As you might expect, craft beer contain more alcohol than regular beers. Consequently, it is harder to manage and judge. Here we discuss the link between craft beers and more DUI arrests.
Craft Beer and DUI Arrests
While the world of craft brewing took a long time to take hold, it is very popular now. Furthermore, many legislators and city officials predicted it would lead to a higher rate of DUIs. Hence people who typically drink regular beer would not be used to the higher alcohol content. Therefore, if they drank the same amount, they could be unsafe to drive. However, what have we seen in results so far?
Surprisingly, the answer isn’t really clear. Rather, Googling the phrase “craft beer DUI” doesn’t give many results. However, Justin Grant of the Tampa Bay Times addressed this question in a 2016 editorial. He too points out that craft beer DUI doesn’t lead to many results or hard statistics. Some links to attorney’s websites come up, claiming that craft beer has increased the number of DUIs. However, none of them point to specific findings or statistics.
DUI Awareness in Craft Beers Community
As Grant notes, DUI awareness has not hit home with craft beer drinkers. Most likely, it’s due to the nature of drinking craft beers. For example, people usually associate craft beers with high quality and more refined drinkers. However, DUIs are typically associated with college culture and irresponsible people. Rather, people don’t associate DUI with drinking wine in the Napa Valley. But this may not be the best analogy. After all, craft beer drinkers are consuming alcohol. Furthermore, craft beers festivals attract large crowds of people. And finally, people drive home after sampling different beers for hours.
In conclusion, craft beer seems to have had little effect on overall DUI arrests. Rather than worry about increased alcohol content, we should still focus on safe driving. After all, that is the real purpose of DWI laws. How you get there is secondary. So drink your favorite drink, beer, or wine. Just don’t take chances when ready to go home.