University Chief of Police Jimmy Williamson said he has noticed an upswing in the amount of driving under the influence charges between the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Williamson said in these morning DUI cases involving alcohol, the individual was typically drinking responsibly the night before.

“Typically if they are arrested on impairment of alcohol, in some of the cases we find out that they were really responsible during the evening when they were partying and drinking a considerable amount of alcohol, and went home by taxi or friend or walked,” he said.

University Police have seen a rise in morning DUI's. According to University Police Chief Jimmy Williamson, some students might try to drive after attempting to sober up with sleep the night before, but are sometimes still impaired. C.B. SCHMELTER/Staff

The problem is when the individual wakes up and does not realize that they are still impaired, according to Williamson.

“After several hours of sleep, they get up to drive to work or class and didn’t realize they were still impaired,” he said.

Williamson said high tolerances allow students to consume much larger amounts of alcohol than what police are used to seeing, and because of higher tolerances, students think they are more sober than their Blood Alcohol Content would indicate.

“After sleeping a few hours, students think that they are fine, but they’re not,” he said. “Their alcohol levels are still high.”

Williamson said the only way to truly sober up is time.

Robert Ross, alcohol and other drug counselor at the University Health Center, also said an individual’s level of tolerance does not affect their blood alcohol content level.

“Only time helps you get sober,” Ross said. “You can eat all the raw eggs you want, but time is the only thing that helps.”

Ross said a problem among students is not being aware of a normal drink size and that students forget the amount of alcohol that they are actually consuming is higher than they realize.

“If you’re drinking a 16 ounce solo cup full of some sort of mystery punch and if it is 16 ounces and no ice, you could easily have 10 ounces of liquor in there,” he said.

Ross said if an individual does the math, then there could be as many as eight drinks in one solo cup.

“It’s a problem, it’s here, not knowing how much alcohol one is consuming,” he said.

Ross said students should ask their bartenders to measure the amount of alcohol that is put in their drinks so students can keep track of how much alcohol they consume.

Ross said 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor is the size of one drink and that the body can only process one ounce of liquor per hour.

“Your level of tolerance does not affect your BAC,” he said. “You could have a really high tolerance, but you’re still going to have the same BAC as someone with a low tolerance.”

Nicholas Egisch, a junior international affairs major, said it ultimately comes down to the person driving the vehicle.

“If you wake up and you’re still slightly inebriated, hungover or know you have alcohol in your system, entering your vehicle puts you at risk and others as well,” he said.

Joseph Gunnison, an international affairs major, said he would never drive if he had more than one beer and considering the safety of others is also important.

“In Athens you have to be extra careful,” he said. “You have to worry about other people’s safety too.”

Gunnison said if he is going to drink heavily, he will not even bring his car keys.

Ross said plans such as these these lower the risk of DUI for students.

Still, Williamson also said there is nothing wrong with drinking if an individual is of the legal drinking age.

“Just drink in moderation and drink responsibly,” he said. “Everything we see typically has alcohol and drugs involved, and when it’s alcohol, it’s the overconsumption that causes problems for folks.”