NTSB recommends cutting DUI threshold to .05

YF, again -- if the body of evidence from Europe indicates that this is a tremendously effective measure, why isn't that focusing on the problem?

In practicality it means anyone with sense is going to just not drink when they're going out. I can't remember the last time I A) was drinking; but B) would have been under .05.

 

It's a solution in search of a problem.

The guy at 0.05% is not the problem.

Do a quick google news search. Let me know if you find any stories where the guy involved in the drunk driving accident was below 0.1%.

I like to have one drink with dinner. If it's a long dinner, or we go out after dinner maybe two drinks.

I'm not impaired. There's nothing wrong with it.

And, there's no reason to attempt to criminalize something that is not unsafe.

 

Did you skip over my initial post on this thread?

 

Tell me more about what happened in Europe.

Did the limit go from 0.1% to 0.05%?

 

You wouldn't be criminalized. Assuming you're 180 pounds, give or take, you're going to be fine.

 

My question is if all the police man-hours are spent maintaining roadblocks and arresting and booking those between .05 and .07 and then following up with prosecutors -- will they have enough cops on the highways looking for the truly impaired, the ones over .10, who actually cause the accidents?

 

Yep. That's part of the cost-benefit policy analysis that we need to know.

 

Do I have to post more pictures?

Under 180 thank you! (Although it's a little close for comfort right now. Want to be under 170 -- something like 165.)

 

It appears the threshold went from .08 to .05. (That is not in the AP story but the product of a quick Google scan.) And to answer your question to Dick about an accident involving someone in the tweener range, there is this:

In June, a Massachusetts state trooper and father of four was killed after pulling over a driver who reportedly registered a .20 during a breathalyzer exam. Another driver then slammed into the pulled-over car, instantly killing the trooper who was standing next to it. The lawyer for driver of the second car says his client's BAC tested at .07, which is within the legal limit. Nevertheless, both men have been charged with drunk driving, with the second driver receiving the additional charges of vehicular homicide and speeding.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2025301,00.html#ixzz2TIN8RmLF

 

Hell yes, post more pictures! You don't have to be in them though.

 

Europe also has better access to public transportation.

 

I did think of that and I'm sure it makes a difference in individuals changing behavior, so drawing a straight-line comparison could be difficult. But the transportation existed when the threshold was higher too.