Drinking

I've been busy bartending and I decided to try a few different recipes. Yeah, it's 6:23pm on a Monday night, what's your point?

Anyway, you know when you've been drinking and you have a little buzz but you feel okay driving? Don't. A friend recently got a DUI and it is so not worth it. I'm not condoning drunk driving or even "buzzed" driving, but based on personal experience I don't really care for law enforcement. So I'm going to pass along some info that my friend gave me.

When the officer pulls you over, they'll ask questions about whether you know why they pulled you over, etc. Never admit to wrongdoing because it can never help you, it only hurts. (The same is true of speeding, etc.) Just remember to be polite. Don't swear and be respectful 'cause they have a lot of power and can make your life hell (which is one reason they can be such assholes, power corrupts). They'll try to have you do field sobriety tests like balance and walking the line, but if you're drunk, refuse to do it. Also, refuse the breathalyzer. This way there will be no evidence other than the officers' opinion that you were drunk. The field breath test is not an official test and the officer is supposed to inform you of that and that you may refuse the test but they often "forget" to state this (another reason they're assholes).

If you refuse the breathalyzer, the officer may threaten and warn you about all the penalties, etc and arrest you and take you to get a blood alcohol test, but they'll do the same thing if you fail the breathalyzer. If you refuse (especially if it's a breathalyzer called an E-pass machine, refusing to take that automatically results in a suspended license) your license may be suspended. But you'll be able to request a hearing (and if you fail the test you'll have no case so it's better to not have failed test results against you). Also, your lawyer has a weaker case if you take the breathalyzer and fail, which they will verify with the blood test, whereas if you refuse to take the test, make sure you get your lawyer once they arrest you. Plus, your blood alcohol may be back to the legal limit by that time (if you were borderline to begin with). Remember, it takes about an hour for your body to process each drink. Just don't drive. It's so easy to get a cab, BART, or MUNI and you'll lose tens of thousands of dollars in lost wages, fines, increased insurance.... And having to go to court, having your license suspended, the stigma, etc. Plus I hear you'll be turned away from Canada!