Arlington: Failure to Pay Full Time Attention

[JackFJ30]

What is the name of your state? Virginia, Arlington County

Hi everyone - Thanks in advance for your help!
I live was pulled over while dozing off a few nights ago. It was a long week (I hadn’t slept much), and was driving home late from a colleague’s house. The cop saw me falling asleep, so pulled me over and asked if I had been drinking. I wasn’t drunk, though had a couple beers earlier, so my breathalyzer test was above .08. Because I was not drunk, coherent - just tired! - and don’t have any record to speak of, the officer said he would let me go with a “Failure to Pay Full Time Attention”. In Arlington County, though, this appears to be a misdemeanor with punishment up to $100 fine and/or 10 days in jail (!!), which seems very incongruous to me. Any advice?

 

[bcr229]

Hire a criminal defense attorney and stop posting about this on the Internet.

 

[Just Blue]

What is the name of your state? Virginia, Arlington County

Hi everyone - Thanks in advance for your help!
I live was pulled over while dozing off a few nights ago. It was a long week (I hadn’t slept much), and was driving home late from a colleague’s house. The cop saw me falling asleep, so pulled me over and asked if I had been drinking. I wasn’t drunk, though had a couple beers earlier, so my breathalyzer test was above .08. Because I was not drunk, coherent - just tired! - and don’t have any record to speak of, the officer said he would let me go with a “Failure to Pay Full Time Attention”. In Arlington County, though, this appears to be a misdemeanor with punishment up to $100 fine and/or 10 days in jail (!!), which seems very incongruous to me. Any advice?

You were falling asleep at the wheel and you find it "incongruous" that you were cited? You're damn lucky you didn't kill any one.

 

[ajkroy]

I've never heard that being sleepy causes your BAC to go up. Though I have heard that a high BAC can cause one to be sleepy.

 

[not2cleverRed]

What is the name of your state? Virginia, Arlington County

Hi everyone - Thanks in advance for your help!
I live was pulled over while dozing off a few nights ago. It was a long week (I hadn’t slept much), and was driving home late from a colleague’s house. The cop saw me falling asleep, so pulled me over and asked if I had been drinking. I wasn’t drunk, though had a couple beers earlier, so my breathalyzer test was above .08. Because I was not drunk, coherent - just tired! - and don’t have any record to speak of, the officer said he would let me go with a “Failure to Pay Full Time Attention”. In Arlington County, though, this appears to be a misdemeanor with punishment up to $100 fine and/or 10 days in jail (!!), which seems very incongruous to me. Any advice?

Above 0.08 is legally drunk in Virginia.

So, don't complain. You were given a huuuge break.

 

[HighwayMan]

I wasn’t drunk, though had a couple beers earlier, so my breathalyzer test was above .08.

That's a contradiction. You were legally intoxicated. You should not have been driving.

You got a HUGE break.

 

[Zigner]

I *suspect* that the OP forgot to type the word "not" before he typed "above .08".

 

[ajkroy]

I *suspect* that the OP forgot to type the word "not" before he typed "above .08".

Well, that changes the meaning of the entire sentence.

 

[NeilTheCop]

What is the name of your state? Virginia, Arlington County

Hi everyone - Thanks in advance for your help!
I live was pulled over while dozing off a few nights ago. It was a long week (I hadn’t slept much), and was driving home late from a colleague’s house. The cop saw me falling asleep, so pulled me over and asked if I had been drinking. I wasn’t drunk, though had a couple beers earlier, so my breathalyzer test was above .08. Because I was not drunk, coherent - just tired! - and don’t have any record to speak of, the officer said he would let me go with a “Failure to Pay Full Time Attention”. In Arlington County, though, this appears to be a misdemeanor with punishment up to $100 fine and/or 10 days in jail (!!), which seems very incongruous to me. Any advice?

Pay the fine and be very grateful to the officer.
It's unlikely you will be incarcerated as it costs the city, county or state a lot of money to keep someone in jail for 10 days.

 

[HighwayMan]

Well, if he didn't blow above a .08 I'd like to know what he did blow.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Well, if he didn't blow above a .08 I'd like to know what he did blow.

Either way, he was impaired and a danger to others on the road.

And drinking could have contributed to that impairment.

 

[NeilTheCop]

Well, if he didn't blow above a .08 I'd like to know what he did blow.

If it was above .08 then the officer was at fault for not taking a drunk driver off the roads.

 

[quincy]

The officer was probably remiss in letting a dozing driver drive off, too. It is not like Jack caught up on sleep after being stopped.