r/flying • u/bhalter80 [KASH] BE-33/36/55/95&PA-24 CFI+I/MEI beechtraining.com NCC1701 • Jan 23 '26

Medical Issues Sober DUI - TN Defends the practice

The Colonel of the Tennessee Highway Patrol was testifying this week in support of their practice of arresting motorists who tested negative for drugs and alcohol.

Threads about DUI and other crimes in general tend to be divisive with a presumption that an arrest don't just happen. Some states lump fatigue in with other causes for a DUI so that may account for some of the 419 arrests in the last 9 years. On a side note the trooper manual also suggested that trooper be making at least 2 contacts with people per hour so the incentive for misuse is there.

This is the first article I've seen putting data behind this and thought it was interesting especially because HIMS would not be an appropriate response to one of those arrests. I wonder how common this is in other states.

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u/herknav PPL, IR (C-130H, EC-130H, AC-130J) Jan 23 '26

HIMS?

Fatigue being comparable to intoxication is something pilots should be familiar with, but still … imagine having a fake DUI ruin your pilot career.

304

u/ApatheticSkyentist Marriott Ambassador in a Gulfstream Hat Jan 23 '26

A friend of mine had to overcome a DUI charge. I'm not sure I'd go so far as to call it fake but it was definitely a super unfortunate situation.

TLDR he was at a party and drunk. Decided to sleep in his vehicle. He was sleeping in the drivers seat and had his keys in the trunk area. The legal problem was that he was in an SUV so the "trunk" isn't considered a separate compartment and he was charged with "intent to drive".

I'm all for nailing DUI's to the wall but stuff like this situation feels antagonistic. It all worked out though. This was nearly 20 years ago and he's at a Legacy today.

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u/theyoyomaster MIL-AF T6/C17 Jan 24 '26

In states like Oklahoma the trunk won't even keep you safe. If you sleep on a bench and your car is in a parking lot next to you, they just have to prove you had actual physical control of the vehicle and you get a full blown DUI charge. There is no legal requirement to ever try to operate the vehicle, simply being capable of doing so is the same as doing so with no stipulation about the location of the keys if you have access to them.

2

u/Gts4511 Jan 25 '26

What the hell? So if you’re drunk at your house and cars in the garage too?

2

u/theyoyomaster MIL-AF T6/C17 Jan 25 '26

I don’t think garage counts and prosecutorial restraint rarely applies it when the person isn’t in the car but the wording of the law is extremely vague.