Drinking at the golf club over christmas......???

[Swinger]

Does any one use the phone while driving? Statistically this is worse than drinking in terms of impaired faculties? Hands free apparently makes no difference at all.

Anyone smoke? Eat? Drink? Put on make up? Shave? Send texts? Redid a book, or a map? Play with a sat nav?

There are loads of things that are distracting, drinking for sure is one, but it is easy to get sanctimonious about one thing while ignoring others.

Amen to that.

I'd never defend drink driving but all of the above should be in exactly the same bracket. Cars are lethal machines and deserve respect at all times.

There are plently of people on the road who probably shouldn't be there and there are some who just choose to be stupid when they get there.

 

[Robobum]

Not on any soap box here, just a question to further the discussion......

Those who set their limit at 1 pint, who decides whether you are sufficiently unaffected by that pint to drive. Is the guy who chose to have 5 pints more or less impaired than you?

 

[USER1999]

The fact that there is a limit set by law suggests that the 5 Pinter is significantly more impaired, or the limit would be equivalent to 5 pints, not 1 1/2(ish).

 

[Robobum]

That's the whole point Murph, the limit equates to an alcohol concentration in the blood (or breath) and not to the amount each individual is impaired.

Two can Tony could be rocking all over the place but legally "safe" to drive, whilst Ten pint Terry is steady as a rock but way over the legal limit.

 

[coolhand]

The problem with a zero limit is the "morning after the night before". The rate at which alcohol is cleared from the bloodstream is dependant on so many variables there is no way to know when and where to stop so that you've got 0 in your bloddsteram the next morning.

 

[USER1999]

A zero limit means no drinking at all the night before you drive. So Sunday night to Friday night, no drinking. At all.

This means the brewing industry goes tots up, the restaurant business too, more unemployment, and the economy is stuffed.

Can't see any government going for this.

 

[MadAdey]

The fact that there is a limit set by law suggests that the 5 Pinter is significantly more impaired, or the limit would be equivalent to 5 pints, not 1 1/2(ish).

I do not think the reason is set at that so you can have 1 or 2 drinks and be able to drive. It is set at that to allow the fact that someone had a drink the night before and is still registering alcohol in their system although not being affected by it. Also some medicines have an alcohol content so even though you have not had a drink a couple of spoons of medicine could register alcohol in your system.

 

[NWJocko]

I do not think the reason is set at that so you can have 1 or 2 drinks and be able to drive. It is set at that to allow the fact that someone had a drink the night before and is still registering alcohol in their system although not being affected by it. Also some medicines have an alcohol content so even though you have not had a drink a couple of spoons of medicine could register alcohol in your system.

I thought this was the case also, to allow for some alcohol through night before/medicine/naturally occuring.

I suppose the question is, is the current limit too high to account for that and provide people with some room to have a pint, pint and half before hitting the limit?

 

[coolhand]

Whilst any sort of drink driving is wrong I don't think the real issue is people who are accidentily over the limt or impaired but as mentioned above the people who drive knowing they are over the limit. Reducing the limit won't make any difference to them, what is needed is better enforcement and harsher penalties.

 

[MadAdey]

Whilst any sort of drink driving is wrong I don't think the real issue is people who are accidentily over the limt or impaired but as mentioned above the people who drive knowing they are over the limit. Reducing the limit won't make any difference to them, what is needed is better enforcement and harsher penalties.

That hits the nail on the head. It is not the ones who have the odd pint now and again that are not the problem it is the ones who get half cut then drive their car. They are already breaking the law so changing the limit will not stop them, but maybe imposing jail sentences when someone is stupidly over the limit will.

At the end of the day the ones who get drunk then drive are criminals, simple as that as they are breaking the law. They are knowingly getting into that car drunk then driving it, it is a deadly weapon when a sober person is driving it, when you are drunk then it becomes a very lethal weapon.

Answer this question. If I went out into the street with a loaded gun that I had a licence for. I then tripped over and the gun went off shooting someone dead, what would happen to me? Is it that much different to someone being drunk behind the wheel and killing someone.

 

[Airlie_Andy]

I was recently breathalised after leaving a pub in the car. I play for a pool team every Wednesday and sometimes have a shandy when I arrive and it's soft drinks the rest of the night after that. The policeman seemed gobsmacked that i could play pool every week and not be bothered about having a drink. I'm strongly against drink driving and would never do it. My reading was zero by the way.

 

[Robobum]

I can't see how you can separate someone who is "accidentally" over the limit and someone who does it in full knowledge.

They are both breaking the law and, more importantly i think, endangering everyone they come near whilst driving.

Both are without defence in my book.

 

[MadAdey]

I can't see how you can separate someone who is "accidentally" over the limit and someone who does it in full knowledge.

They are both breaking the law and, more importantly i think, endangering everyone they come near whilst driving.

Both are without defence in my book.

You can't be accidentally over the limit. If you have had a drink you know it. Even if it was from the night before, you know if you had a skinfull and should not drive in the morning. Only thing is with a zero tolerance level is medicine could register alcohol in your blood stream and have you loosing your licence for having a swig of night nurse.....

 

[Swinger]

Banning alcohol would be the best way forward.

 

[Robobum]

Sorry Adey, you quoted some one who referred to this and said it had hit the nail on the head...thought that you were agreeing with the whole statement.

The medicinal thing isn't really a consideration, any alcohol level is negligible unless you were abusing that medication. There are many job types that set their own alcohol levels much lower than the DD level for safety reasons, trains, logistics aviation etc.

As an aside, try a quick swill of Listerine and then provide a breath test immediately -the alcohol concentration will not register on machine as it will be off scale!!! Fortunately it disipates very quickly, the machine on the other hand takes about 10 minutes or so to purge that alcohol from it's sensor!! Fresh breath for the winos!!!

 

[coolhand]

You can't accidentally drink and drive but you can be accidentally over the limit especially if it's zero. How do you define a skinfull - a couple of pints, a bottle of wine, a night cap - any of these has the poteantial to still leave traces of alchol in your system the next morning.
Drinking and driving is wrong but as I've already said the answer is not a zero limit.

 

[Golfmmad]

OK, so maybe a zero limit is taking it too far. In fact Swedens limit is .02. In America it's .08.

The penalties are more severe in Sweden, which I think are needed over here, and if you're at .10 over the limit it's a 2year prison sentence and a fine.

The other interesting point is that Sweden has the fewest drink driving fatalities in Europe, and less younger drivers drink and drive.

Probably due to the stiffer penalties!

 

[stevie_r]

The other interesting point is that Sweden has the fewest drink driving fatalities in Europe, and less younger drivers drink and drive.

Probably due to the stiffer penalties!

That and the prohibitive prices there

 

[coolhand]

OK, so maybe a zero limit is taking it too far. In fact Swedens limit is .02. In America it's .08.

The penalties are more severe in Sweden, which I think are needed over here, and if you're at .10 over the limit it's a 2year prison sentence and a fine.

The other interesting point is that Sweden has the fewest drink driving fatalities in Europe, and less younger drivers drink and drive.

Probably due to the stiffer penalties!

Completely agree that the penalties for beig over a sensible limt need to be draconian - prison unless there are exceptional circumstances. Plus should something nasty happen when you DD it's got to be seen as a premeditatted offence not just an unfortunate accident.

 

[Oddsocks]

I like how this post progressed....