still be high
The problem is that your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) doesn’t drop instantly after you consume your final drink. Even if you go to sleep, it’s still only dropping by about 0.015% per hour. So how long you slept before you got behind the wheel makes a big difference.
The same can be said for how high your BAC was the night before. If it was high enough or you didn’t sleep long enough, you could still be impaired even if you don’t think you feel the effects of your drinking.
People often take this chance because they have work in the morning or some other obligation. They feel that it will be safe enough to drive, or they don’t even realize that they’re still in somewhat of a fog after a night out. But driving like this can lead to serious charges if you get pulled over and the officers believe you are still impaired or your BAC is still over the legal limit. If this does happen to you, be sure you know about all of your defense options.