Morning After Drunks Face A.M. Traffic Checks

Australian police have stepped up a campaign on impaired drivers, but you won't find extra highway stops after midnight - these cops are on the road the next morning, catching often unwitting motorists, still legally drunk from the previous night's indulgences.

Australian police report that most A.M. drivers are shocked when blowing over the legal limit, mistakenly believing their night's sleep has sobered them up completely. Unfortunately, ignorance doesn’t cut it, and there are no warning issued here.

Police say drivers need to give a conservative hour off for each drink consumed before they are again safe to go. End the party after midnight, and if you have drunk heavily, odds are you're still legally drunk on the way to work the next day. And for heavy drinkers the effects can be compounded. Regular heavy drinkers may feel quite normal the morning after, having grown accustomed to the effects of the alcohol, but in fact years of hard drinking reduces the body's ability to process alcohol – and an hour a drink may not be enough.

Police advise restraint, and a safe period after drinking prior to getting back behind the wheel. They mention that catching a cab home at night sometimes isn’t enough, and if you’re testing high the morning after, you are a danger to others on the roads.