How to Protect Yourself from Drunk Drivers

How to Protect Yourself from Drunk Drivers

We are well aware of the common signs of a drunk driver:swerving within the lane, driving on the shoulder of the road, and nearly hitting other objects- but what signs do we miss and what should we do if we see a suspected drunk driver on the road?

Here are some helpful tips to identifying and dealing with drunk drivers…

Blatant signs of a Drunk Driver. Straddling the center lane marker – Often, intoxicated drivers are focused on the center line as a reference to steady their driving. If a driver is hugging the center line it may be a good indication they are not sober.

2. Nearly hitting objects or passing at unsafe distances – Drunk drivers cannot see clearly so they often end up having close encounters or collisions with mail boxes, parked cars and telephone poles.

3. Swerving from side to side – Drunk drivers find their cars drifting as they drive due to their delayed reaction time and blurred vision – when they find themselves moving towards a side they will over correct to make it back into the center of the lane. Seeing a driver exhibiting this behavior is a good indication they are either intoxicated or too tired to be behind the wheel.

4. Not driving within the lane- driving on the shoulder or wrong side of the street – A driver with this type of behavior is nearly a sure sign of drug abuse, intoxication or fatigue and is not safe to be around.

Not as obvious signs of intoxication

5. Making wide turns – while drunk drivers overdue basic tasks because they cannot judge distances.

6. Driving at a very slow speed- 10+mph under the speed limit – When a driver knows he should not be operating a vehicle he many have a tendency to be extra cautious in an attempt to avoid detection- if a driver is driving more than 10 mph under the speed limit you should pay close attention to other signs of intoxication.

7. Tailgating another vehicle – Drunk drivers may tailgate because they are using the other car as a guide to navigate the roads and prevent swerving. The drivers reaction time, however, is considerably delayed and can result in a rear-end collision.

8. Erratic braking or Happy-Breaking – Erratic breaking is often dismissed as a bad habit- but may actually be a paranoid drunk driver overreacting to the situation.

9. Not using headlights – Not only is this dangerous- it may signal an intoxicated driver- not sober enough to notice the dim setting.

10. Inconsistent signaling- (ie. using a left signal when turning right)

11. Inappropriate stopping- (ie. Green lights, sidewalks with no pedestrians)

A lot of these signs often go unnoticed and we simply attribute them to an incompetent driver- mumble some disgruntled insults, go around them and continue on our journey. We will often even ignore the obvious cues that a driver has been drinking rather than reporting them to the local police. We try to maneuver around the driver in the safest manner possible and get as far away from them as we can. The proper way to deal with a suspected drunk driver is to not pass them- stay a safe distance behind the driver so as not to be involved in any collision and immediately contact the police.