Do DUI Laws apply equally?

[tompage]

Re: a .08 versus a .15 alcohol level

Actually, I'm pretty astonished we are even having this discussion. On a professional level I've run 100 or more tightly controlled alcohol correlation studies in which we looked at impairment on field sobriety tests at various alcohol levels. Most people are noticeably impaired - even to the non-professional - at levels below .08. Further, most people, unless they are engaged in contest or challenge drinking, can't reach a .15. They get sick for one thing. And yes, I have a public health as well as law enforcement background. You are correct in that most people don't know how many drinks it takes to get to, say, an .08. Further, most don't know how long it takes to burn off alcohol. For example, it'll take the average person about 6 hours to burn off a .10.
I will not debate this further, any more than I would enter into a debate with the "Flat Earth Society." Nonetheless, here's one citation on the issue. This is from an American Medical Assocation report from 1997. I've clipped one small passage.

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/13565.html
"Conclusions
The research and field literature indicate that there is some driving -related impairment for many
people at any level of BAC although substantial and consistent impairment b egins at 0.04% to
0.05% BAC. As BAC levels increase, so does individual impairment and the likelihood of
impairment across the entire population. The risk of fatal crashes greatly increases at 0.04% to
0.05% BAC with greatly increased risk at 0.10% BAC. 12,32,33
The effects of alcohol are mediated by a number of additional factors such as driver experience,
age, gender, tolerance to alcohol and the complexities of any given driving situation. So too,
effective DUI management is possible only through the impl ementation of an array of policy,
media, education, and enforcement strategies. However, based on the data from field and
experimental studies in this and other countries, it is clear that enforced policies that reduce the
existing legal BAC limits in the direction of 0.00% BAC have a positive effect on both youth and
adult populations. The population that appears to be least affected by these policies are those
drivers who have alcohol problems [[problem drinkers and alcoholics). This population is
disproportionately found among repeat DUI offenders and among those with higher BAC levels in
reported DUI incidents. Increased screening, referral, and treatment for all DUI offenders,
accompanied by stronger enforcement policies and lower BAC limits for repeat o ffenders, are
likely to reduce the DUI burden from this population."

[9mile&seneca]

So pretty much if you see a car that's been parked at a bar for more than say 20 minutes, if the owner drives home, he's drunk. Maybe one day we can teleport ourselves home like on Startrek.

[Augustiner]

So pretty much if you see a car that's been parked at a bar for more than say 20 minutes, if the owner drives home, he's drunk. Maybe one day we can teleport ourselves home like on Startrek.

Or, you know, ride mass transit like they do in every other urban area in the civilized world.

[tompage]

Just Don't Drink and Drive. Rather than Try not to drink too much and drive. Also, Plan and Think BEFORE you drink rather than while you are drinking.

Limit yourself to One standard drink [[one beer, one glass of wine, one standard cocktail) an hour and you'll likely be OK. You'll be burning off the alcohol at approximately the same rate as you are ingesting it.

And in spite of what the Distillery Council would like you think, it takes about 4 drinks in an hour to get to an .08. And you'll burn off about a drink an hour.

[tompage]

"If you drink and drive, you are a bloody idiot."
Victoria, Australia Road Safety ads.

I couldn't agree more.