"Dallas" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 7 Feb 2008 20:54:15 -0800 (PST), James Sleeman wrote:

I'm not in the US. But I'd have to say, blow.

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and say you wouldn't be
so ignorant, foolhardy, self absorbed, and dangerous as to get in the
drivers seat when you're anywhere near, let alone over the limit
anyway.

Well, here's the problem in the U.S. - Mothers Against Drunk Driving
(MADD)
has successfully lobbied to lower the original level of .10% down to .08%,
and is actively working to lower it even further.

To many people this is just a few glasses of wine with dinner. I fail to
see how lowering the legal limit has any effect, other that to cast a
wider
net ruining many people's lives who were most likely not impaired to begin
with.

That said, that is our current law. I guess the only way to safeguard
your
certificate is to skip that second glass of wine with dinner.

--
Dallas

Many jurisdictions have always defined .08 as legal impairment, and several
are now using .05 as the threshold for issuing 24 hr roadside suspensions
and some use or are advocating adoption of the .05 level as legal
impairment. IMHO a 24 hr roadside suspension (which may also include a
towing and taxi bill) is what I would call a 'near miss incident', they are
often used by police who do not wish to charge you for what they estimate
may be .081 or border-line impairment.

IMHO a driver who takes a drink MUST be very careful of the quantity they
are consuming and that the only way to do this is to count your drinks
carefully. Mixed drinks can be an unknown quantity and in general should be
avoided, particularly if they are being poured by a generous host. IMHO the
only safe alcohol to drink is bottled beer as the product has a known
alcohol level and it is possible to count units and time accurately (give
yourself a margin of safety). Drink lots of water to quench thirst and
prevent dehydration and hangover.

A lawyer who does a fair amount of DUI work told me that the most dangerous
thing to consume is wine as it is normally served in larger glasses which
contain more alcohol units than a beer or shot and make it difficult to
count your drinks. Companions will also frequently 'top up' your glass
which also makes counting more difficult. The lawyer claimed that the
majority of his business was due to wine.

IMHO, alcohol and nicotine are the most problematic drugs in use in our
culture, cigarettes should be eliminated and alcohol consumed very
carefully.

YMMV, happy landings.