Drinking and Driving...

[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]

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.

[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.

[Jolly Roger VX'er]

This is a very serious topic for me that is near & dear to my heart...as an ordinary "Joe" who values his few beers after a hard day's work ethic...I can't help but feel a bit persacuted as I'm 44 years of age and have been stopping for a few after work my whole life with no accidents or problems of any kind, even in bad weather.

I feel that it is the few who can't regulate their drinking that has ruined it for the rest of us.

I pull in and have a beer....than eat while consuming a beer...and most of the time that's it...sometimes....SOMETIMES...I'll have one more that I stretch out for an hour or more. And if I want to stay longer...I switch over to soda and eat something more. The bartenders @ the places I go often ridicule me as I give the cut-me-off signal (universal slashing of owns throat) after only 2 or 3 over a 2+ hour period & eating.

I've dodged countless deer running amok in my VX on the way home and knock on wood have yet to hit one. But, in the back of my mind...as happened to somebody I know...I might not be so lucky...hit one...call a tow truck...only for him to call the cops because he thinks you're over the limit.

In the mean time....I'll observe bikers pull in...drink 'til their three sheets to the wind...stumble out the door...rumble away on their bikes in a big pack...and never seem to ever get noticed by the law. Heck...a few times they WERE the law. Just one of the reasons I bought a bike!

There are no taxi's out where I reside or believe me...I'd be using them just so I could leave my VX @ home and have absolutely no worries about getting stopped. Also, it just doesn't seem right to try to find a designated driver just for happy hour on your way home after work.

I do feel that one can minimize your chances of getting stopped by following the behaviors on the list below:

1) Don't stay out late...(i.e after midnight)...especially until closing time...this is when the DUI checkpoints are in place and sometimes they are watching a bar from across the street.

2) Don't drink too much then drive on a holiday (St. Patricks Day, Labor Day, etc..) This should be when you line up a cab or designated driver!

3) Don't take the main roads home...if you live out in the country...use the back roads and go directly too #4.

4) Always do the speed limit....don't go faster as this draws attention...don't go slower as this REALLY draws attention...focus on doing the speed limit...cruise control can be your friend!

5) Always inspect your vehicular lighting before having any beer, and be on the look out for any burned out bulbs...This WILL get you pulled over even if you swerved to miss that poor bunny rabbit! I carry spare bulbs for sidemarker/license plate lights as these will ruin your day if noticed!


I'm not condoning drinking too much & killing of innocents....but I am standing up for the average American who just wants to unwind from a stress-filled day at the office....pay his morgage...pay his taxes...raise his family...and out to be a villainous outlaw of society.

I hope I haven't offended anyone here with my way of thinking as that was not my intent....but this is my viewpoint and I'm sticking too it!

Have a nice day!

[Jolly Roger VX'er]

Thanks to this thread...I am going to try and find one of those do-eet-ur-self breathalyzers! Didn't know their was such a thing!


edit of previous post: "NOT out to be a villainous outlaw of society."

[Ldub]

Thanks to this thread...I am going to try and find one of those do-eet-ur-self breathalyzers! Didn't know their was such a thing!


edit of previous post: "NOT out to be a villainous outlaw of society."

Oh NOW I get it...

Excellent point...

It's always a few rotten million who ruin it for the rest of us...

[pbkid]

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.

and I'm really concerned about the ever increasing "moron per mile" ratio. I just don't know if there is a cure.......

yes, and yes!

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.

yes and yes again

There are no taxi's out where I reside or believe me...I'd be using them just so I could leave my VX @ home and have absolutely no worries about getting stopped.

i guess sometimes i forget that other people have the option of calling a cab.... out here where i live. the nearest cab is over an hour away. and they are usually busy...
i actually called one a few months ago because i decided to have a drink at the local bar... the cab didnt show up till almost 4 am and cost me around $75 to get home.

i guess thats another important factor to remind them city folks of eh jolly roger? that not all of us have the option of a cab... so yes, usually pick a sober friend is the best option.

[RickOKC]

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??

That absolutely makes sense and I think I understand what you're saying. You brought up some excellent points, but I still believe it is actually a terrific idea as long as you go into it with the right perspective.

I think what you're saying is that if you test yourself with the goal of seeing how much you can drink for the sake of "gaming the system", then yes, it is a complete waste of time and 50 bucks and dangerous. (My apologies if I misinterpreted your statements.) Anyone with that mindset will probably just gamble anyway and say "Oh well, I 'probably' won't get caught" or justify their actions in some other manner and drive anyway. Nothing will change.

However, it was more like a profound awakening for 100% of the people in my little group.

For example, when it was my turn to use the tester, I came home and had a couple beers during a 1 hour period just like we used to do after work on Fridays. I waited 20 minutes (as directed) and did the test. I could have been arrested if I had been driving. The next night I did the same thing during a 90 minute period. Could have been arrested. A few days later, I repeated the test with 1 beer instead of two in an hour. Could have been arrested. Next night: 1 beer in 90 minutes - probably could have been arrested considering the police probably have a more accurate machine than one that cost only $50. With food, without food, not much difference. Arrested. Arrested. No matter what I did the results were about the same.

In OK, a DUI is .08% but a DWI is .05%. Both have nearly identical legal ramifications.

The end result is that it scared the crap out of every last one of us and, where we used to think we were "OK" it made us realize the only "safe" amount of alcohol is ZERO.

It didn't bolster our sense of security, it actually destroyed our existing false sense of security. Everyone who participated were all basically the same age and we had always been told that one drink per hour was ok. That general guide proved to be incredibly FALSE.

That's why I spoke earlier about my embarrassment, shame and regret.

[pbkid]

rick- yes, you understood my statement correctly.
and ya, its amazing to see how long it stays in your system eh?

thats why i say 12 hours after your LAST drink. i have a breathilizer in my car and as long as i follow the 12 hours rule.. i havent failed once.... just an FYI (and mine is extremely accurate, maybe more so than the police.... mine is calibrated monthly)

[RickOKC]

rick- yes, you understood my statement correctly.
and ya, its amazing to see how long it stays in your system eh?

Whew, I don't like interpreting things wrong and misquoting without checking first!

What was REALLY amazing for me was during Week 2, I kept drinking another beer, waiting 20 minutes and then re-testing. I felt like I was perfectly fine to drive all the way up to a .15% BAC! That's nearly twice the legal limit and changes things here from a DUI to a FELONY DUI. Judgment truly is the first thing to go.

Dang, I HATE being this serious, but this was such a revelation for me that I can't shut up (sorry, everybody.) PBKid, I'm so sorry to hear what you're going through - it breaks my heart. Your experience is nearly a word-for-word description of the same awful pain that my buddy has described.

For those who want to try a consumer grade tester and don't know where to find one, check this out. It's similar to what we got. It comes with 3 mouth pieces so you can lend it to others without them getting a case of the "oogies." Share the gift of knowledge.

[pbkid]

well, all i can say for myself is that it was definately a lesson well learned...

now that you know what you feel like at different BAC levels... imagine getting pulled over at .1 and thinking that your perfectly fine... hence the lesson learned

[BigSwede]

I felt like I was perfectly fine to drive all the way up to a .15% BAC!

And that is exactly what I want to find out. Maybe I have been fooling myself (and lucky) all these years.

[circmand]

DUI does not mean drunk you may actually be fine to drive the nanny state decided .10% was too much awhile back the for political reasons changed it to .08% just so MADD would be happy and politicians could get their vote. As I stated I have never found any info that tests were done to determine when achohol actuall begins to affect driving in a measurable way. Also most states have a double whammy set up on DUI where they charge you with 2 things so they can plead you down to one thing. They get their money from you, your attorney gets his/her money from you and you think they did something for it and your insurance company gets more of your money. On the bright side the cop who pulled me was cool. At the hospital he let me go out and smoke while we waited for a blood test. He failed to show up at my arraignment so my costs were minimal and that Halloween as I was giving out candy at my folks house I found out he lived down the block from them and we chatted

[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.