5 Telltale Signs Of Drunk Driving
Brian O Sutter
Personal Injury
Even if you’re the safest, soberest driver the road has ever seen, you can’t guarantee that all the other drivers around you are meeting your high standards. Drunk and intoxicated drivers can appear on the road at any time of day, but they’re more likely to show up late at night and especially on holidays where alcohol is part of the celebration, like New Year’s Eve, St. Patrick’s Day, and Cinco de Mayo.
Defensive driving is about more than just following all the rules yourself, it’s about watching the vehicles around you and not taking for granted the idea that they’ll all follow the rules, too. So when you’re out on the road late at night, driving home after a holiday celebration, keep an eye out for the following warning signs that another driver might be intoxicated.
- Swerving. This behavior is probably the easiest to spot, and it’s the first sign that police officers will look for when they’re on patrol. Alcohol makes it hard to concentrate, and while driving in a straight line is simple, it’s not that easy when you can’t focus on the road in front of you.
- Hugging the center line. You and the police aren’t the only ones who know that swerving is the first sign of drunk driving. Plenty of people have too much to drink and then slip behind the wheel fully aware that they’ll have trouble driving, and they’ll overcompensate by playing it safe and hugging the center line. But while this is safer than swerving, intoxicated drivers still have impaired judgment and slower reflexes.
- Excessive braking and slow acceleration. Intoxicated drivers will also overcompensate by taking things slow, both by braking early and often and by taking their time reaching the speed limit. After all, so long as you stay under the speed limit that’s one less reason the police have to pull you over. But this slow driving also makes the driver a hazard to other drivers who don’t expect someone to drive so conservatively.
- Persistent tailgating. Another tactic that can seem like a good idea to someone drunk is to closely follow the car ahead and do what they do to appear to drive normally. If another car rides your bumper even if you speed up or slow down and even if there’s an empty passing lane waiting for them, it could be a case of driver intoxication.
- Serious driving violations. If a driver has really had much to drink, he or she might not be able to follow even the most essential driving laws. This includes basic things like leaving their headlights off, signaling left when turning right, driving the wrong way down a one-way road or highway ramp, driving under the minimum speed limit on the highway, or stopping at an intersection when they have the right of way.