Driving Under The Influence… Of Caffeine?!

With all the strange and outlandish things showing up in our newsfeeds lately, here’s one that tops the “weird list”: An officer arrested a man in California for “erratic, reckless” driving and charged him for driving under the influence of… wait for it… caffeine!

Slow down on that Cuppa Joe

When Joseph Schwab was driving home from work and got pulled over by a traffic officer, he was not quite sure why. However, in her police report the traffic officer said that Schwab was “weaving in and out of traffic, almost causing several collisions”, exhibiting “erratic and reckless driving”, including cutting her off in traffic.

Once pulled over Schwab “seemed very amped up, very agitated, very combative and his pupils were dilated”, and it seemed that he was under the influence of “something”. As a result, Schwab was arrested for misdemeanour driving under the influence of a drug.

However, his breathalyser test showed a 0.00 per cent blood alcohol level and later blood tests and resulting toxicology report was negative for the usual drug suspects: cocaine, benzodiazepines, opiates, carisoprodol (a muscle relaxant), oxycodone, zolpidem and methamphetamine/MDMA.

The only substance showing a positive result was caffeine.

But things got even stranger…

Because Schwab’s blood tests had law enforcement officers scratching their heads, he was only formally charged for driving under the influence of a drug, 10 months after his initial arrest.

You see, Californian law stipulates that a drug is any substance that may effectively “impair” someone’s ability to drive “to an appreciable degree”. And that’s clearly what the traffic officer witnessed.

Looking at the case, Jeffrey Zehnder said that in his 41 years as a forensic toxicologist, he’d never seen someone prosecuted for driving under the influence of caffeine. He added that there are no studies demonstrating that caffeine can impair driving. These studies do not exist because no one considers having too many cups of coffee as a driving risk.

And that’s exactly why the prosecutor’s case was problematic, because the law would have to prove that Schwab’s driving was specifically impaired by caffeine and not by any other drug or circumstances.

Fortunately, after 16 months the “drug charges” against Schwab were dropped because blood tests couldn’t “confirm a specific drug present in the defendant’s system”.

Let’s be honest, caffeine is very likely coursing through the veins of many drivers on the road at any given time. And if driving under the influence of a cup of coffee is a crime, I’d be serving a life sentence…

In fact, asked if caffeine would impair someone’s driving capability, medical expert Dr. John Torres said: “Studies have shown that caffeine actually helps one’s driving abilities.

The only way that it might have an effect is if a person overdoses on caffeine or uses it to cover fatigue and then it wears off.”

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Disclaimer: Bear in mind the material contained in this article is provided for information purposes only. We are not addressing anyone’s personal situation. Please consult with your own physician before acting on any recommendations contained herein.

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Sources:

California Charges Man With Caffeine DUI, published online 14.01.17, articles.mercola.com/