Many drunk driving arrests happen when someone has tried to sober up so that they can drive home safely, but they haven’t done so properly. They may not even realize that they are impaired, and they may be surprised to find out that their tactics didn’t work.
To avoid finding yourself in this sort of situation, it’s good to know what myths there are about getting sober quickly so that you can avoid them. Let’s break some of them down below.
Taking a cold shower
If you’re at home and you take a cold shower, it’s probably going to wake you up. If you’re feeling lethargic because of the alcohol that you consumed, the shower can take that edge off. But that doesn’t actually change your blood alcohol concentration at all. If you were over the legal limit before, you’re still over it after the shower.
Drinking a cup of coffee
A cup of coffee is similar to a cold shower in the sense that it is going to wake you up and it may make you feel alert. This is what caffeine can do to your body, especially if you don’t drink it often. But, once again, this has no impact on your blood alcohol concentration. You may feel more awake, and many people mistake that as feeling sober, but they are certainly not the same thing.
Getting a meal
Eating a meal after you are already intoxicated is not going to lower the level of intoxication. Eating food prior to drinking can make you feel less intoxicated because it slows down how fast your body absorbs the alcohol. But eating after the fact does not help because that alcohol is already in your system.
So what can you do?
The fact of the matter is that only time helps you become more sober, so you simply have to wait until your blood alcohol concentration is reduced and your body can metabolize the alcohol you consumed. Failing to do that can expose you to the risk of a DUI, and then you’ll need to know about all of your legal options.