Question: I was driving from my office in Cumming to my home in Woodstock, GA. I was working late to finish a big project we had with our offices in London and Mumbai. I had a bad cold for a few days and was really tired. I got pulled over by a Forsyth County deputy sheriff. He said I didn't stay in my lane and I was speeding. He asked if I'd been drinking. I said I didn't have anything to drink.
He made me do some physical tests outside my car. I tripped doing the tests. Then I got arrested for DUI. All I had taken was some NyQuil and other products for my cold. Can I get a DUI because I was on cold medicine?
Answer: You can get charged with a DUI if a law enforcement officer believes that you are a less safe driver because of the ingestion of alcohol or drugs. If you told the police officer that you had not been consuming alcohol but had taken cold medications the officer may have felt that the over-the-counter medications had caused impairment to such an extent that you were a less safe driver under Georgia law. Or he may not have believed you. You can be arrested for DUI drugs even if the drugs are taken pursuant to a prescription or if the drugs are non-prescription but cause impairment.
NyQuil products, as well as other cold and cough medications, contain antihistamines, hypnotics and alcohol. They can cause impaired driving in some individuals. We would be interested to know if you took a breath or blood test and it would be important to review the video of your interaction with the Forsyth deputy sheriff.
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