ASK A COP — How many drinks is too many to drive?
Published 12:01 am Tuesday, February 2, 2021
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Frank from Port Arthur asks: I will admit I love to enjoy my adult beverages, and my choice of poison is Crown Royal. I’ve never been arrested for driving while intoxicated or DWI, but I’ve always wondered if I’m over the limit. When are we to know that we’re over the limit behind the wheel? How many alcoholic drinks can I drink before I’m considered over the limit by the police?
Answer: The safest method is to refrain from drinking and driving altogether while operating a motor vehicle on the roadways in Texas. Frank, to answer your question, there’s actually a science and study behind this. If you drink less than two servings of alcohol over the course of an hour you should be ok. Keep in mind that serving size is a huge factor. You said your go-to drink is Crown Royal, so you have to factor that many times a single mixed drink will contain two or more “servings” of alcohol, and some beers are much stronger than 6 percent and much larger than the standard 12 oz. can. We understand many motorists practice the act of over-the-limit drinking while driving, endangering their motoring community and themselves. Keep in mind your limit may differ from the state limit of 0.08 B.A.C
Jack from Winnie asks: Thanks for the information about police radars, now I’m interested to know about the legality of radar detectors in vehicles in Texas. Can motorists have radar detectors in their cars in Texas?
Answer: Radar detectors are legal in the great state of Texas to have in passenger vehicles, but it is illegal to have radar detectors in commercial vehicles. Radar detectors are legal in every state in this country except Virginia. Now I must ask the question, ‘Why do you want a radar detector in your vehicle?’ Radar detectors can alert a motorist of the near presence of a police radar that is meant to detect speeders. So if you’re not speeding, why would you want to know where police officers that are working to slow down speeders? It always amazes me when I stop a speeding motorist that has a radar detector in the vehicle, and they tell me they don’t usually speed. Why get radar detectors if you’re not a law-breaking speeder?
Sharon from Beaumont asks: I travel a lot, and if there’s a crash on the highway and traffic is backed up, normally without fail, vehicles start to cut over the grassy median to avoid waiting in the standstill traffic. Is this practice of cutting across the median legal? Once one does it, there’s almost a domino effect, where many other motorists will cross the median!
Answer: If you travel on the highways of Texas, at some point you will find yourself in stalled traffic and this is when we, as responsible motorists, have to exercise this long lost thing called patience. This is an issue that definitely needs to be addressed! Cutting across a median to avoid waiting in stalled traffic is ILLEGAL in Texas, and should NOT be undertaken unless directed by a law enforcement officer on scene. Keep in mind, just because you see someone else doing something, doesn’t mean it is legal or that you should do it as well, because just as luck would have it, “YOU” will be the one caught. Your excuse will be “everyone was crossing the median,” which will not mount to a hill of beans.
Join Officer Rickey Antoine for Ask A Cop Live, on KSAP 96.9 FM, “The Breeze” every Tuesday from 1 to 2:30 p.m. or tune in via ksapthebreeze.org. Ask your question live at 409-982-0247. Remember to email your questions to Rickey.Antoine@portarthurtx.gov, 409-983-8673 to leave a message or mail them to: Ofc. Rickey Antoine, 645 4th Street, Port Arthur, Texas, 77640. If you happen to see me in public you can Ask A Cop!