business as usual, s@it faced, Drive like I always do from the backseat, (passengers) :cheers:

 

Up here it is flat out not worth it, to drink and drive. Cab it every where when we are out for a good time. The $25 bucks (to and from) is pennies in compared to what could happen. besides, what if you spill your beer in the car. It stinks after a few hot days :U

 

Well,

Tonight I was at a Batchelor party to the Casino, DD around all night, then I drove home, but I was positive I was OK to drive, even was followed 1/2 way home by a cop, but I wasn't worried. I agree with Ron TAXI.

Tom McCabe

 

Thank goodness my wife doesn't like to drink. ;) A couple of years ago I made a huge mistake. I went to Carlisle with a friend and didn't really notice how much he had been drinking. After dinner we are driving back to the motel and, sure enough, a DWI checkpoint. At this point the friend starts to worry but God was watching out for fools (us). Some idiot saw the checkpoint and lit his tires up and started across some farmers field. He wound up doing doughnuts in this guys field while the troopers were chasing him. We limped home, never talked about it again, but now, if I am out with him I don't drink. In addition, my personal limit is one if I am driving. Ain't worth it.

Gary

 

A hotel room (or a cab) is a lot cheaper in the long run.

AC

 

My brother was killed by a drunk driver who had seven DWI convictions and was driving on a revoked license, blew a .29 at the scene. The U.S. is the only civilized country on the face of the earth that tolerates drunk driving. My limit is one, period. The Europeans have it handled - DWI gets you jail time (no shyster lawyer can get you out), lose your car, lose your license; that's why they always have a designated driver.

 

For almost twenty years I was as bad a drunk as any you could or might have known. About fifteen years ago I with the help of my god escaped from the addition and have not had a drink since then. when I was sober about a year and in fact that night on my way to an AA meeting, i chanced upon a accident. the driver of the one car had hit another car headon and for the first ten minutes I didn't even know there was a second car as it was down in a ditch on it's side. The first driver was alright save for a few scratches and all he wanted was mints, I gave him the pack I had and he ate them aluminim foil and all. He had not a care for who or what he hit, only his own plight. When the police came to talk to me, I made sure I told them my opinion that he was drunk as a skunk. From that point on I realized just how distrustive drinking and driving is and i'm now the designated driver no matter what for my friends. The whole enviroment of the highways no longer allows us the luxury of having a few drinks and getting behind the wheel.

Oh, in the second car was a little girl who will never forget that night. i wrapped her in my vest and held her till the EMT's came. :(

 

Want to arrive alive -- don't drink and drive. I have "0" to drink when I drive, better safe than sorry. :blueangel:

 

Do not drink and drive. In Florida you can be charged even if the blood alcohol content is below .08%. You can be also be charged if medication is affecting your driving. It is better safe than sorry.

 

My rule when driving has always been 1 drink means I'm going to be wherever I consumed that drink for two hours. I ocasionaly bend the rule and only stay an hour after 1 beer, but thats the limit. When my girls were old enough (14 or so) I taught them the rule. It worked well, they spent a lot of time as the DD or went home with a DD or they called me for a ride and we got the other car the next day.

My wife is an insurance investigator and has to deal a lot with impaired drivers that get killed or kill people. It just reinforced the rule.

 

Patrick,
Every time I drive my corvette I'm nervous...not because I think I'm a bad driver; but because I regularly see just how surrounded by other idiots I am whenever I take to the road. Add to that the 'gawk' potential (that they MIGHT be distracted and looking at your car), the 'I'll show the guy in the corvette' syndrome, and the people just plain jealous of what you're driving, and the situation's pretty scary out there. Why would anyone want to add to the reason to worry by reducing reaction times/visual acuity etc by drinking too much and getting 'half in the bag'? I've had a beer or two and later driven my 'vette, but it's always been over a sufficient period of time that I was certainly nowhere near the .08 level (what it is, here in Ontario). If I want to REALLY party, I'll stay home, stay over at someone's place, or let a designated driver get me home; although I've never had to let someone else do that for me in my corvette. Consider yourself lucky, and take it as a lesson for the future!

 

I will not drive after consuming any alcohol. I have too much to lose if caught and the potential for harm to others is too great for me to risk it. That said, I do enjoy a cool beverage from time to time but have gravitated to a "quality over quantity" paradigm. I began making my own beer about 5 years ago and since then have really developed an appreciation for quality beers - which often possess a great deal more alcohol by volume than typical high production brews. I am fortunate to have a wife who doesn't care much for alcohol and this allows me to occasionally indulge away from home although it seems like the desire to do so has fallen off recently.

 

I think a single beer can effect your driving ability. Here is why.
Most people can have one or two drinks and not feel buzzed. When it comes down to it, you are not drunk at that stage.
It does effect your judgement for reaction time however.
We commonly make decisions while we drive that allow 4 seconds or less of spare time. When you drive home tonight, count how many seconds you are behind the car in front of you on the freeway/interstate.
I average about a 2 second gap. Most people would average about 3 seconds or less I believe.
Lets say you are driving down the interstate at 70 mph, 3 seconds behind the car in front of you. In that 3 second time, you traveled a distance of
308 feet.
Now, for the sake of argument, we will say that it takes you a half of a second to react to a situation while sober during the day. In that .5 of a second, your brain had to recieve the information & send out electrical signals to your nervous system, then to your muscles. During this time, your car traveled uncommanded for 51 feet.
This leaves 257 feet to take action to avoid the situation.

Now lets say that you had 1 beer. Now we have the same situation, but instead having a reaction time of .5 sec, your reaction time is .75 of a second, an additional 25 feet. That would total 76 feet. If you take into account other distractions, like driving at night takes longer to see a potential problem - add .5 sec. Add in a cell phone -.5 Thinking about work -.25
Before you know it, your car is traveling basicly uncommanded for 150 to 200 feet while your brain is trieing to figure things out.
(This is just a simple example)

You can see how there is a fine line in everything we do. When you drink, that line starts to get wider.

My $ .02

 

I was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Went through a check point Good Friday, 2000, thought nothing of it as I don't do drugs and I don't drink. Didn't matter. I made the mistake of asking what's wrong, what have I done. I passed the field sobriety test, I was taken down to the local precinct, passed the breath analyzer test, both times it registered 0, yet I was incarcerated.

It don't matter if you're drunk or sober, if you look at the cop the wrong way you're charged.

Now I have a Civil suit against the City of Cleveland, the Cleveland Police Dept, and The Safety Dept. I'm suing everybody down the ladder, starting from the Mayor's office. If my attorney wins 1/2 of the judgement, and he keeps half, I'm set for the rest of my life.

 

George,

Maybe it was the car :crazy: Sounds like a real PITA. Good luck, but I hate lawyers.

 

George,

Was that the actual statement of charge, or were you charged with 'driving while impaired'? Here in Canada, the alcohol charge (drive with more than .08 blood alcohol) is separate from the impaired charge, because your ability to drive can be impaired in many ways, including lack of sleep or perhaps even a temporary physical impairment like a broken arm or leg or patched eyed, which prevents you from handling the vehicle safely or competently. Since there's no chemical type test (like a breathalyzer or blood alcohol test) for lack of sleep, the charge would be laid based on the officer's observation and opinion of your fitness to drive, perhaps supplemented by time of day/night, answers you may provide as to where are you coming from/where are you going (in other words, how long have you been awake/behind the wheel?). Good luck in your battle though!

grant

 

Good luck in your case, George, but, after reading your account, I'm left wondering if there isn't more to the story.

Macnav is 100% right about Canadian impaired driving law, which was designed to address impairment versus exceeding the legal limit (80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood) because they are two separate issues.

I think the decision (to drink or to drive) should be made well in advance, which leaves time to make arrangements for taxi or hotel or a sober driver or whatever option. Let's face it- if you're making that decision after you've started drinking (or doing drugs) then your judgement is already affected. There are few of us who haven't lost a friend or loved one to an accident caused by an impaired driver.

Unfortunately, JohnZ isn't right- Canada is almost as lax regarding impaired driving as the Excited States. The usual penalty for a first time offence is $750 Cdn and a 12 month prohibition from driving. European countries are more aggressive in their policies, from my understanding.

The sad truth is there will always be impaired drivers as there are hard-core alcoholics who maintain a blood/alcohol level above the legal limit as part of their daily lives and their life-style choice (ie: irresponsible :U) doesn't make it likely that they will abide by any kind of prohibition imposed by the courts. Here in British Columbia, the provincial government introduced legislation to impound vehicles driven by unlicenced and/or prohibited drivers- 30 days in first instance, 60 days second time, 90 third, etc. It's a start.

Mac

 

That was the actual charge, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs and alchohol.

I admit, I did look the part of a drunk, driving a 82 Regal, in need of paint. Nice car only 2020 were made with the Turbo. Got it for my son, was working on it, still had my dirty jeans on, the oil stained sweat shirt, that was washed, but showed stains, the leather jacket that had holes in the sleeves. My work jacket when working on the cars.

I was polite, I asked what was wrong, I was told of the charges, I said that's bullpoopie, the head honcho then added another charge, forget what it was, was given the field sobriety test after I was writen up. After the test the head honcho asked me how much I had to drink, and I was watching the tow truck haul my son's car away, and was livid. I screamed in this guys face, "Not a thing, I don't drink," They handcuffed me and led me to a cruiser and shoved me in the back seat. There was a guy in the back seat who couldn't even talk straight, he ended up walking after the breathanalyzer. Go figure, a drunk they let go, a stone cold sober guy, they incarcerate.

 

What a bizarre incident! I hope you don't judge all police officers based upon this single incident because the vast majority are decent human beings, trying to do what's best in life's maelstrom of woes. If you ever question the dedication of police officers, ask yourself whether you would have gone into the World Trade Centre buildings as it burned. They've talked about the 200+ firefighters who are missing, presumed killed, there were over 50 police officers, who wouldn't have safety gear & respirators like the smoke eaters, who were in there trying to save lives as well. Certainly this is the extreme case, but how would you deal with a guy screaming in your face as you tow away his car?

Of course, I might be prejudiced. :rolleyes:

Mac

 

Nope, they put their lives on the line for us every single minute, and I'm appreciative of that fact.

Anothr thing that stressed me out that evening. I take care of my mom, she has Dimentia, and needs help in the morning. I get her up, make sure she sits on the pot, prepare breakfast, give hr medication. stop in around noon to fix jung, then supper, then nite nite time. I envisioned the worst if I'm locked up and can't get to her. Then they tow my son's car, a $128.00 fee to get it out of the impound lot. Four pfficers asked me hou much I had to drink, each time I replied nothing, I don't drink, I don't touch the stuff. Smell my breath. When the Guy in charge of the check asked me again, the same question, I just lost it.

I was put in a holding cell, along with the other drunks, and after an hour's wait, I was given the breath analyzer. Both times it came up 0. I was led back to the holding cell, Another hour passed and I was hancuffed to two drunks, and I asked what's going on? I said I passed the field sobriety test, I passed the breath analyzer, even though I didn't see the results. The transport officer's checked the sheet, said something is wrong. They had a huddle with the guy who wrung me up, plus some other officers, came back and said I failed the field sobriety test because sthe head honcho felt I mispronounced one letter of the alphabet. I said "say what? I'm incarcerated because he thought I misspronounced one letter?" They said yes, and he won't back down, so I;'m being transported to the 5th precinct. This is the place where they lock up the drug dealers, users, pimps, what have ya.

It cost me $4800.00 in attorney fees to have the charges thrown out of court. The judge looked at the documents, and said "You have got to be kidding." Asked the City prosecutor to present his facts, my attorney presented my case. The judge threw it out of court and repremanded the City Prosecutor and the Wyatt Earp, who was in attendance.