Tipp of the Week: Don’t drive impaired

Hello Tipp City! Marc the Cop here!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends. Working holidays for most of my 30-year career, I have tended to diminish the importance of the day for me as a police officer. The holidays usually mean lots of domestic calls. Also, the biggest drinking day of the year is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving! It always amazed me how the attention was given to New Year’s Eve when Thanksgiving Eve was the more prominent “drinking” day.

Sgt. Nick (also retired) and I had a good rapport with our bar staff people. Some are still my friends today. Our goal was to help them be successful, and for everyone to get home safely. Close to the end of my career, I’d see the folks out on the street waiting for their Uber to take them home.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, my mother used to say. So, the best cure is not to drink and then drive. Impaired driver enforcement is something that I am passionate about. Ohio calls the statute OVI, Operating A Vehicle While Impaired. (4511.19) I teach Standard Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) at the police academy. While there is nothing wrong with going out and having an adult beverage, let’s plan the evening better and get home safely. With all the ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft, there is no good reason to drive impaired. Another way is to have a designated driver. Park the ego and yourself in the passenger seat and let the sober driver do the driving. Several times over the years, when I initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle and found the driver to be impaired, the nonimpaired spouse was in the passenger seat!

So, when you are going out for a night of fun, please remember some good points on alcohol consumption. Start on a full stomach. Don’t drink on an empty stomach. Your absorption rate is much higher. The average adult processes an ounce of alcohol in an hour. So, if you have one glass of wine, a beer, or a shot of whisky, it will take the average adult an hour to process. Please know your limit!

Also, remember that consuming marijuana can also lead to impaired driving. The per se levels for marijuana and THC products are very low compared to alcohol, which is a .08 blood alcohol content (BAC). The statutes are clear: Operation of a motor vehicle anywhere in Ohio is chargeable for OVI. A .08 BAC and above will get you charged with the OVI, and .07 and below will be a physical control of a motor vehicle charge. I always told my people that getting charged with OVI differs from getting convicted. You still have the court process. I suggest getting a competent attorney to defend you in court. Sometimes good people make bad choices.

That’s enough law stuff for today. Simply put, enjoy your time with family or friends or both. This time of the year is a time to reflect on God’s blessings and be thankful for everything positive you have in your life. That’s it for this week! Please be safe, care for one another, and I’ll see you in church on Sunday!

Sgt. Marc Basye (Ret.)

The opinions and statements in this column are those of the author and are not affiliated with any law enforcement agency. This column is for entertainment purposes only. Persons referred to may be fictional for comedic purposes only.