Depending on your drug of choice (alcohol or cannabis), you may call the night before Thanksgiving either “Drunksgiving” or “Danksgiving.” The bars and the police tend to call it “Blackout Wednesday” because of the sheer number of people who will celebrate with just a little too much enthusiasm the night before Thanksgiving.
Let’s be clear: You shouldn’t get behind the wheel of a car when you’re intoxicated or stoned any time of the year — but you particularly don’t want to do that on Thanksgiving weekend (which starts the night before the holiday). That’s practically asking for a drunk driving arrest.
You can bet that the police will be out in droves
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), Thanksgiving is the deadliest holiday of all when it comes to impaired driving. The police are very conscious of this fact, so you can expect patrols to be out in force during the weekend.
With that in mind, here are a few things to remember ahead of the holiday:
- You can still be charged with drunk driving even if your blood alcohol content (BAC) registers lower than 0.08% on a breath test. The officer can determine you are impaired based on any amount of alcohol in your system and based on your driving, behavior and other factors.
- Uber and Lyft rides may be costly, but they aren’t as expensive as an arrest for impaired driving. If you plan to go out partying over the holiday weekend, make transportation part of your budget.
If you do make a mistake, however, don’t compound it: Invoke your right to remain silent until you can evaluate all of your defense options.