Unfortunately, law enforcement officers must deal with drunk drivers every day and every night in the state of Florida.
Some incidents have their humorous side, such as the following two stories from the summer of 2018. Once drivers sober up, however, they find that a DUI charge is no laughing matter.
The invisible dog
A law enforcement officer stopped a driver on I-95 near Port Lucie when he noticed the man was driving erratically. The smell of alcohol emanated from the car, but the suspect insisted he was not driving–his dog was. The motorist’s red eyes were glassy, and he had obviously been drinking. There was a bottle of alcohol on the passenger seat but, unfortunately for the driver, there was no dog. The man asked the police officer for a ride home, but the officer gave him a ride to jail instead.
A different approach
In Vero Beach, a woman waiting in line at a McDonald’s drive-thru called 911, complaining the man in the car behind her had struck her bumper repeatedly. When the police arrived to question the driver causing the problem, they asked if he had been drinking while driving. The man said no. He explained he only drank while at a stop sign or stoplight–never when the car was moving. He, too, earned a ride to jail where the police charged him with drunk driving as well as driving without a license.
Working on a defense
In these two instances, drivers were looking at some stiff penalties, including hefty fines, license suspension and possible jail time. The court may also have ordered them to participate in community service. One sobering thought among many is that in Florida, a conviction for DUI cannot be expunged. It remains on the offender’s record for life, more proof that a DUI conviction is no laughing matter.
