Alcohol negatively affects your driving skills. Everything from your response time to how well you focus changes when you drink. The more alcohol you have in your system and the less practice you have with driving, the greater the risk is of alcohol contributing to a collision.
Drunk driving laws in Georgia exist primarily to protect people on the roads. By establishing a limit for blood alcohol concentration (BAC) based on when most people demonstrate impairment, the state can charge those driving while in a dangerously impaired condition even if they don’t cause a crash.
While you may not have exceeded the legal BAC limit for standard impaired driving, if you’re under the age of 21, you can still get arrested after a breath test shows a small amount of alcohol in your body.
How the legal limit differs for underage drivers
When someone is old enough to legally drink, they have to learn temperance, especially if they plan to drive after drinking. The law limits them to a BAC of no more than 0.08%, which might mean only a drink or two depending on their age, size and sex.
Younger drivers can be arrested and charged with a minor under the influence (MUI) offense under Georgia’s zero tolerance law. If your test shows a level one-quarter of the legal limit for those over the age of 21, just 0.02%, the state could charge you with an MUI.
A conviction could mean the suspension of your license, as well as other criminal consequences. Even when you can drive again, your insurance costs will go up. Fighting an MUI can help you move past a mistake that could otherwise haunt you for life.