Is it Legal to Drive With Too Much Caffeine in Your System?
By now it is hopefully obvious to you, the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. But what about caffeine? We often joke about how much caffeine we drink or consume, laughing about how addicted we are, or how important that morning coffee is to us.
But could caffeine lead to you getting a DUI? Or, could a driver with too much caffeine in his or her system that causes an injury to someone else, be liable for punitive damages the way the driver would if he or she had consumed alcohol?
Man Charged With Driving Under the Influence of Caffeine
One man in California was charged with a DUI, for drinking with too much coffee in his system. It is not technically illegal to drink after having too much caffeine in Massachusetts. But when it comes to liability or punitive damages, a driver doesn’t have to be doing something illegal, to be acting negligently.
That means that a driver’s over consumption of caffeine before operating a car, can be evidence of negligence, or even, if enough caffeine has been consumed, could justify a request for punitive damages.
What do Studies Show?
Although many studies show that a single cup of coffee can improve driving performance, there are few studies on the effects of over caffeination, or on consumption of beverages that have way more caffeine than the typical cup of coffee.
Caffeine and Alcohol
There have been studies on the effect of caffeine when taken along with alcohol. Because caffeine is a stimulant, it may tend to mask what would otherwise be the effects of too much alcohol. Put another way, caffeine covers up the effects of being drunk, meaning that drivers often don’t even realize whether or not they are able to safely operate a vehicle.
But some studies show the opposite—that caffeine when mixed with alcohol, can make people feel more drunk than they really are. Caffeine can affect the body’s timing or fine motor skills, or make drivers feel angry, hostile, testy, or anxious. All are things that are used routinely when operating a vehicle.
Like many drugs, the after effects of the caffeine wearing off, can also have adverse effects. Drivers can feel more lethargic, tired, or just out of it, coming down from that “caffeine high.”
Getting Evidence
In many cases where a driver’s ability to operate a vehicle is in question, an attorney will often ask, or collect evidence relevant to, whether or not the driver has been drinking or whether the negligent driver that caused the accident was under the influence of drugs. But rarely do attorneys ask about caffeine consumption.
Dangers of Coffee Specifically
Don’t forget that caffeine isn’t just in your morning coffee; with the proliferation of energy drinks on the market, people can be over-caffeinated at almost any time of the day.
But coffee, specifically, can cause very specialized distractions to drivers. Physically, people often tip their head backwards when drinking coffee. They look at the coffee when going over bumps, and play around with cream or sugar packets. The coffee itself is just a physical distraction, more so than other types of beverages.
Were you injured by a driver who was under the influence of drugs or alcohol? Call the Boston personal injury lawyers at The Law Office of Joseph Linnehan, Jr. today at 617-275-4200 for help.
Sources:
doi.org/10.1007/s00213-012-2647-7
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3382640/
