Topic: A Cautionary Tale: DUI in Oakdale

[Huhwhye]

this is a good point...I had requested a hearing from the DMV, and I have the letter they sent in which they state they will NOT be suspending my license, as I was not above .08% BAC and what they found in the police report.

Thank you to everyone who offered advice.

Glad to hear everything is good and you are fine.

(RANT ON)

Personally I believe the current DUI laws are total B.S.  By putting a .08 "limit" on BAC (blood alcohol) they are really telling people its ok to drink and drive.  Because you can drink up to a .08 and still drive right? WRONG.  They can and will arrest you if you are .04 or above.  And nobody can tell when you hit the limit.  It doesn't take much.  And I don't think the average person can tell.  Most would probably admit to being drunk at .12-.15 but .08 is much more subtle for most.

And as you have learned it is easy to get your BAC up to .08  One drink can put you there for a liitle while.  And I know for a fact I am not impaired after one drink.  It is too hard to know what your limit is.  It is too hard to know when you are not "legally drunk".  So putting the limit at .08 is unfair and puts a lot of good people in a bad situation.  How do you know if its ok to drive?  Its all a guessing game and you can end up on the wrong side of the law.

In my not so humble opinion it should be zero tolerance.  Put the limit at .01, then you know you can't have anything and the rules are clear.  You can't drink and drive, PERIOD.  We all say, don't drink and drive.  But the reality is, we think you can because the limit is .08.  That give us room to have a few right?  WRONG AGAIN.  If the limit was .01 there is no gray area.  We all know what we can and can't do.  I think that makes life simple and I believe there will be less people driving drunk since nobody will be guessing if they are ok, you will know that you are not if you have anything to drink.

(RANT OFF)

BTW I just finished my 750ml of 9.4% Ale that I picked up at my local Trader Joe's  Cheers  If you haven't tried the stuff.  The Trader Joe's Brand Vintage Ale rocks.

[BLACKDOG]

  about that.  We pick up a lot of people who are falling down drunk, trying to drive (and failing spectacularly sometimes).  Of course I am a bit biased because I don't see all the people the cops pull over and bust for lower BACs. 

[fordh8r]

Personally I believe the current DUI laws are total B.S.  By putting a .08 "limit" on BAC (blood alcohol) they are really telling people its ok to drink and drive.  Because you can drink up to a .08 and still drive right? WRONG.  They can and will arrest you if you are .04 or above.  And nobody can tell when you hit the limit.  It doesn't take much.  And I don't think the average person can tell.  Most would probably admit to being drunk at .12-.15 but .08 is much more subtle for most.

And as you have learned it is easy to get your BAC up to .08  One drink can put you there for a liitle while.  And I know for a fact I am not impaired after one drink.  It is too hard to know what your limit is.  It is too hard to know when you are not "legally drunk".  So putting the limit at .08 is unfair and puts a lot of good people in a bad situation.  How do you know if its ok to drive?  Its all a guessing game and you can end up on the wrong side of the law.

In my not so humble opinion it should be zero tolerance.  Put the limit at .01, then you know you can't have anything and the rules are clear.  You can't drink and drive, PERIOD.  We all say, don't drink and drive.  But the reality is, we think you can because the limit is .08.  That give us room to have a few right?  WRONG AGAIN.  If the limit was .01 there is no gray area.  We all know what we can and can't do.  I think that makes life simple and I believe there will be less people driving drunk since nobody will be guessing if they are ok, you will know that you are not if you have anything to drink.

I agree with you here and it is a rather shady area of knowledge since the only factor that is commonly spoken is about .08% and above.

I was recently in a traffic school (not for drinking I might add) and when this subject came up I asked plenty of questions with Rex's story in mind.  First, as we all know .08% and above will get you a DWI (driving while intoxicated), very serious. Then the next bracket is .05%-.07% which is considered DUI (driving under the influence) which can land you some big trouble as well. But from .01%-.04% it becomes a judgement call for the LEO on site. The one gauranteed thing you are not allowed to do is continue to drive your vehicle. He has the choice of letting one of your passengers, who has not been drinking, drive you away or detaining you until you sober up (most likely at the station) If you're alone he may have you call someone to come pick you up and drive your vehicle away for you. All this because even at .01% he and his department now become liable for anything that happens to you or anybody else or other property if something should happen between there and home. Even if your two blocks from home, since there is no promises that you would actually go home from there. This is what was understood from the class. This is pretty much a zero tolerance policy as far as I can tell.

Why not make the arrest at low levels?  Probably because it won't stick?  Too much trouble for that little?   But currently these are the policies as I understood them from the class.

Although, chances are you would have to be stopped for something else (as in Rex's case) before any of this would happen.

I hope this adds to what we all know or knew about this subject. 

[dt]

cops did the same thing to a couple where I used to live,made the girl walk home at 3 in the morning,she couldnt see the road because the moon wasnt out that night,so she was walking down the middle of the street
using the white line to see where she was going,thats when a car came out of nowhere and ran her down and killed her.somethings need to change!

[Lady Di]

Wow! I am so glad to hear this, Rex!

 

[Shoyrtt]

Glad to hear everything is good and you are fine.

(RANT ON)

Personally I believe the current DUI laws are total B.S.  By putting a .08 "limit" on BAC (blood alcohol) they are really telling people its ok to drink and drive.  Because you can drink up to a .08 and still drive right? WRONG.  They can and will arrest you if you are .04 or above.  And nobody can tell when you hit the limit.  It doesn't take much.  And I don't think the average person can tell.  Most would probably admit to being drunk at .12-.15 but .08 is much more subtle for most.

And as you have learned it is easy to get your BAC up to .08  One drink can put you there for a liitle while.  And I know for a fact I am not impaired after one drink.  It is too hard to know what your limit is.  It is too hard to know when you are not "legally drunk".  So putting the limit at .08 is unfair and puts a lot of good people in a bad situation.  How do you know if its ok to drive?  Its all a guessing game and you can end up on the wrong side of the law.

In my not so humble opinion it should be zero tolerance.  Put the limit at .01, then you know you can't have anything and the rules are clear.  You can't drink and drive, PERIOD.  We all say, don't drink and drive.  But the reality is, we think you can because the limit is .08.  That give us room to have a few right?  WRONG AGAIN.  If the limit was .01 there is no gray area.  We all know what we can and can't do.  I think that makes life simple and I believe there will be less people driving drunk since nobody will be guessing if they are ok, you will know that you are not if you have anything to drink.

(RANT OFF)

BTW I just finished my 750ml of 9.4% Ale that I picked up at my local Trader Joe's  Cheers  If you haven't tried the stuff.  The Trader Joe's Brand Vintage Ale rocks.

We already have "zero tolerance" laws in CA for those people who are not legal to "drink and drive"; minors. Have your wife pull this case for your review: Bobus v. Department of Motor Vehicles, 125 Cal. App. 4th 680. If "zero tolerance" laws were applied to adults, cough medicine, breath fresheners or ANY substance that contained alcohol then results in a DUI. The hand held "PAS" devises (preliminary alcohol screening) used by most law enforcement agencies are so inaccurate, you can eat a piece of Wonder Bread and it will read above a .01%.   

.08% and greater enforcement, training and penalties have cut the rate of DUI arrests and fatalities immensely. Every forensic toxicologist I have met and the code agree, there is no impairment to a person's driving below .04%. With .01% or "zero tolerance" you only create a possibility of abuse and arbitrary enforcement.         

[Huhwhye]

The problem remains people don't know what .04 or .08 means in reality.  And putting the burden on people to know before they get into a car is unfair and unrealistic.

So if you don't like making the number .01 because you like wonder bread, make it .02 or .04 In my opinion it reaches the same result.  It has to be a really low number so people are on notice that any drinking is too much.  Even if you can't "feel it" you still shouldn't drive.

My point is that people don't understand how little it takes to get to .08.  And by setting the limit at .08 we are telling people its ok to drink and drive and setting them up to fail.

[Duffil [OP]]

you know, up until this happened, I would have argued the point with you.  I had 2 beers in about 1-1.5 hours, and was perfectly fine...for a 200lb guy, that isn't much at all, but I blew .07 at the scene. Yeah, I did screw up one of my FSTs.  It was also 2am after getting up at 630, working from 730 to 1245, so I'm sure that had something to do with it.

Bottom line: .08 is an unrealistic number.  unless they put breathalzyers at all bars, then I think something needs to be changed.  Or do away entirely with the FSTs, and have the only on-scene test be a breathalyzer, and not those little BS ones they keep in the car, a full-on briefcase should be in the truck at all times.  If you blow .08 or above, off you go...otherwise, have a nice night.