Drinking and Driving...

[pbkid]

My buddy got a DWI recently, had 4 drinks in 3 hours. Based on what he experienced, many of us may be over the limit even when we think we are "fine". He was totally shocked he failed...this is a guy who would never knowingly break the law.

hmm... interesting you say that.. because... as many of you know, i have first hand experience with this.
basically what you explained here steve is exactly me. i never was a heavy drinker, and i never drove when i had any feeling of even tipsyness...
well, as many of you have heard, i went to a friend of mines wedding... had a few drinks spread over a few hours..lost track of how many i had. so i stopped drinking, waited until i felt sober, then waited another hour, then ate.... came up with a .1 BAC.
i was also shocked when i failed.... i definately thought that he was going to test me, and on my way home with a 'be safe'....instead, 8 months later, im about 8k down and have definately lost a feeling of self pride through this ordeal. its been a long trip, and i just recently (last friday) came off of supervised probation.

i immediately stopped drinking after my DUI for 4 months, it has severely affected my personal confidence, my friend base has become completely nothing, and my career is going to be changed significantly due to me going to school to be in law enforcement.
before my DUI i was expecting to probably move directly out of college into a federal level job. i now am waiting a minimum of 5 years before i can even APPLY, much less have a chance of getting a job.

drinking and driving is absolutely not worth the consequences.

and on a side note of those who do choose to drink heavily. it takes alcohol 12 hours after your last drink to clear from your system. many people who get DUI's get them in the morning.
i currently have a breathilizer in my car, and i can attest to the fact that if you drink heavily and try to drive within 12 hours, you absolutely WILL get a DUI if you are pulled over... keep that in the back of your mind...

[VX KAT]

Very moving and thanks to those courageous enough to share your stories. Dave & I "usually" "try" to pick one of us to be the designated driver when we go out to dinner. BUT, it's so easy to have a beer or two anyway. Always "thought" because I'm a "big" girl, I must be able to handle more, and certainly 1 or 2 beers can't possibly put ME over the DUI limit, right? Wrong! Actually, have no idea what my BA level would be after 1 or 2 beers, heck, don't even know what my state's limit is! Ignorance is no excuse.

This, and the seat belt thread, have been a very important reality check.

And Jack, I have to say again, I respect you on how maturely you handled your situation.

Life is good, very good. Let's all keep it that way!

[pbkid]

[circmand]

The law isn't about impaired and there is no information available about what is impaired. If you are even feeling better after a drink the law states you are impaired. The law is based on a percentage without taking into account the actually quality of driving. Now I am not saying anyone drives better after drinking they do not. But to claim as the law does that everyone becomes a bad driver at .10% and then change it to .08% based on a political organization is pure politics. On the bright side few get pulled at .08% because they are still driving better then a lot of the idiots on the road. A claim could be made that a person who had been drinking a small amount but worried about a DUI may actuall pay more attention while driving so that their impaired driving is superior to idiots who are sober yet talking on the phone or otherwise oblivious to other cars onthe road. I have been unablew to find any research that demonstartes that .o8% causes all drivers abilities to degrade to unacceptable

[pbkid]

you know... to be completely honest.... the whole idea of buying a meter, testing yourself and expecting to know what your BAC is gonna be sounds like a terrible idea...

i think of it the same way i do radar detectors.. people think that because they have them, they will never get a ticket... well, i, for one know that it isnt true. i was clocked by aircraft on a highway going FAR over the limit because i was overconfident with my radar detector.
so, i actually blame that ticket directly on my radar detector... because i had a false sense of safety and security because i got so used to not having to worry about tickets.

i think the same could happen with a BAC tester. you could test yourself a few times after having 2 beers and think.. ok i know that im only at .06 after 2 beers... but what you dont think of is how much water you had.. maybe the days you tested it you had drank half a gallon of water, but one day you only drink one glass and have 2 beers at the bar.... BOOM.. dui....

make sense??

[Ldub]

i was clocked by aircraft on a highway going FAR over the limit because i was overconfident with my radar detector.
so, i actually blame that ticket directly on my radar detector... because i had a false sense of safety and security because i got so used to not having to worry about tickets.



make sense??

Ummmmm...NO...

Don't you bear 100% of the blame, for speeding in the first place?...

[BigSwede]

Recently here in the Minneapolis area a new service has begun that will come and get you at the bar...two guys and a car, one of the guys will drive you home in your car with the other following to pick the driver up. I'm told it doesn't cost any more than a cab. Seems like a great idea to me, and your car is home with you the next morning...

[circmand]

Recently here in the Minneapolis area a new service has begun that will come and get you at the bar...two guys and a car, one of the guys will drive you home in your car with the other following to pick the driver up. I'm told it doesn't cost any more than a cab. Seems like a great idea to me, and your car is home with you the next morning...

It is not the expense that bothers me with a cab and I prefer to have someone else doing the driving so as not to get any additional DUIs It is leaving my very noticeable vehicle all night at a bar where a coworker or ewmployee or boss sees it or it ricks getting damaged by not so courtious drivers.

[BigSwede]

i think the same could happen with a BAC tester. you could test yourself a few times after having 2 beers and think.. ok i know that im only at .06 after 2 beers... but what you dont think of is how much water you had.. maybe the days you tested it you had drank half a gallon of water, but one day you only drink one glass and have 2 beers at the bar.... BOOM.. dui....

make sense??

Sure, that could happen. But I don't see the harm in seeing what my BAC is when I feel "fine" to drive after some drinking. Maybe I am actually fine... but maybe I am not. I want to get a rough personal calibration, because right now I have no freeking idea.

[RickOKC]

Actually, have no idea what my BA level would be after 1 or 2 beers, heck, don't even know what my state's limit is! Ignorance is no excuse.

Think of it this way:

Every road has a speed limit and you know you can get a ticket if you exceed it. Think of all the miles you have driven since you got your license. Now imagine that you have never driven a car with a speedometer. You would never know for sure what 25, 50, 75 MPH "feels like." Would you pay $50 to get a speedometer?

A home breath tester is a pretty cheap mod.

[circmand]

Think of it this way:

Every road has a speed limit and you know you can get a ticket if you exceed it. Think of all the miles you have driven since you got your license. Now imagine that you have never driven a car with a speedometer. You would never know for sure what 25, 50, 75 MPH "feels like." Would you pay $50 to get a speedometer?

A home breath tester is a pretty cheap mod.

A BAC test shows your Blood achohol content at the time of testing. If you do it at a bar right after your last drink it will read one thing but your BAC will actually continue to rise until all alchohol has been absorbed into your system. You could test yourself think you are legal get pulled and end up with a DUI. That is my issue with no real info available on tests and such. The newer maker of the breathalyzer for use by the police will not even release the methodology used and therefore cannot be independently measured whether it is correct. It has actually led to DUIs being thrown out of court. Those of you who have taken the DUI classes can back me up. The classes are all about how bad drinking is and have nothing to do with actual what is too much or how to judge if you had too much.

Actual I am surprised it is even legal to charge someone with DUI. Because if a guy and girl go out have a few drinks and then have sex but the next morning the girl regrets her decision the law says because she was drinking she did not have the capacity to say yes. But the guy who was drinking apparently has the capacity to know she really didnt want to. But if yopu are at a bar drinking your ability to drive is impaired but the ability to make the decision whether to drive or not isnt impaired.

Funny thing is even cold stone sober I can never really tell what a women wants or means how am I supposed to know after drinking? That is the way of the DUI law, They pass a law but if you ask for specifics they tell you "if you do not know I am not going to tell you" I think women are writing these laws.

[RickOKC]

A BAC test shows your Blood achohol content at the time of testing. If you do it at a bar right after your last drink it will read one thing but your BAC will actually continue to rise until all alchohol has been absorbed into your system.

Good information! I would never have considered using it when I knew I "had" to drive. A better application would be to do it at home when there is no need to go anywhere. Try out a few different situations, time frames and alcohol consumption to get a good feel for BAC with no worries.

[4X4 UFO]

I don't drink, or use drugs, but I think that the reasons for reckless driving are pretty irrelevant. If you're driving like an idiot, you should be pulled over, and ticketed. There are very few actual accidents. Wrecks are almost always caused by negligence in some form. As a driver, you should be aware of your abilities, the abilities of the vehicle that you are driving, and how those abilities are affected by the conditions present where you are driving, not to mention the state of repair of your vehicle. This takes some study, some practice, and mostly, paying attention to what you're doing. Unfortunately, in this country, you can get a driver's license by demonstrating little more skill than it takes to open the vehicle door. Some people can drive well after a drink or two, and as long as they are driving well, they should be left alone. Some people can't drive worth a damn sober, and they shouldn't be on the road at all. Speeding is probably ticketed more than anything, and it is less subject to the law enforcement officer's subjective judgement (not all law enforcement officers are of the caliber of the officers in our group). Speeding exacerbates the effects of an accident, but it doesn't CAUSE nearly as many accidents as inattentive driving. I'd much rather see people pulled over for doing anything other than DRIVING THE VEHICLE! Even an average driver is more dangerous at 10 mph under the posted limit talking on a phone, than he is at 10 mph over if he's doing nothing but driving. It's a complicated issue, but ticketing people for something that MAY impair them is less important then ticketing people for driving as though they ARE impaired, even if the impairment is just stupidity, or callous disregard for everyone sharing the road with them. Sorry about the long post, guys. I like to drive, and I'm really concerned about the ever increasing "moron per mile" ratio. I just don't know if there is a cure.......

[WormGod]

I have had MANY field sobriety tests in my life. Where I used to live was a bar-crawl district and cops had a tendency to profile people based on what they are driving and where they are. Sadly, I lived a block away from the main strip, so I was pulled over and tested a LOT. The good news is, since I lived so close, I could park at home and walk to the strip, heh.

I was given one test years ago however where I did have couple of drinks. The sobriety was not an issue and the breathalyzer was well within the state limit, but I was still ripped a new one since the cop was the in charge of the "anti-street racing and drinking/driving unit". He was a good old boy with a chip on his shoulder and no matter how respectful and well mannered I was with him, I was still the scum of the earth. I was written up for quite a few things, but not what he really hoped to write me up for.

In the end, no matter how much you have to drink, the officer still has the right to subjective opinion on whether you are suited to drive or not (so it is here anyways). They will not/ can not arrest you for the offense, can ask that you call someone to pick you up at the pull over location to drive you home.