Upset Over Election? You’ll Still Get a DWI If You Drink And Drive

It’s no surprise that the results from the recent Presidential election shocked a lot of people, and it’s also not surprising how some people have reacted to the news. Some picked up protest signs, others have taken a wait and see approach, and at least one person decided election night results were a great excuse to explain away their DWI charge (driving while intoxicated).

Shocking, but true: around 5 pm on the Wednesday after the election, a Lino Lakes, Minnesota woman was stopped after she rear-ended another car while speeding. When police showed up, she told the arresting officers that she was upset about the election and they should just let her go home.

The election must have really shocked her, because according to police she was so drunk she failed all field sobriety tests and broke the breathalyzer when attempting to give her breath sample. Turns out, her blood alcohol concentration was .33, over four times the legal limit of .08.

That blood alcohol level isn’t just dangerous to the person behind the wheel and everyone on the road with them; it’s lethal. Once you hit a BAC of .35 to .40 you’re at the point of fatal alcohol poisoning, and it’s incredible that she was able to get behind the wheel of a car, drive it, and still be conscious while talking to the police officers and receiving a DWI charge.

She’s been charged with an aggravated DWI charge in Minnesota, and at a minimum she could be looking at spending some time behind bars, paying up to $1,000 in fines, and signing up for the Minnesota ignition interlock program. Because her BAC was over .16, she could be using her interlock for a year.

Whether or not she was legitimately upset over the election results doesn’t excuse the choice to drink and drive. People get stressed and emotional about things every day, and if everyone made the choice to get behind the wheel drunk because of that stress, the roads would be even more clogged with drunk drivers. Your best option, on any day of the year, is to think before you drink and don’t never drive after you do.