If someone asked you to look around and try to pick out the stereotypical drunk driver, you’d have a pretty hard time. That’s because there isn’t one. Anyone, from the mom who lives next door to the grandfather who runs the local store, can make the choice to drink and drive.
That’s why you’d be surprised at who gets charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI), because they’re usually the people right in your own community. The head coach of a top-seeded North Carolina high school football team has been suspended from his job after he was charged with DWI. He had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .17, over double the legal limit.
It’s not just football coaches arrested for DWI – it’s the players too. 22-year-old North Carolina running back Romar Morris was arrested and charged with DWI. Although details of the case aren’t known, he’ll have to appear in court and may face DWI penalties including fines and a car breathalyzer program.
Even more frightening, two school bus drivers have been arrested for DWI within one week. The first school bus driver was suspended from his job after his DWI arrest, while the second, a Franklin County resident, has also been suspended after she was found to be driving while impaired with 40 students on her bus. The school principal stepped in and once stopped, she registered a .10 blood alcohol concentration on a breathalyzer. Bus drivers in North Carolina can lose their licenses for a year if they have over a .04 BAC.
These types of cases are the reason why it’s so important to have stiff penalties for DWI in North Carolina, including fines, potential jail time, license suspensions, and mandatory car breathalyzer installations for repeat offenders. When people realize that everyone who drinks and drives, from bus drivers to your friend from work, are subject to these penalties, they might think twice before getting behind the wheel after drinking.