If you’ve been drinking, you may find yourself in a position where it would be beneficial to sober up quickly. For instance, say that you went to a friend’s house to watch a football game, such as the Super Bowl. But it doesn’t end until around midnight, and you’re fairly intoxicated. You need to drive home, and you don’t want to risk being arrested on drunk driving charges.
Your friend tells you that they can make you a cup of coffee. If you quickly drink hot, black coffee, they say, it will sober you up so that you don’t have to worry about getting arrested. Is this actually true?
A common myth
This is not true, but simply a common myth that many people believe. Drinking that cup of coffee isn’t going to sober you up. If you’re over the legal limit, you could still be arrested.
It is understandable that people buy into this myth, however. That cup of coffee is going to give your system a jolt of caffeine. It’s going to wake you up, and you’re suddenly going to feel far more alert than you did before. You may mistake this for being sober.
But the truth is that it takes hours for your BAC to go down by a meaningful amount. The standard rate of decline for most people is just 0.015% per hour. Your BAC may decline slightly if it takes you time to make and drink the coffee, but it’s not the coffee that’s affecting it. It’s just the time, as your body metabolizes the alcohol.
Sometimes, drunk driving arrests happen because drivers believe they have done what they need to reduce their BAC, even if this isn’t true. If this happens to you, it’s crucial that you understand all of the legal defense options you have.