December 15, 2010 (Press-News.org) Blowing in on winter's chilled winds is cold and cough season. To ease the coughing, chills, fever and runny nose of a cold, many turn to over-the-counter cold and cough syrups. It should be remembered, however, that many of these syrups contain alcohol or diphenhydramine and could affect the taker in ways that were unanticipated.
Should drivers that take cold or cough syrup worry about the affects of the alcohol that these medicines contain?
Possibly. Just because medicine and alcoholic beverages are ingested for different reasons, doesn't necessarily mean that the alcohol they contain has different effects. In New York, as in other states, the driving laws only prohibit driving while intoxicated -- they do not limit punishment to only those drivers who have imbibed alcoholic beverages.
Remember that it isn't necessary to reach a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 before one can run afoul of New York's driving laws. To be charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI) , a driver needs to have a BAC of .08 or greater; but if one has a BAC between .05 and .07 and is sufficiently impaired, under New York law he or she could be charged with driving while ability impaired (DWAI). While the penalties for DWAI are less harsh than those for DWI, a DWAI conviction could still have a driver facing the penalties of a driver's license suspension and/or jail time.
But, if taking medicine for a cough or cold is legal, why should driver be in trouble for taking a legal substance to ease the affects of a cold or cough?
It is true that cough medicine is legal to take for a cold or cough, but it is also legal to imbibe alcohol if a person is over the age of 21. The law is not concerned with the ingestion of these substances provided you are of legal age and the substance is legal: the law is only concerned with driving impairment. So, a legal substance, taken to alleviate symptoms of a seasonal illness may still put you in the position of committing an illegal act if you are impaired by the effects of the medicine and decide to drive.
If you have been charged with DWI or DWAI, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney in your area. An attorney can protect your rights, explain your legal options and aggressively defend the drunk driving charges you face.
Article provided by James M. Wagman
Visit us at www.wagmanlaw.com
Can Cough Medicine Lead to a DWI?
To ease a cold, many turn to cold and cough syrups. Remember that many of these syrups contain alcohol and could affect the taker in ways that were unanticipated.
2010-12-15
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Nassau County Crime Lab Put on Probation for Violations
2010-12-15
During a recent inspection, the Nassau County, New York, police crime lab was found to have a whopping fifteen issues of noncompliance with accepted standards of crime lab procedures. The issues were enough of a concern for the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB) -- the crime lab's accrediting agency -- to place the crime lab on probation for one year.
The lab now has 30 days to submit a plan for ensuring compliance with ASCLD/LAB regulations. If the errors are not corrected in a timely manner, the lab's accreditation ...
High Failure Rate Leads to DePuy Hip Implant Recall
2010-12-15
According to The New York Times, nearly 250,000 hip replacement surgeries are performed in the United States every year. In about one-third of those cases, the devices used are "metal-on-metal" implants, where the ball and socket joints of the implants are made of metals like chromium and cobalt.
The Times report notes that these implants, designed to last up to 15 years, have been failing at an alarming rate. In some cases, the devices need to be replaced after only a couple of years.
While the wear and tear associated with the metal can lead to problems, specifically ...
The IRS Tightens Enforcement on IRA Violations
2010-12-15
Individual Retirement Arrangements, or IRAs, are commonly used to shelter and grow retirement funds. According to Forbes, Americans hold $4.3 trillion in IRAs.
The U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) recently conducted a review of compliance with IRA rules. The TIGTA urged the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to crack down on IRA violations by an estimated half a million taxpayers. Understanding what is allowed and what is prohibited with an IRA can help investors protect their savings and avoid costly IRS tax penalties.
Individual Retirement ...
Expungement of Criminal Records in Michigan
2010-12-15
Have you ever been arrested or convicted of a crime?
You see this question everywhere -- on job applications, school applications, housing applications. While you may think this question really is trying to weed out those who have been convicted of heinous crimes, it applies equally to those who have been convicted of minor offenses, like noise violations, disorderly conduct and minor in possession of alcohol (MIP).
When it comes to criminal records, it doesn't matter if you committed a minor offense or a more serious felony -- the record is created all the same ...
Enforcing Support Judgments Across State Lines
2010-12-15
One of the most complex and confusing areas of law is the authority of a court to act on people outside its jurisdiction. A core element of jurisdiction is contact. For a court to have jurisdiction over a person, the person must have some "contact" with the court.
This means that generally, for an Illinois court to have jurisdiction, you either must live in Illinois or have some transaction that occurs in Illinois. For example, if you are from Indiana and you drive across the border and have a traffic accident, an Illinois court obtains jurisdiction based on that accident. ...
Lawrenceville Clinic Near Gwinnett Medical Center Offers Support for Spanish Speaking Patients
2010-12-15
Rodriguez MD, a Lawrenceville clinic near Gwinnett Medical Center, provides support and medical care to Spanish speaking patients. Opening in September, 2010 Rodriguez MD is a bilingual Lawrenceville family practice with doctors and staff fluent in both Spanish and English. The practice is located in Terrace Park Medical Center on Old Norcross Rd.
Sisters and Lawrenceville doctors, Veronica and Deborah Rodriguez, MD recently launched a patient referral program geared toward other medical practices in the surrounding area. The doctors are using the referral campaign ...
npower and David James Launch First Cap Scheme
2010-12-15
npower and Bristol City goalkeeper David James have just launched the npower First Cap scheme, which rewards children attending their first ever npower Football League match.
Any young fan making their first visit to a League club this season can get their very own cap, and have their photo taken on the pitch before the game.
James - who has been capped 53 times by England - joined youngsters at Ashton Gate to give the caps a head start.
He said: "It's vital clubs do everything in their power to work with local communities to get the next generation of fans down ...
Confused.com Reveals Brits are Losing GBP2.5 Billion Through Poor Insulation
2010-12-15
Confused.com, the home insurance and quote comparison site, has revealed that homeowners in Britain are wasting an estimated GBP2.5 billion through poor insulation in their homes.
Of the 26.5 million homes in the UK, only 13 million have loft insulation, which is a major energy saving method for retaining heat in the home. Confused.com estimates that the lack of loft and cavity wall insulation is costing the nation GBP2,493,500,000 a year.
In addition to this only 10 million homes have cavity wall insulation. Figures suggest households can save GBP145 per year for ...
Owlient Launches New Facebook Social Game
2010-12-15
Owlient, the French online game editor known for games such as Howrse.com and Babydow.com, has now launched its first Facebook game, called 'Howrse for Friends'.
With this new game, Owlient expects to reproduce its previous success with web games but in the social platforms environment.
The company's most popular game, Howrse.com is now present in 12 different markets and Owlient has reached more than 15 million registrations all over the world. The idea is to replicate this big success from a different platform while continuing to develop its leading role in the ...
Fasthosts Reveals that Small Businesses are Cutting Web Design Budgets
2010-12-15
Fasthosts has revealed that British web designers continue to face tough market conditions, according to recently conducted research.
The study of 300 web design firms* by Fasthosts, a leading web hosting provider, finds that whilst 72 per cent have seen an increase in expectations from their SME clients, the majority are struggling with lower budgets and under-cutting by cut-price competitors. 71 per cent of web designers believe that insufficient investment is holding back SME websites.
In the past two years, 1 in 3 web pros have been expected to supply more out-of-hours ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Alzheimer’s Disease can hijack communication between brain and fat tissue, potentially worsening cardiovascular and metabolic health
New memristor wafer integration technology from DGIST paves the way for brain-like AI chips
Bioinspired dual-phase nanopesticide enables smart controlled release
Scientists reveal it is possible to beam up quantum signals
Asymmetric stress engineering of dense dislocations in brittle superconductors for strong vortex pinning
Shared synaptic mechanism for Alzheimer's and Parkinson’s disease unlocks new treatment possibilities
Plasma strategy boosts antibacterial efficacy of silica-based materials
High‑performance wide‑temperature zinc‑ion batteries with K+/C3N4 co‑intercalated ammonium vanadate cathodes
Prioritized Na+ adsorption‑driven cationic electrostatic repulsion enables highly reversible zinc anodes at low temperatures
Engineered membraneless organelles boost bioproduction in corynebacterium glutamicum
Study finds moral costs in over-pricing for essentials
Australian scientists uncover secrets of yellow fever
Researchers develop high-performance biochar for efficient carbon dioxide capture
Biodegradable cesium nanosalts activate anti-tumor immunity via inducing pyroptosis and intervening in metabolism
Can bamboo help solve the plastic pollution crisis?
Voting behaviour in elections strongly linked to future risk of death
Significant variations in survival times of early onset dementia by clinical subtype
Research finds higher rare risk of heart complications in children after COVID-19 infection than after vaccination
Oxford researchers develop ‘brain-free’ robots that move in sync, powered entirely by air
The science behind people who never forget a face
Study paints detailed picture of forest canopy damage caused by ‘heat dome’
New effort launched to support earlier diagnosis, treatment of aortic stenosis
Registration and Abstract Submission Open for “20 Years of iPSC Discovery: A Celebration and Vision for the Future,” 20-22 October 2026, Kyoto, Japan
Half-billion-year-old parasite still threatens shellfish
Engineering a clearer view of bone healing
Detecting heart issues in breast cancer survivors
Moffitt study finds promising first evidence of targeted therapy for NRAS-mutant melanoma
Lay intuition as effective at jailbreaking AI chatbots as technical methods
USC researchers use AI to uncover genetic blueprint of the brain’s largest communication bridge
Tiny swarms, big impact: Researchers engineering adaptive magnetic systems for medicine, energy and environment
[Press-News.org] Can Cough Medicine Lead to a DWI?To ease a cold, many turn to cold and cough syrups. Remember that many of these syrups contain alcohol and could affect the taker in ways that were unanticipated.