Liar Liar

"When is an alcoholic lying? When their lips are moving.” Unknown

I recently did an assessment on a woman who was trying to get her driving privileges restored. She’d been convicted of driving under the influence twice.  Her last conviction landed her in prison for two years. Plus she couldn’t reapply for her license until three years after her release.

At the assessment she gave me a paper from the motor vehicle department saying she was clear to reapply.  But I had an intuitive feeling she wasn’t telling the whole story.  However, in lieu of additional information I only could rely on what she told me at the assessment.

After a series of tests and questions I recommended she attend 20 hours of substance abuse education and several 12-step meetings prior to my recommending that her driving privileges be restored.  One of the factors that weighed into my decision is that she claimed to have not drunk or used drugs for some five years.

So I was a bit surprised to receive a call a few weeks after the assessment from a motor vehicle employee who asked if I knew this woman had turned up dirty on an alcohol screening earlier this year while trying to get her license reinstated. I said she hadn’t told me of the previous screening, nor that she’d failed a breathalyzer test. 

Based on this new information I withdrew my recommendation for reinstatement. My intuition was correct after all.