If you grew up in Weld County, you know how fun it can be to drive on the rural roads around Greeley. After all, few things are better than seeing distant mountains through miles of fields. Still, regardless of where you choose to drive, alcohol and motor vehicles do not mix.
Like most of your Northern Colorado neighbors, you would never attempt to drive after a night on the town in Denver’s Lodo neighborhood. When the bars close, Denver police officers line the streets near Union Station. Even though Weld County is mostly rural, you must apply the same logic to driving around Greeley. That is, you must not let a rural setting lure you into a false sense of invincibility.
A significant police presence
You probably expect to see police officers patrolling Colorado’s major cities. Even though Greeley is smaller than Denver, Colorado Springs and Aurora, Weld County has a significant police presence. In fact, the sheriff has created a patrol unit to keep the county’s 4,000 square miles safe. When you drive in the county, you are in one of four patrol sectors. Each sector has officers responsible for catching intoxicated drivers. Further, even if you manage to evade deputies, you may encounter a Greeley police officer or member of the state patrol.
Exercising your legal rights
As you likely know, driving under the influence in Colorado is a bad idea. That is, the state’s drunk driving laws are rarely friendly to drunk drivers. Further, you may face a variety of life consequences after a drunk driving conviction. Even if you commit never to drinking and driving, you may eventually make a mistake. Therefore, you must both understand and exercise your legal rights to minimize the negative effects of your actions.
There is nothing wrong with having a beer with friends or a cocktail at the end of the day. Still, you should not think drinking in a rural area insulates you from legal liability. On the contrary, you may face as much exposure as you would driving under the influence in a major city.
