A Fort Worth lawyer’s TikTok video got a lot of attention on social media; it explains that DWI’s are not explicitly for alcohol and include other substances.
TEXAS, USA — A Fort Worth lawyer is going viral online after he posted a video breaking down that Texas’ Driving While Intoxicated law extends to not only alcohol or illegal drugs, but includes prescription drugs or common substances that could impair your driving, including caffeine.
Naturally, other videos have spawned from this, reacting to the click-baity headline that “drinking too much coffee can lead lead to a DWI arrest in Texas.”
Here are just a couple:
First, even the lawyer, Justin Sparks of Sparks Law Firm, says in his video that “we don’t see that happen” but caffeine serves as an example of “any other substance” could impair your driving.
WFAA reached out to Sparks Law Firm and multiple law enforcement agencies in Texas about the video. While Sparks hasn’t responded, the Fort Worth Police Department did.
Fort Worth police officials told WFAA “we do not know of any arrests made based on caffeine consumption only.” Furthermore, Fort Worth PD told WFAA they also reached out to other law enforcement contacts and were not told about any DWI arrest that has been made solely due to the consumption of caffeine.
Caffeine is also among the substances screened for in routine toxicology blood testing by the medical examiner, according to FWPD, because it might be used as an adulterant or in conjunction with other narcotics. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s office said it is not aware of any person being charged with DWI due to caffeine only, according to FWPD.
The medical examiner added that the amount of caffeine one would need to drink in a short time span to cause driving impairment would more than likely put them in the hospital first.
For the context of driving impairment enforcement, FWPD said, it is traditionally understood that caffeine is a stimulant. But even still, it can only cause impairment in outrageously high doses taken in a short amount of time, as previously noted by the medical examiner. Side effects of too much caffeine consumption can be anxiety, jitters, upset stomach, increased heart rate, and nausea, but not until the “rapid consumption” of 1200mg or more, according to the FDA.
“So, 1200mg throughout the day may cause side effects but not ones that could cause intoxication,” Fort Worth PD told WFAA via email.
The FDA recommends adults drink no more than 400mg per day, according to its website.
The only feasible scenario, per FWPD, where someone could be arrested for DWI from drinking caffeine alone, would be a truck driver or someone on a long road trip who had consumed a full case of energy drinks (8 to 12) or 10 to 15 cups off coffee (12oz cup is known to be 113mg to 247mg) in a very short time frame.
Fort Worth police said Sparks broke down the offense accurately, but the misunderstanding or focus on caffeine comes in due to his delivery in the video. The video’s purpose is to illustrate that DWI’s don’t necessarily have to come from just drinking too much alcohol or consuming illegal drugs.
“Any substance they can come up with that impairs or intoxicates you, you can be arrested for DWI,” Sparks concludes in his video.
