For the majority of fans, drinking is certainly something that happens at sporting events in North Carolina, but it’s not a priority. When the game ends, everyone walks out to their cars and drives home. However, some studies have shown that, whether they meant to become so or not, many of those drivers may be drunk as they get behind the wheel.
The study was carried out by using a breath test device on fans while they were leaving, and it focused on baseball fans and football fans. A full 60 percent did not appear to have been drinking at all, with zero BAC. However, the other 40 percent showed at least minor BAC levels, and almost eight percent of the fans were at or over 0.08 percent, meaning they were legally drunk.
The study did not test only people who were going to drive, but fans in general. Therefore, it stands to reason that some of those who were legally drunk were going to do no more than ride along while a sober friend drove home.
One interesting thing that the study found was that tailgating played a huge role in whether or not people were intoxicated. If they tailgated, fans were 14 times more likely to be legally drunk. This could have to do with many factors, such as the length of time spent partying and drinking or the cost of alcohol, as buying beer in the stadium is generally far more expensive than buying it at the store and bringing it to the tailgate.
Those who have been arrested for drunk driving after sporting events need to know all of their legal rights.
Source: Science Daily, “Eight percent of fans legally drunk after attending professional sports games, study finds,” accessed Oct. 16, 2015