When you think of a driver who is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, most people tend to think of a person driving home from a sports game or bar, usually late at night or on the weekends. However, DUI accidents can happen at any time of the day. Many people may have drinks with lunch or at happy hour and drive home while the sun is still up. Perhaps more surprisingly, many DUI accidents take place in the morning. No matter what time of day it was, if you have been injured in a DUI accident, you should contact a dedicated DUI accident attorney in Fayette County as soon as possible to see how you can hold the drunk driver responsible for his or her actions.
After a long night of drinking, many people believe if they simply “sleep it off,” they will be perfectly safe to drive the next day. However, this is not always the case. Alcohol is metabolized slower than it is absorbed into the bloodstream, as the liver is only able to metabolize a certain amount of alcohol every hour. Generally, alcohol is metabolized at a rate of .015-.016% each hour. Therefore, if a person has a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .15% (nearly twice the legal intoxication limit for driving), it would take 10 hours to get all of the alcohol out of his system. Therefore, if a person returns home from a night of heavy drinking at 3:00 a.m. and wakes up and drives at 9:00 a.m., they are likely still committing DUI. If a person causes an accident due to day-after DUI, they should be held liable for any injuries or damage they cause. If you are in an accident in the morning and suspect the driver is drunk, make sure to notify the police so they can perform a BAC test.
Contact a Fayette County personal injury attorney for a free consultation
An experienced DUI accident lawyer knows how to identify the signs of day-after DUI accidents. If you have been in an accident, call Shane Smith Law as soon as possible at (980) 246-2656.