Brushing one’s teeth while driving is, among many other unnecessary movements while driving, a clue to DUI.
Story from “This is True” by Randy Cassingham, with his “tagline:”
“AT LEAST HER SMILE’S BRIGHT: Should you brush after drinking? Cherie Margaret Davis, 65, seems to have thought so. After a bout of drinking, Davis put the car she was driving in Marlborough, New Zealand, on cruise control and, at 100 kph (62 mph), ‘got out her toothbrush and started brushing her teeth,’ a police spokesman said. The car veered left, she steered right, and woman and car made the abrupt acquaintance of a rock bank — hard enough that she was treated in a hospital. Her blood alcohol level measured .135 percent. Davis had been banned from driving after a drunk-driving incident less than two months earlier, in which she had collided with another car and kept driving. (Marlborough Express) …And I’ll bet she still had terrible breath.”
While we won’t smell the breath when on the road, we can see the behaviors. The more erratic or animated the movements, eating, using a non-hands-free cell phone, fiddling with radio (or TV!) controls, putting on make-up, brushing one’s hair—or brushing one’s teeth—the greater the likelihood of DUI. When I spot excessive or odd movements inside a vehicle and I’m able to watch for more than 10 or 20 seconds, very often I end up seeing reckless or inconsiderate road behaviors. When I can safely do so, I also report the license plate and color of the vehicle. I always tell the 911 operator that I suspect DUI, which increases the odds law enforcers will actually test for alcohol and other drugs.
(Story and tagline from “This is True,” copyright 2011 by Randy Cassingham, used with permission. If you haven’t already subscribed to his newsletter—the free one at least, or the paid one I get, with more than twice the stories—I highly recommend it: www.ThisIsTrue.com.)
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