Anyone been convicted of DUI after only one drink?

[Papa Deuce]

I do see your point. To alot of people, one glass of wine is nothing. It used to not be to me either. But now, after not drinking for so many years, one glass of wine would have me snoozing on the couch. No one would want me behind the wheel of a car. So, where do they draw the line?

May be true, but you wouldn't be drunk, as that is based on Blood Alchohol levels. I don't belive for a second, that one regular glass of wine would make ANYBODY fail an alchohol blood test.

Now maybe that "ONE GLASS" people are talikng about means one "GLASS BOTTLE".

I am EXTREMELY anti drunk driving. But I don't believe adults get legally drunk on one glass of wine or one beer. Just one should not affect you blood alchohol levels that much.

I'm gonna see if I can find info to back up my statement.

 

[jodifla]

May be true, but you wouldn't be drunk, as that is based on Blood Alchohol levels. I don't belive for a second, that one regular glass of wine would make ANYBODY fail an alchohol blood test.

Now maybe that "ONE GLASS" people are talikng about means one "GLASS BOTTLE".

I am EXTREMELY anti drunk driving. But I don't believe adults get legally drunk on one glass of wine or one beer. Just one should not affect you blood alchohol levels that much.

I'm gonna see if I can find info to back up my statement.

Yes, that may be true, but one of my points is that the .08 doesn't mean much anymore, because cops can charge you with ANY OR EVEN NO amount of alcohol in your blood.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Yes, that may be true, but one of my points is that the .08 doesn't mean much anymore, because cops can charge you with ANY OR EVEN NO amount of alcohol in your blood.

Not in Florida.

Per Florida Statutes:

316.193 Driving under the influence; penalties.--

(1) A person is guilty of the offense of driving under the influence and is subject to punishment as provided in subsection (2) if the person is driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle within this state and:

(a) The person is under the influence of alcoholic beverages, any chemical substance set forth in s. 877.111, or any substance controlled under chapter 893, when affected to the extent that the person's normal faculties are impaired;

(b) The person has a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or more grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood; or

(c) The person has a breath-alcohol level of 0.08 or more grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath.

You can get pulled over, but you still have to have alcohol in your system to be charged.

Now it get a little strange when you are over 0.05 and under 0.08.

Per Florida Statutes 316.1934(2) (b):

If there was at that time a blood-alcohol level or breath-alcohol level in excess of 0.05 but less than 0.08, that fact does not give rise to any presumption that the person was or was not under the influence of alcoholic beverages to the extent that his or her normal faculties were impaired but may be considered with other competent evidence in determining whether the person was under the influence of alcoholic beverages to the extent that his or her normal faculties were impaired.

 

[Melrosgirl]

One Maragarita is enough to make some people (ladies) legally drunk.

 

[jodifla]

Not in Florida.

Per Florida Statutes:

You can get pulled over, but you still have to have alcohol in your system to be charged.

Now it get a little strange when you are over 0.05 and under 0.08.

Per Florida Statutes 316.1934(2) (b):

Yes, I think it does go state by state.

 

[WIcruizer]

I would say there is at least a one in 6 chance you will cause an accident each time you drink and drive. Not even close to absurd - just because you haven't yet doesn't change the odds.

No your not criminals - but that doesn't make me paranoid as much as it makes those that do this irresponsible.

That's just not rational. If I have 3 drinks over a couple hours I have a 1 in 6 chance of getting in an accident? Absolutely wrong. I figure I have had between 1-5 drinks on average of 4 times a month. Over 25 years, that's 1,200 times. If there is really a 1 in 6 chance each time, I would have been in many, many accidents.

Instead, I've NEVER been in or caused an accident. I've only had one TICKET of any kind in 25 years. (Speeding when I was 19.) You don't know me, and it's wrong to call me irresponsible.

Every day as I'm driving 5 above the speed limit, hundreds of cars are flying by me. That in and of itself is more dangerous. Add to that some of these people are angry, upset, tired, etc. All factors that increase the chances of an accident. Many of them are talking on cell phones, eating, fooling with the radio, all kinds of behaviours that can be avoided but increase the chances of an accident.

In fact, many accidents are caused simply by inattentive driving. "Spacing out" as the police call it. Our neighbor recently ran a stop sign and got a ticket. Thankfully she didn't hit anyone. She was so upset that she did that, and explained that her mind was on the 50 things she had to do that day. This happens all the time.

To suggest that simply driving after having 2 drinks is irresponsible is not supported by any facts or evidence.

 

[WIcruizer]

People who choose to drink and drive deserve whatever comes their way.. It's called "natural consequences" and I don't have one ounce of sympathy for them at all.. I'll save my sympathy for the people whose lives are ruined forever by the actions of irresponsible drivers..

You're basing your opinion on emotion, not facts. That's perfectly understandable based on what you've been through. My GUESS, without knowing the details, is that the person who caused that accident is probably a bad (even dangerous) driver regardless of having 2 drinks or not. Some of the teens and young 20s that race around our neighborhood will eventually cause an accident-evn if they're as sober as can be.

 

[cardaway]

You don't know me, and it's wrong to call me irresponsible.

The effects of alcohol is a medical fact. You denial doesn't change that.

You may have beat the odds, but by your own admission you have been irresponsible on many occasions.

You'll feel it once the odds catch up to you. A person who skids on the ice and kills somebody was in an accident, a drunk murdered somebody.

 

[WIcruizer]

The effects of alcohol is a medical fact. You denial doesn't change that.

You may have beat the odds, but by your own admission you have been irresponsible on many occasions.

It's a medical fact that a .0025 BOC has a marginal effect on reaction time. Far less of an effect than all the other controllable activities I mentioned above.

I have not admitted to being irresponsible, I have admitted to being an excellent driver and law abiding citizen. If you can't have one drink and drive, then don't.

 

[cardaway]

It's a medical fact that a .0025 BOC has a marginal effect on reaction time.

Either you're huge or you're drinking very small amounts.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

One Maragarita is enough to make some people (ladies) legally drunk.

Possibly true, especially for a small adult on an empty stomach. However, that margarita probably has more than one serving of alcohol. I made the mistake of ordering a margarita at a private party a could of weeks ago and man or man, that was one strong drink. No way that I would have drank that whole think and then driven. I sipped it over the course of probably a couple of hours, eating food, and never did finish it. But it sure did taste good. I didnt feel drunk, but I was glad that my DH was driving that night.

But I don't get to do that often since alcohol seems to be a big migraine trigger for me.

 

[WIcruizer]

Either you're huge or you're drinking very small amounts.

.0025 is roughly one drink per hour for my body weight. (6'1" 200lbs)

 

[jonestavern]

This happened to my DH about 10 years ago when we were unmarried and just finishing college. The officer thought he was impaired so he was arrested and taken to jail. When the breathalizer was done at the station (about 15 minutes after the initial arrest) he was below the legal limit so he was released with no charges BUT they had already impounded the car and we had about $200 in fees the next morning to get it out. We talked to a lawyer friend because then $200 was a lot of money and were told the officer was completely w/in his rights to arrest based on suspecion and that we'd have to suck it up and just 'eat' the $200.
Now we don't drive anywhere even after 1 drink.

In unscrupulous hands that little piece of business could certainly turn into quite a tidy revenue maker--It seems to me if the breathalizer test was under, the tow & impound are on the town.
It reminds me of those 'speed traps'--we had one of those in our former town in RI--went from 50 mph to 30 mph no warning, lots of troopers. By the by it was on the main route(at the time) to the major beaches

didn't Oprah have a program where common cocktails were analyzed for alcohol content & found out the average drink was actually the equivalent--alcohol wise--to 2 drinks? So when you have legitimately had one drink, portion-wise you've really consumed two. It's something that I never thought of until that Oprah episode. And this does not mean those drinks have to be obviously strong
Any dieter knows the portion size/nutrition chart on foods is a shocker, so we just need to be aware of the drink portion reality. And let's not forget those friends desiring to make you a 'good' drink or restaurants or lounges or simply bartenders with a heavy hand with the liquor.
wasn't there a recent statistic that showed most teens & young drivers involved in serious accidents were not drinking or drugging but just a pile of kids goofing off & blasting the radio with very little driving skills?
We need some better structured drinking/driving laws & education. Maybe all bars should be equipped with breathalyzers--I know costly, impractical--but something needs to be done to make all of us more aware-

Jean

 

[rigs32]

I'm not saying the cop should have let him go. I know to many cops to make that arguement - however I do think the system is unfair to those that can handle their liquor.

This is an inaccurate statement. Tolerance and BAC do not go hand in hand. Tolerance is perception and a function of experience. BAC is a function of time and consumption.

If two people each drink 1/2 a bottle of wine. One has a high tolerance, the other a low tolerance. If all other factors remain equal - height, weight, food eaten, etc - then they will have the same BAC.

Just because you don't FEEL the effects of the alcohol doesn't mean that the alcohol doesn't affect you. Your reaction times still slow down, even if you don't think they do. Because you do not perceive yourself with impairment, you are more likley to feel OK to drive, creating a larger risk.

In NY, there is a difference between a DUI and a DWAI (driving while abilities impaired). A DWAI is when you blow less than 0.08.

I am always suprised by how many people never learned to calculate their BAC and do not know that 1 oz liquor = 4 oz wine = 12 oz beer. One strong "drink" CAN put you over the limit - if it contains four shots, or four actual drinks. Just because it's a single glass does not mean you are consuming a single drink.

 

[cardaway]

This is an inaccurate statement. Tolerance and BAC do not go hand in hand. Tolerance is perception and a function of experience. BAC is a function of time and consumption.

If two people each drink 1/2 a bottle of wine. One has a high tolerance, the other a low tolerance. If all other factors remain equal - height, weight, food eaten, etc - then they will have the same BAC.

Just because you don't FEEL the effects of the alcohol doesn't mean that the alcohol doesn't affect you. Your reaction times still slow down, even if you don't think they do. Because you do not perceive yourself with impairment, you are more likley to feel OK to drive, creating a larger risk.

Exactly.

 

[jodifla]

Either you're huge or you're drinking very small amounts.

I does seem like he meant .025, not .0025.

 

[goodeats]

Why don't the states just decide to make driving after ANY drinking illegal? That would clear up a lot of confusion. Of course a lot of restaurants would suffer, but wouldn't it make the roads a lot safer?

And yes, I do drive after having one or two drinks. I assume I'm under the limit, but who really knows. Until they change the law I won't stop because it's legal. My DH and his friend had some burgers and beers at a sports bar. They each had 2 beers and drove home. His friend was pulled over (for rolling a stop sign) and blew a .07. The officer told them they better call a taxi and leave their car there.

 

[cardaway]

I does seem like he meant .025, not .0025.

Oh no, he got it right. I have no problem with him drinking his thimble sized shots and driving.

 

[cardaway]

I think the numbers show most drunk drivers were alone, but what about the others?

I know I don't drink and drive because most of the time I have people with me after a night out. I'm usually the sober one with a car full of people who have no business driving. I can't imagine making the choice to drive after drinking and puting the people I care about at risk.

 

[lillygator]

Why don't the states just decide to make driving after ANY drinking illegal? That would clear up a lot of confusion. Of course a lot of restaurants would suffer, but wouldn't it make the roads a lot safer?

ughhh, I just lost my response!!
If they make it illegal after any alcohol how about:

putting on makeup
eating
reading a paper/book
headphones
and snow birds - they are far more dangerous than someone who has had a glass of wine or beer......I mean, how great do you think an 80 year old's reaction time is?