Most people in Bridgeport don’t have a problem with people drinking alcohol, but there certainly is a problem when someone gets behind the wheel while drunk. Not only is it dangerous for the drunk driver, but he or she is exposing everyone on the road to the risk of a serious accident, catastrophic injury and death. It makes sense that driving while intoxicated is against the law: it is incredibly dangerous.
Well, according to a new study, it is not just drunk driving that is dangerous. Apparently, driving with a hangover is as bad as driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.05, the legal limit in many countries. While that is not technically considered intoxicated under Connecticut law, it doesn’t mean that a driver at 0.05 is not an impaired driver. There is nothing that says someone with a blood alcohol content of 0.05 is not in the same impaired state as someone who is legally intoxicated.
Drivers with a hangover noted that their driving was less predictable, more dangerous and less responsible than if they had not been drinking the night before. It is not entirely shocking, as someone with nausea, a headache, fatigue and other symptoms of a hangover is probably less likely to be paying attention to safe driving than someone who is feeling fine.
Though it is not illegal to drive with a hangover, that does not mean that a skilled personal injury lawyer wouldn’t be able to argue that it was negligent while trying to get compensation for a client injured by a driver with a hangover.
Source: Consumer Reports, “Got a New Year’s hangover? Don’t get behind the wheel,” Jamie Kopf, Jan. 1, 2014
