You have just enjoyed a delicious brunch with your acquaintances where you ingested a few mimosas – champagne and orange juice beverages. You feel top-notch to hop back on the road but to ensure you stay attentive during the drive home, and you consume an energy drink prior to hopping back into your vehicle. A few moments later, you check your rearview mirror and find red and blue lights flashing behind you. You merge towards to the curb, positive that you are not in jeopardy of driving under the influence.
The real question is – are you actually at risk? It greatly depends on various elements such as the amount of alcohol content your drinks contain, what you weigh, how much food you ate, if you may have been fatigue before the brunch, and more. The physiological out-turns of alcohol revolve around a number of components, but can caffeine be an element? Can caffeine potentially come into action as you wait patiently for the police officer to arrive at your vehicle?
If you are unsure about the various drink driving laws, get in touch with reputable drink driving lawyers who can help you and provide you with lawful advice on drink driving.
Caffeine is a naturally occurring chemical stimulant that can have an affect on your central nervous system. To many people, caffeine is regarded as a substance that can make them stay vigilant or awake. Reflect back to those times when you were required to remain awake such as in school when you would have to toil away all night to cram in study for a test. As a means of getting caffeine through your system, you would consume coffee in large amounts, believing it would help you stay awake, and it could have possibly performed in your favour. Caffeine can provide us with that extra uplift of energy that could help in staying attentive when driving, however, can it also have a drawback?
Breathalyser Tests
With the absense of proof from research stating that caffeine firsthandedly reduces one’s capacity to drive. However, there are factors that you ought to be aware of when you do happen to mix caffeine with driving.
Consuming an energy drink before hopping into your vehicle could quite possibly lead to an inaccurate positive result on a breathalyser test. A lot of energy drinks do contain minimal quantities of ethanol, that could possibly show up on a breathalyser if you do take the test in the period of 15 minutes of consuming the beverage. If you are a person who does happen to consume some sort of caffeine beverage to stay awake while driving, ensure you are familiar of this prospect.
Disguising Indications Of Intoxication
Our dopamine output increases when there are elevated amounts of caffeine present in our bodies. This may somewhat result in an individual taking abnormal risks. A major problem with this is that caffeine can disguise senses of intoxication. What may convince you to get behind the wheel is that you may believe that you have more authority over your actions, are more aware and more responsive.
Being Misguided For Indications Of Intoxication
A large consumption of caffeine can result in similar symptoms to that of an individual who has also consumed alcohol. Such symptoms can include dizziness, blurred vision, anxiety, restlessness or nervousness and an increased heartbeat.
An individual who has consumed large volumes of caffeine, leading to alcohol-like indicators, can be detained over and requested to complete a breathalyser test or a range of field sobriety tests. One may run the chance of any shortcomings on these such tests due to the physiological out-turns of caffeine.
The fundamental factor is that one who has consumed a high amount of caffeine can portray symptoms that result in erratic driving, awarding police officers an equitable cause to detain you and possibly lead to them falling short on a breathalyser test or a field sobriety test.
If you sense as though you must have consume a caffinated beverage before setting on the road, here is a great tip! Hang back at least 15 minutes before going back on the road if you have consumed a drink containing caffeine. This will help minimise the possibility of an inaccurate positive breathalyser test.
Do You Require A Drink Driving Lawyer To Defend Your Inaccurate Breathalyser Test?
If you believe that you have just received inaccurate results from a breathalyser test, reach out to the best criminal defence lawyers. Criminal defence lawyers are able to provide you with the best possible results for your case. Criminal offences are serious matters, and it can be difficult to understand the charges and their consequences. This is why it is best to receive advice from a reputable and knowledgeable criminal lawyer who can assist in your personal circumstance.