More than 130 million people will sit down in front of a television on Sunday for the unofficial national holiday referred to as Super Bowl Sunday. The Super Bowl is a time of social gatherings, massive consumption of junk food and lots of drinking. Unfortunately, this day of celebration is also a day of increased DUI enforcement and sobriety check points. The latest estimates indicate that on Super Bowl Sunday more than 325 million gallons of beer will be consumed. That is enough beer to fill almost 500 Olympic-size swimming pools. Super Bowl Sunday trails only New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July for the number of DUI arrests.
Planning ahead will help you to avoid becoming a DUI statistic. A DUI arrest can make your Super Bowl celebration very expensive as even a first-offense can cost thousands of dollars in fines, drunk driving class costs and attorney’s fees. If you are arrested for DUI on Super Bowl Sunday, you should contact Florida DUI attorneys who can advise you of your legal rights and potential penalties and explore strategies for getting your charges reduced or dismissed.
A recent study that analyzed the link between watching sporting events and alcohol consumption found that one in every 12 fans that attends a sporting event has a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 percent when leaving the sporting event. Under Florida drunk driving law, a person with a BAC of .08 percent is presumed to be driving under the influence of alcohol. Super Bowl weekend is notorious for having an increased number of DUI arrests. Also, Florida DUI lawyers will be quite busy. Florida law enforcement authorities have made it clear that this Sunday will be no exception with beefed up patrols looking for drunk drivers. Terms like “heightened patrols” and “saturation” of officers looking for drunk drivers are appearing on websites for the county sheriff’s offices in many counties.
The Florida DUI cost of a conviction has very serious penalties including jail time, fines, drunk driving school, probation and more as well as serious long-term consequences including a criminal conviction which can affect future employment, housing, immigration status, career and professional licensing and your reputation. Cab fare can be far less expensive than the high costs of a Florida DUI arrest. Regardless of where you decide to watch the Super Bowl, you should arrange for a designated driver or a taxi to take you home. If you do find yourself arrested for DUI, you should contact an experienced Florida DUI attorney who may be able to challenge the legal basis for your DUI stop, field sobriety or chemical testing results as well as the police officer’s procedure and observations.