I almost got a DUI.... Could it have been worse?

[Anonymous]

Last night I went to a bar with my friend and I had 2 beers over the course of a couple hours. I knew I wasn't perfectly sober, but I also knew I was well below my limit. I was the DD for the night so I was driving him home.

My tail lights weren't on because the repair shop had messed them up the night before...so I ended up getting pulled over.

I panicked because I had no idea why I was getting pulled over and I had no idea what my blood alcohol level was. I knew I felt sober but I've never been in a situation like that so I was scared to death.

I told him I had 2 beers and he made me take a breathalyser. I blew .04. He let me go and said never to drink more than two beers and drive then.

Obviously I was well under the limit, but could he have arrested me if he wanted simply for drinking at all?

I am so upset...I'm a goody two shoes type and I would never get wasted and drive, but I feel ashamed for even having risked anything.

[AndreoFigueroa]

It could have been worse. The officer couldn't arrest you for DUI because your under the limit. However he could arrest you for driving a non-road worthly vehicle, endangering the public safety for driving without lights and being intoxicated, and about 2-3 other minor infractions. Most hardcase officers know if they give you 3 tickets you can fight your way out of one or 2 but not all of them. I would say your really luckly.

[Asker]

My lights were just working inversely. When I turned the exterior lights on the inside lights all went out. When I turned the exterior light off the interior lights came on. I had flipped the lights all the way off so I could see the interior lights my headlights still stayed on so I assumed I was OK. I didn't realize the tail lights were off. I'd only had my car back for a day so how was I to know the repair shop screwed me over.

[AndreoFigueroa]

According to the law it is your responsibility to maintain the the integrity of your property in order to prevent accident or injury to the public at large. This means you would get the ticket for not ensuring your car was working properly but you could then sue the garage that fixed your car for doing the work improperly.

[moaterboat]

You can still get arrested if you are under the limit.

[moaterboat]

Just because you are under the limit doesn't mean you are automatically safe. If the officer still believes that you are driving impaired he can still arrest you. This is something that most people don't realize (as you can see from other answers). It is best to simply avoid driving entirely if you plan on doing any drinking.

[Asker]

I was definitely alert (Even knew to correct him about which insurance card was up to date) and I think he recognized this from my ability to pull all my documents together quickly and answer all his question coherently, but say I do seem coherent and I blow a .04... is it likely I would be arrested? Like was he doing me a big favor?

[moaterboat]

I'm not saying that there was much risk of being arrested. Odds are you could get pulled over dozens of times, blow a .04, and the cop would let you go. All I am saying is that according to most DUI laws (probably all of them actually) you can technically get arrested if you are under the limit but obviously impaired. It wasn't so much that he was doing you a favor, it was more like he just wasn't being a total asshat about it.

[jazzie07]

Good thing that he did not arrest you for a DUI record can ruin your life in a way, it can affect your car insurance, job opportunities and so on. If you want to know more about DUI you can check https://colorado-dui.com, next time be careful and avoid doing such mistake.

[rudy37lee]

No you were fine. The limit is the limit for a reason. You blow below, you're legal.

[moaterboat]

You can still get arrested if you are under the limit.

[rudy37lee]

Sure, but not because of the alcohol.

[Cryostatic]

No, it couldn't have been worse. You were below the legal limit, and that's that.

[moaterboat]

You can still get arrested if you are under the limit.

[Anonymous]

If you are under the limit, then you are under the limit. Just be careful.

[moaterboat]

You can still get arrested if you are under the limit.