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Don't Drink & Drive

The Lakewood Police Department has long maintained a "no-tolerance" policy on drunken driving in the city. Colorado law considers a driver with a blood alcohol content of more than .05 percent but less than .08 percent to be driving while impaired. A driver with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or higher is considered to be driving under the influence. Driving under the influence can result in a substantial fine, jail sentence and loss of a driver's license. 

When a police agent stops a suspected drunken driver, the driver will be asked to submit to roadside tests for balance and motor skills. If the agent is convinced that the driver is intoxicated, the individual is arrested, handcuffed and searched for the safety of both the agent and the arrestee. Suspected drunken drivers are advised that state law requires them to submit to a breath or blood test to determine their blood alcohol content.

If a driver refuses to submit to a test, the police agent completes a report, prompting the driver's license to be suspended for noncompliance with the state's expressed consent law. By obtaining a driver's license, motorists have already provided consent to take the tests, and their licenses can be administratively revoked by the Department of Motor Vehicle. Police agents also take the driver's licenses from the motorist.

If tests and other evidence reveal that a driver is impaired or under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the driver is issued a summons to appear in court. A driver is then usually placed in a detoxification center or the Jefferson County Jail. The drunken driver's vehicle may, at the discretion of the police agent, be released to a friend or companion, parked and locked at the arrest site or impounded and towed for safekeeping. If the vehicle is impounded, the driver is responsible for paying towing and storage fees before the vehicle will be released from the police impound lot.

Being arrested for drunken driving is an expensive proposition. But driving under the influence and escaping arrest can be more costly if you end up inflicting death, injury and damage on innocent people.