You don’t drink, so you’ve never really considered getting a DWI. You’ve never driven while you’re impaired. It’s not even that you’re trying to be careful or safe, but just that you don’t enjoy alcohol, so it’s never really been an issue for you.
But what if you’re taking prescription drugs after surgery or some other sort of medical procedure? Could those put you at risk of getting arrested on DWI charges, even when you are entirely sober – in the sense that you haven’t been drinking alcohol?
Any impairment can lead to a DWI
The thing to remember here is that a DWI can be handed out when a driver is impaired. This impairment may come from alcohol for most of the population, but it doesn’t have to. Some people face charges for using marijuana and other recreational drugs. Still, others face charges for using prescription drugs.
Many strong painkillers and other types of medications can significantly reduce your ability to drive properly, so this is also not allowed under the law. You can explain to the officer that the drugs you had were a legal medication, and that may be true, but that still doesn’t mean that you can drive.
The instructions that you got from your doctor when they gave you the medication should have told you whether or not you can drive after taking it. But mistakes do happen, or you may have simply overlooked that portion of the instructions.
If something like this leads to serious charges that are going to have a big impact on your life, you need to know exactly what legal defense options you have in Texas.