You leave the bar after a few drinks and a fun afternoon with friends with not a care in the world.
But then you carelessly run a stop sign because you've had one too many and things start to go downhill.
Police don't care if you've had two or twenty-two drinks. If you're found to be under the influence, they'll put you through an ordeal you don't want to go through.
First you'll take several sobriety tests. From trying to keep your balance, to following the officer's finger to closing your eyes and touching your nose; these are just a few of the techniques to help officers determine if you're truly impaired.
After a few tests, the officer took me over to his squad car for what's called a preliminary breathalyzer test.
In the state of Virginia, anything at or above .08 is considered intoxicated driving and can you arrested.
Then you're cuffed and stuffed into the back of a police cruiser.
It can be a rude awakening for someone who didn't even think they were drunk. After a ride to the county sheriff's office and a visit to the magistrate, the real nightmare begins.
They took my jewelry, my purse, all of my things, even my boots. I was patted down, searched and questioned. I had to change into a jail issued jumpsuit and sneakers.
Then it's back to the front counter for more questioning, paperwork and print identification.
And then it was time to get fingerprinted. It's not the black ink fingerprinting of the old days, it's state of the art, computer imaging of your four fingers which then gets stored in the state-wide database.
Then I had my picture taken, This photograph goes into your permanent record.
After your mugshot, you get your own airmattress, which you have to lug to your holding cell.
The cold, dark and small cell has a place to sleep, use the restroom and wash your hands-it's not a place you ever want to visit. Police hope spending time here will make people think twice about ever drinking and driving again.
