Traffic deaths from, and arrests for being under the influence of Alcohol has gone way up of late. Instead?

Question

should we eliminate the the maximum blood level, and follow the Europian method, as well as the system for U.S. commercial drivers and pilots, that when you drink, you don't drive for 10 hours? It would eliminate the "Am I to drunk to drive or not?" which even off-duty police officers have trouble with. With a specific time range, you know that you don't drive for so many hours after drinking. I would even recommend eleminating the 2 or 3 A.M. closing times for bars, to encourage people to back the proposal. England has eliminated specific closing times for bars, just this last Spring. What do you think?

I would like some honest comments of this subject, as I will be working on an editorial column about it on Sunday.

Answer 1

The same irresponsible dolts who will drive after 4 or 5 drinks are the same irresponsible dolts who won't wait 10 hours to drive either. The problem is not caused by people not being able to assess whether they are drunk. The problem is people who KNOW they have had several drinks and choose to drive anyway.

Plus, under the European method as you descibe it, a person could not even have ONE drink with their dinner out without waiting 10 hours to go home. (Here in the US most people don't take taxis, public transportation or live close to home - maybe they do in parts of Europe??)

Anyway, if you look at trends over the last 20-30 years, drunk driving is way, way down. The current laws work as well as can be expected.

A comedian once suggested eliminating seat belts and putting long, sharp metal spikes on all steering wheels to make people drive safer. That solution might work to solve drunk driving also!!

Answer 2

That is a good idea but not uncommon. I don't know how you would advance it. There are too many headhunters out there. Most still rely on visible symptoms for the reasons you stated.
In trucking the trouble is with those who no longer can drive and get office jobs. Hysterical fanatics need a whippin' post in CA. Its a cult. Also drugs versus alcohol. No one is ever accused of drug abuse. A big hint. With all of the idiots around trucking good luck. HOS changes were a fiasco. Look at FEMA. The whole boat is like that.
My CDL remains safe but the terrorist bill of rights makes it real difficult. Formless intelligence draws gov. jobs to avoid embarrassing homelessness and a major spike in the crime rate.
The song remains the same.

Answer 3

WHO is going to do the timing. How do we know if someone stoped for a traffic check point and the officer smells Alachol how is he to know when he consumed.it,The best way to stop drunk driver deaths is tougher drunk laws. We read every day about drunk drivers who still have a license after 2-3-4- convictions for drunk driving. this is nuts.Take his license and throw him in jail. Maybe after 10-12 years in prison he will get the idea.

Answer 4

I'd rather be on the road with a drunk driver than on the road with some idiot talking on a cell phone, trying to apply make-up, drinking coffee, yelling at the kids in the back seat, or shaving.

Answer 5

No one drinks with out knowing they have taken the drink

getting behind the wheel of an automobile while under the influence of alcohol is a crime

if someone is killed during the commission of a crime, the perpetrator is guilty of murder

when you make a choice........ you must live with the consequences

Answer 6

Anything European, I am for adopting it. ALl of their policies (well you get what i mean) are so SENSICAL; I wont diverge onto them so in short:
Yes. I appreciate the intelligence of the notion.
No, it is not an assault on "our rights and freedoms" as so many people will start to complain. It is a wise measure to protect ourselves, from ourselves, and to protect others, which will only make it better to enjoy alcohol (if thats your thing, its not mine) because of lack of mortality and crime and accidents etc. associated with it.
:) Peace!

Answer 7

You can buy enough liquor at a liquor store for after hours. I think this has been a problem in this country for a long time. Look at what happened when we has prohibition. There is no solution.

Answer 8

I am skeptical of adopting anything European. These multicultural, politically correct cut-and-run anti-Semites are the world's biggest BS bureaucrats. The European Constitution they were hoping to adopt was tens of thousands of pages long, compared to the US Constitution which is less than fifty pages long.

Also I do not agree with your premise that traffic deaths from DUIs are up...please present your evidence.

Answer 9

What Punk Rocker stated...minus the noodles.. It became into some sort of fruit juice in my case.. thrilling concept and technically...possibly so..possibly so.. ask your self who we are able to get to attempt your hypothesis

Answer 10

Yes you are right,England has eliminated specific closing times for bars/pubs. We now have 24 hr drinking.Has it changed anything? Of course it has. We now have more drunks about!! Police find it hard to cope when pubs/clubs close,it has done nothing to stem binge drinking at all! Drinking and driving figures have risen along with the drinking hours!We still have legal drinking levels,that has not been eliminated by the Government.
The legal limit in the UK is 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.
But there is no failsafe guide as to how much you can drink and stay under the limit.
It can depend on many factors such as the amount and type of alcoholic drink, your weight, sex, age, food intake and metabolism.
The only safe option is not to drink any alcohol if you plan to drive and never offer an alcoholic drink to anyone else who is driving.
Alcohol affects your ability to drive safely as your reaction times are impaired and you're unable to judge speed and distances.
People who drive at twice the current legal alcohol level are at least 50 times more likely to be involved in a fatal car crash.
And if you think you won't get caught, more than half a million breath tests are carried out each year and on average 100,000 are found to be positive.
If you've been out drinking you may still be affected by alcohol the next day. You may feel OK, but you may still be unfit to drive or over the legal alcohol limit.
You could still lose your licence if you drive the next day when you're still over the legal alcohol level.
It's impossible to get rid of alcohol any faster. A shower, a cup of coffee or other ways of 'sobering up' will not help. It just takes time.
The Law (UK)
Driving or attempting to drive whilst above the legal limit or unfit through drink carries a maximum penalty of 6 months' imprisonment, a fine of up to £5,000 and a minimum 12 months driving ban.
An endorsement for a drink-driving offence remains on a driving licence for 11 years, so it is 11 years before a convicted driver will have a "clean" licence again.
Being in charge of a vehicle whilst over the legal limit or unfit through drink could result in 3 months' imprisonment plus a fine of up to £2,500 and a driving ban.
The penalty for refusing to provide a specimen of breath, blood or urine for analysis is a maximum 6 months' imprisonment, up to £5000 fine and a driving ban of at least 12 months.
Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison, a minimum 2 year driving ban and a requirement to pass an extended driving test before the offender is able to drive legally again.
The legal limit in the UK is 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.
But there is no failsafe guide as to how much you can drink and stay under the limit.
It can depend on many factors such as the amount and type of alcoholic drink, your weight, sex, age, food intake and metabolism.
The only safe option is not to drink any alcohol if you plan to drive and never offer an alcoholic drink to anyone else who is driving.
Alcohol affects your ability to drive safely as your reaction times are impaired and you're unable to judge speed and distances.
People who drive at twice the current legal alcohol level are at least 50 times more likely to be involved in a fatal car crash.
And if you think you won't get caught, more than half a million breath tests are carried out each year and on average 100,000 are found to be positive.