Taxi vs. driving drunk

I'm glad to see that Anne Hathaway made it into the tags of this thread.

Originally Posted by Dragon

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There is? For someone who seems really fired up about DD and quick to criticize others, you seem very lenient on yourself. Most people who DD think they only had "a drink" or two.

Yes Dragon, it is. JD is only of the MANY people who instill a "2 drink limit" for an evening out and they are perfectly fine to drive. I know this because I too worked at a bar part time for about 6 years.

The general rule is allow 1 hour to pass for every drink before you drive. If you've had two drinks, wait two hours. Spending two hours at a bar/restaurant with friends or a date is certainly reasonable so follow this rule and you will be safe.

Now, in reality if you are the proportions of JD_May or myself (I'm 6'3 and about 175lbs) you can probably get away with waiting less time or drinking a little more but there is a big difference between 2 shots of tequila and 2 light beers so use some common sense on selecting your drinks.

I moved 5 blocks from my favorite bar/concert venue so I just get shitfaced and stumble home on foot.

Most people who DD think they only had "a drink" or two.

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No, most people who DD lie about how much they've had to drink. It's not that ******* hard to COUNT, genius.

Originally Posted by Ahab

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I don't think the question is whether it is legal but if driving impaired is the "right" thing to do. It either is or is not. 2 drinks is not very specific. 2 24 oz. beers is more than 2 12 ounce beers.
I consider a "drink" to contain under 2 oz of liquor or a pint of beer at 5%~. That puts me well under the legal limit and well on the safe side of impaired functions. There is no real question here unless you're a moron: driving impaired is not the right thing to do. That is obvious. The problem isn't however people who have a couple of glasses of wine over dinner, it's the people who have half a bottle each, or who have 6 or 7 beers, and then insist that it's their right to drive if they want to. Those people can go ***************. And there are LOTS of them.

Originally Posted by Johnny_5

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...Countless nights I have slept in a car with my friend after getting obliterated, or just taken a cab home and picked up my car in the morning...

I've heard that if a cop wants to be a dick, he can still give you a DUI if you're passed out drunk in your car with access to your keys, e.g. in your pocket. I could have sworn I read somewhere about that happening (I read it on the internet, so it must be true!).

I had always heard it was keys in the ignition. And by ignition I don't necessarily mean you are in the act of starting the car, but rather you have the ignition turned so that the radio is on.

Here it is possible so long as you are in the driver's seat. That is just generally accepted practice for the minimum standard though, I don't know that it actually says anywhere, specifically.

Originally Posted by Johnny_5

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******* cops are way too eager to give DUIs nowadays. When I was younger it seemed like every time I was pulled over I was given sobriety tests. It's a nerveracking situation to be begin with, and I'm always scared that I might slip up when I'm giving the alphabet backwards with my finger to my nose while walking heel-to-toe and get charged.

Not really an issue if you have 0 drinks in your system.

Originally Posted by Ahab

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I don't think the question is whether it is legal but if driving impaired is the "right" thing to do. It either is or is not. 2 drinks is not very specific. 2 24 oz. beers is more than 2 12 ounce beers.

Originally Posted by Dragon

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There is? For someone who seems really fired up about DD and quick to criticize others, you seem very lenient on yourself. Most people who DD think they only had "a drink" or two.

Originally Posted by JD_May

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No, most people who DD lie about how much they've had to drink. It's not that ******* hard to COUNT, genius.

I consider a "drink" to contain under 2 oz of liquor or a pint of beer at 5%~. That puts me well under the legal limit and well on the safe side of impaired functions.

There is no real question here unless you're a moron: driving impaired is not the right thing to do. That is obvious. The problem isn't however people who have a couple of glasses of wine over dinner, it's the people who have half a bottle each, or who have 6 or 7 beers, and then insist that it's their right to drive if they want to. Those people can go ***************. And there are LOTS of them.

This is the age-old debate centering on the fact that different people have different tolerance levels. However, just because you can tolerate 10 beers in a relatively short period of time compared to someone who might be sloshed after a Zima doesn't mean that you aren't impaired in the eyes of the law. The litmus test, as it were, is your BAC. Where I live, the legal limit is 0.08, which actually isn't all that much. The thing is, there are lots of people who can have a BAC much higher than 0.08, yet you'd never know they'd had anything to drink and they're not really "impaired" at all... but, it's a strict limit: you drive with a BAC 0.08 or higher, and you're guilty of DUI.

You can also be found guilty of DUI even if your BAC is under the legal limit, yet you are impaired. This is, again, the thing about different tolerance levels. Maybe you can only handle a single vodka and soda before you're seeing double and tripping over yourself. Your BAC is probably much lower than the legal limit, but you're still impaired.

Originally Posted by JD_May

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Here it is possible so long as you are in the driver's seat. That is just generally accepted practice for the minimum standard though, I don't know that it actually says anywhere, specifically.

Really? I'm not debating your local laws, but the D in DUI stands for "driving." Usually, the offense is statutorily defined something along the lines of "operating a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor or narcotics, etc." I personally think you'd have a pretty good case if you got a little too drunk downtown one night and decided to sleep it off in your car (without moving it or turning it on whatsoever) and then got charged with DUI. I mean, there's an obvious loophole: you could just get in the passenger seat of your own car and you wouldn't be guilty of DUI... seems counterintuitive.

Yeah the actus reus here is much more vaguely worded in order to allow police to prevent people from driving when they're drunk on the basis of an actual offence. I don't do this kind of work, but this is what I am told is the standard by police and crim lawyers who do this kind of stuff. Believe me, drunk people who have decided they're going to drive are SET on it, and will try to outwait you and come back later. I cannot tell you the number of times someone has got in a cab and paid the driver to go down to the end of the road and turn around. Yet they all think they're being very sneaky and original.

For the record I don't usually drive if I've had ANY drinks because I don't usually have a car when I go out expecting to have alcoholic beverages. I was just saying I have never driven with more than 2, which over a reasonable period would put my BAC at something like .04.

State by state DUI laws do vary significantly, and yet here's what's in common: you could be charged with DUI (or its equivalent) if you have ANY BAC and a cop deems you to be a hazard,, or you're involved in an accident, or pulled over for any reason. Don't drink and drive, period. Or if you get pulled over, don't f--k around and immediately get a DUI lawyer who knows his ****.

i fail to see how driving drunk should even be considered. You can only lose.

I'm young, and news of "X dying in a car crash" has been repeated too often to me. I know too many people who drive drunk and have suffered because of it. The worst I have done is leave a friend's house after 2 beers and 4 hours and still, I will never do that again.

Originally Posted by Lel

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I'm young, and news of "X dying in a car crash" has been repeated too often to me. I know too many people who drive drunk and have suffered because of it. The worst I have done is leave a friend's house after 2 beers and 4 hours and still, I will never do that again until college.


FTFY.

But seriously, as a tolerance grows this is not a big deal. It's those who have 5 beers in 2 hours and think they're "fine" that are the problem.

Originally Posted by boo

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I've heard that if a cop wants to be a dick, he can still give you a DUI if you're passed out drunk in your car with access to your keys, e.g. in your pocket. I could have sworn I read somewhere about that happening (I read it on the internet, so it must be true!).
Yep. They have to prove "intent to drive." A key in the ignition, seatbelt on, anything like that. Usually, if it comes down to me sleeping in a car with a buddy we take extreme measures like putting the keys in the glove box, the trunk, under a floormat in the back, seats leaning all the way back, seatbelts off, etc. A friend of mine actually got a DUI in his driveway. He drove home drunk from a party, turned the car off but left the keys in the ignition. An hour later a cop driving by saw brake lights and no one moving in the car and found him passed out and arrested him for DUI. That must suck.

Well you shouldn't drive after drinking.

In South Korea cab rides and the subway are cheap, so if you have been drinking just take public transportation.

It is painfully obvious how to avoid the nuisance of being arrested for DUI. That said, the litmus test of BAC is objective; unfortunately, .08 for someone who drinks regularly is--let's face it--a joke. That third Beisweiser could become a very expensive beer.

Johnny_5, in your example the "intent to drive" is slippery because the person was already home. If the driver could prove he was not leavinghome then it might fly. The officer only wanted to assert his authority.