When you think of a driving under the influence charge, chances are that alcohol is foremost in your mind. The truth is that people can be charged for driving under the influence when they have any substance in their system that impairs their ability to drive — including over-the-counter and prescription medications.

When an officer charges someone with DUI, they only need to prove that you were in control of a vehicle and that your ability to drive was impaired by some substance. For example:

You have been fighting a terrible cough for weeks and finally decide to take over-the-counter cold medicine. The medicine includes a warning on the label that consumers should not drive after taking it because it can cause drowsiness. You take the medicine before work because you don’t want to spend the day coughing, and you get in your car to head to work.

While driving, you begin to feel drowsy and weave in and out of your lane in front of a police officer.… Read More

Under a Pennsylvania law called the Dram Shop law, any person or business who provides alcohol to a person who is visibly intoxicated is held legally responsible for any injury or damage that person may cause. The law applies to bars and other drinking establishments, and it also applies to private individuals who are hosting an event.

The dram law comes into effect in court most typically when an intoxicated person causes a vehicle collision or other kind of injury. The person or business who provided the person with alcohol is normally part of a larger lawsuit filed by the victim or victims against the at-fault driver. It’s important to understand, however, that this isn’t the only time this law may be put into effect. For example:

You know that your friend is drunk and beginning to lose control of their inhibitions. You continue to provide alcohol to your friend, they walk out of your house and start a fight with someone else in your driveway.… Read More

Chances are that you have heard different myths about alcohol. If you are of the age to drink legally, you may even have acted in a particularly way after knocking back a few because you bought into one or more of these misconceptions. It’s time you learned the truth. You know that just because something is said doesn’t make it real, and these myths about alcohol are no exception.

1. Diet Cola and Alcohol

Some people believe that sipping a diet cola will keep them from becoming as intoxicated as if they stuck to alcohol alone. This is simply not true. What a diet cola will do is make you feel more energized thanks to the caffeine it contains. What it won’t do is keep you from getting drunk. In fact, because diet drinks don’t have sugar to slow the absorption of alcohol, cocktails with diet colas can get you drunk faster.… Read More