During his arrest for drunken driving in 2025, a California man claims to have said "I'm the DUI."

The driver mistakenly told the Murrieta officer that he was the 'designated driver' when he meant to say he was 'the DUI'.

During his arrest for drunken driving in 2025, a California man claims to have said "I'm the DUI."
During his arrest for drunken driving in 2025, a California man claims to have said "I'm the DUI."

In California, a man was arrested for drunken driving at midnight on Jan. 1 after declaring himself "the DUI" during a traffic stop.

On Thursday, the Murrieta Police Department in Southern California posted a bodycam video of an encounter on its Instagram page.

At 12:40 a.m. on Jan. 1, a Murrieta Officer Bridgewaters observed the driver swerving across the roadway and subsequently pulled him over for a potential DUI investigation.

The driver replied to the officer's inquiry about his origin during the stop, stating that he was dropping off a friend because he was the designated driver for the night.

DUI traffic stop in Southern California
A California man was arrested in the early morning hours of New Year's Day after telling police he was "the DUI" during a traffic stop for potential drunken driving, Murrieta police said. (Murrieta Police Department)

The driver was asked by the officer if he was the "DUI," but the officer later corrected him, saying he probably meant to say "DD," which stands for designated driver.

The driver, who was speechless after the correction, eventually confessed to consuming champagne and beer prior to agreeing to perform field sobriety tests.

During the sobriety tests, he almost fell over several times and was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence.

Man failing field sobriety test
The driver allegedly failed several field sobriety tests before he was arrested. (Murrieta Police Department)

The police department has two officers who specialize in DUI investigations and have additional training in detecting and investigating impaired drivers.

The traffic bureau of MPD frequently conducts checkpoints to "reduce the occurrence of drunk driving," as stated by the department.

Police DUI stop
Murrieta police said its traffic bureau regularly holds sobriety checkpoints to stress the importance of not driving under the influence. (istock)

The department urged drivers to celebrate safely following the revelation that 37 individuals die daily in the US due to driving under the influence.

In 2022, 13,524 people were killed due to drunk driving, according to MPD's statement.

by Elizabeth Pritchett

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