What college students should know about drinking and driving

As a college student in South Carolina, you should know that there are serious consequences for driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This applies to those students who are already over 21 as well as those who are beneath the legal drinking age. We here at George B. Bishop, Jr. PA Attorney at Law want you to understand why you need to refrain from driving after you have had any alcohol.

According to The New York Times, when people die in motor vehicle crashes, alcohol is found to be a factor in half of those deaths. This should be reason enough to abstain completely from alcohol if you plan to get behind the wheel of an automobile. Conversely, if you do plan to drink, be sure that you have a trusted designated driver who will abstain completely and deliver you home safely.

If you are underage, you should also know that consuming even just one drink might be enough to get you charged under the zero tolerance law. This law states that if you are under 21 and a police officer suspects that you have been driving after consuming alcohol, a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.02% is enough to trigger a license suspension.

There are certain mistakes that cannot be undone, and driving after you have been drinking alcohol is one of them. It is not worth being arrested for DUI, losing your license, precipitating a traffic accident, or being the cause of an injury or even death because you decided to drink and drive. More information about driving under the influence can be found on our web page.