Arrested for DUI: Intoxicated or just very tired?
A Cop pulls you over at 3:00 a.m. He noticed your eyes were bloodshot. Speech seemed a little mumbled. Dexterity when getting out of the car was not too sharp. The arresting cop made you walk the line, and hop on one foot. He felt you looked impaired. Your reaction time, your ability to make judgments, and process information, were impaired.
You have been arrested for DUI. Is his assumption that your impairment was caused by alcohol correct?
Assume one additional fact: You have been up since 5:00 am the preceding morning. What if you were just tired? What if you were just sleep deprived?
A researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine compared the relative effects on performance of sleep deprivation and alcohol. She tested employees from the transport industry, or professional drivers. She found that:
- After 17 to 19 hours without sleep, performance on some testes was equivalent or worse than that at a Blood Alcohol Content of .05%. Response speeds were up to 50 % slower on some tests, and accuracy suffered on others.
- After longer periods without sleep, performance on some tests reached levels equivalent or worse than that of someone with a Blood Alcohol Content of .10%
The National Highway Traffic Association, or “NTSHA”, points out that:
- There is currently no objective test for determining how sleep a driver is, and
- Most car crashes related to sleepiness occur after midnight.
In the situation above, where the driver has been up for 22 hours straight, he will likely be exhibiting impaired motor function equivalent to someone with a Blood Alcohol Content over the legal limit. He will look and perform as if he was intoxicated.
If that individual performs the perfectly legal act of stopping at the bar for a single drink, thereby having alcohol on his breath, the chances of the officer mistakenly arresting the tired individual increases exponentially.
