A man claiming to be a designated driver for his three passengers was arrested this week in Riverside on suspicion of a California DUI.
Riverside police spotted Jeffrey Kirk, 41, of Brookfield, driving a 2007 Volkswagen sedan going 57 in a 30 mile-an-hour zone and stopped him. Upon stopping Kirk, officers smelled alcohol on his breath and noticed that his speech was slurred. Kirk told the officers that he and his passengers were out drinking, but that he was the designated driver and was not drunk.
Kirk’s blood alcohol content, however, turned out to be 0.182 percent, more than two times the legal limit.
Kirk was charged with two counts of drunk driving and one count of aggravated speeding.
Just because someone says that they’re a designated driver, doesn’t necessarily mean that they are sober.
A 2013 study by the University of Florida found that about 35 percent of people claiming to be designated drivers actually admitted to drinking alcohol at some point in the evening. About 17 percent of designated drivers registered blood alcohol contents of between 0.02 and 0.049 percent. About 18 percent of designated drivers registered blood alcohol contents of 0.05 percent or higher.
Let this be a warning to all those out there who will be relying on a designated driver this upcoming Super Bowl Sunday. Being a designated driver means being a sober driver.
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