It’s easy to let your guard down in the summer. The days are longer, the sun is shining and holidays abound — so a lot of people celebrate the season with a few glasses of wine or beer while they’re with friends or family.
Unfortunately, that tends to lead to an uptick in drunk driving incidents every year, especially around those summer holidays. Here are some important reminders about alcohol-related crimes that you need to avoid during the summer:
1. Don’t drink in the park or at the beach
Unless the rules of the park or beach specifically permit drinking — and they usually don’t — don’t pack a cooler full of wine coolers and beers with you and hope nobody will notice. For that matter, don’t try the “brown paper bag over the bottle” trick, either. That’s putting up a big red flag for law enforcement — and they do frequently patrol. Underage drinkers should also take note because the police won’t take it easy on you just because the weather is nice.
2. Don’t risk a public intoxication charge at a concert or other public event
Concerts, open-air movies, community pride events, carnivals and festivals are all part of summer fun — and alcohol is often legally served at these kinds of things. However, while it may be legal to drink at these events, if you become obviously intoxicated or “drunk and disorderly,” you may wind up facing charges.
3. Don’t get a drunk driving charge coming home from a party or while boating
Driving while intoxicated (DWI) is illegal — whether you’re behind the wheel of a car or the prow of a boat. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that drunk driving rules somehow go out the window once they’re out on a lake or river by themselves, but law enforcement keeps a close watch on the waters these days. Police also tend to heavily patrol the roads near holidays in hopes of catching intoxicated drivers on their way home.
If you do end up charged with a DWI or other alcohol-related crime, contact our office to learn more about how we may be able to help you.
