Question:  It seems like the Forsyth cops don't want people to drink anymore. It's like they want to treat people who drink with lunch or dinner like criminals. I'm just upset that I got a DUI charge in Forsyth County over the weekend when I really hadn't much to drink. Maybe I drank 5 beers; when I'm not driving I can drink twice that. But I have a responsible job, so I'm not an alcoholic or anything.

The Forsyth deputy gave me tickets for failure to maintain lane and speeding, along with the DUI. I probably swerved, but only to avoid what looked like a deer in the road. I didn't want to hit it because I'm an animal lover and have been since I worked for a veterinarian when I was at the University of Georgia.

I wanted to write to a Forsyth DUI lawyer because I need representation in Forsyth, but also because I don't think drinking and driving should be such a big deal. All these people do it and it just doesn't seem like a problem to me.

I mean is it really illegal to drink and drive if you're not drunk? Does the government really want people to stop drinking? I'd like to schedule an appointment.

B.A. in Cumming, GA

Answer:  We can certainly understand your frustration. Of course, many Americans enjoy drinking. Beer and liquor sales are big business and generate a great deal of revenue for both private companies and the government.

And sometimes it does seem like the police target people who may have been drinking, even when they are driving perfectly well or make some minor driving error.

And it is not, of course, illegal to drink and drive. But DUI is a “hot issue” now, and police all over Georgia and Forsyth County are looking to make DUI arrests.

Under Georgia law, a DUI is charged when the driver of a car is “less safe” due to intoxication from alcohol or drugs. The word “drunk” does not appear in the law. So, yes, it can be illegal to drive even if you are not “drunk.” The question is, is the driver less safe because he or she drank alcohol? That's why Forsyth deputies administer field sobriety tests and offer a breath test or blood when someone is arrested for drunk driving.

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