On a lovely Friday evening in mid-July at Napa's Chefs Market, Debbie Sampson sipped wine and enjoyed conversation with a few close friends. She was not alone. Dozens of people routinely have a taste at Chefs Market, taking in the sights and sounds of the summertime events that have become a sort of community social hour for many Napans.

At the end of the night, she said, she planned to get a cab.

“It's just not worth it,” she said. “If we (my husband and I) get a DUI we won’t be able to make a living.”At the end of the night, she said, she planned to get a cab.

Sampson's decision not to get behind the wheel is a common one. Only a small percentage of those convicted in Napa of driving under the influence, or the lesser charge of reckless driving while under the influence, are women. From December 2004 until December of 2005, 1,066 individuals were convicted in Napa County Superior Court of a DUI or a "wet reckless." Only 168, or 16 percent, were women.

How do women avoid DUIs?

Do fewer women drink? Do they turn on the charm when they are stopped? Do the men do the driving? Are women better about planning ahead when they go out to party?

All of the above, say some women who answered a few questions on the subject while relaxing at local watering holes on a July Friday night.

Sampson said she gets a cab each time she goes out drinking.

"Everyone needs to stay educated on the penalties (for getting a DUI) and how cheap a cab ride is," she said.

She said one of her friends got a DUI, and the price was a hefty $12,000 in fees and associated costs. Sampson said she would rather spend her money on the cab ride.

Kerasoula Millay's solution to avoid DUIs is to avoid bars. She doesn't go out often, she said, but when she does she lets someone else -- usually her date for the evening -- do the driving.

"Let them get the DUI," she said with a laugh.

Joking aside, Millay said that women are just more cautious and responsible than men. Millay spoke as she sipped some vodka alongside a friend at a Main Street bar. She said her plan for the evening was to stop drinking before she felt the effects of the alcohol, and then to drive herself home.

"Typically the man does the driving, when we have both been drinking," said Susan May, a resident of Boston, Mass., who was visiting Napa on a wine-themed vacation. She spoke while relaxing at a wine bar on First Street.

She said that on those occasions when both she and her male friend get loose, they take a cab. When her partner drinks more than she does, though, she'll do the driving.

"Most men don't call it when they can't drive," she said.

May admitted that she's driven under the influence. She said she has never been pulled over for it, though, and if she ever does she'll smile at the officers and use her sex appeal.

Her friend Samantha Peters, a native of Britain, said she got pulled over in Boston for driving through a red light. She had no registration or driver's license, she said, but got away without a ticket. She attributed her good fortune to the effects of her British accent and her reference to the yellow light she just missed as "amber."

Does charm work?

"Hopefully it wouldn't make a damn bit of difference," said Napa County Sheriff Gary Simpson. "I would be very disappointed in any of my deputies if they let that influence them. I don't care if you are good-looking or not good-looking, you are going down if you fail that (DUI) test."

Local law enforcement officials say officers use their discretion when giving out tickets, but when it comes to DUIs they are not likely to give anyone a break. First of all, the risks of what the driver might do are too great. Second, police agencies keep track of stops.

"There are so many consequences for a police officer if they stop someone who is intoxicated and they let (that) someone go," Napa Police Chief Rich Melton said. "If you stop someone for a DUI and you let them go, it's known that you made the stop."

Melton said that an officer who stops someone for DUI and improperly lets them go is subject to disciplinary action, up to but not limited to termination. California Highway Patrol officers are subject to similar repercussions, CHP Officer Jerry Rico said.

"An officer has his job on the line with that judgment and I don't believe any officer will let them off," said Napa County District Attorney Gary Lieberstein.

Ron Abernethy, chief deputy in the Napa County Public Defender Service, made a point emphasized by many on the charging side of drunk driving cases -- DUI arrests usually go by the numbers. If a driver blows into the breathalyzer that officers carry, and the blood-alcohol level comes back at or above the legal limit, that decides things. Officers also ask drivers to engage in field sobriety tests, checking their balance, mental acuity and peripheral vision.

Is there a problem with officers being discretionary on who they arrest?

"I think that is nonexistent," said Abernethy. Drivers he said, "can't flash a smile at the preliminary screening device."

The better half?

Faced with the fact that fewer than one in six of those convicted in Napa County are women, the (male) law enforcement officers interviewed for this story cited social reasons and stereotypes.

Napa County District Attorney Gary Lieberstein noted that, statistically, men are more likely to commit pretty much every type of crime.

Lake County Chief Deputy District Attorney Jon Hopkins said that in his view, men are far more likely to be pulled over than women. His theory? "We know women are much more sensible than we men are."

The CHP's Rico said that he notices that when a couple goes out drinking, the men usually do the driving.

Napa Police Chief Rich Melton said he doesn't know why more women aren't getting convicted of DUIs in Napa, but said that "it has to be societal." Perhaps men drink more, or go out and drink more, or drive more dangerously, while women are more moderate.

"They must be smarter than us guys," Sheriff Simpson said with a smile. "They just aren't the risk-takers."