Al Michaels charged with DUI

[Orton's Arm]

DUI laws are about raising revenue. We shouldn't have to feel like criminals because we have a few drinks. The irresponsible, who would drink a pint of whiskey,and get behind the wheel, will continue to do so, as the rest of us have to suffer for it.

 

The other week one of my acquaintances told me that he'd been married, but his wife was killed by a drunk driver. The next time I see him, I'll be sure to pass your post onto him. I'm sure he could really benefit from your words of wisdom.

[JohnC]

The other week one of my acquaintances told me that he'd been married, but his wife was killed by a drunk driver. The next time I see him, I'll be sure to pass your post onto him. I'm sure he could really benefit from your words of wisdom.

 

Someone I worked with went out to California to watch his son make his major league pitching debut. After the game he and a few friends went out to attend a country and western music event. The next visitor the father received at the hotel was a policeman telling him that his son and his friends were killed by a drunk driver.

[thebug]

Someone I worked with went out to California to watch his son make his major league pitching debut. After the game he and a few friends went out to attend a country and western music event. The next visitor the father received at the hotel was a policeman telling him that his son and his friends were killed by a drunk driver.

 

Nick Adenhart? Sad.....

[Ted William's frozen head]

My Niece was killed by a drunk driver. Bad things happen when morons drink a lot of liquor and get behind the wheel.

The rest of us, who might have a few drinks with dinner have to suffer for it.

That's where the revenue raising comes in via our loss of civil rights, and filling the town coffers in the process.

Tell THAT to your friend.

 

[buffaloboyinATL]

 

 

I based my comment on the time I did jury duty a few years back. A dude was charged with DUI and his lawyer hired an "alcohol absorption expert" to testify. While I agree all the factors you cite play a role, the rule-of-thumb this guys was saying was one drink (be it beer, wine, shot or mixer) per hour.

 

EDIT: I found this and it looks like you're right and that guy was full of it. DUI calculator.

 

PTR

Wow. This says I can have 8 beers and 2 shots in 4 hours and still be under the legal limit. Good to know.

[metzelaars_lives]

My Niece was killed by a drunk driver. Bad things happen when morons drink a lot of liquor and get behind the wheel.

The rest of us, who might have a few drinks with dinner have to suffer for it.

That's where the revenue raising comes in via our loss of civil rights, and filling the town coffers in the process.

Tell THAT to your friend.

 

I've talked to several cops about this very matter. They will all tell you that 95% of the DUI's they issue are to people who are NOTICEABLY driving intoxicated- swerving, drifting, driving well below the speed limit, etc. I think most adults who are experienced drinkers can go out for the night, have a handful of drinks, maybe be at a point where they might blow a .10 but be absolutely no danger to anyone on the road. The people who kill people in drunk driving accidents are the people who I described above and/or are being careless. All that being said, Al Michaels, who I'm sure had a few drinks and was being perfectly responsible, ran the risk that I'm sure many of us do from time to time- you're fine to drive but there's always that chance you hit a checkpoint or you get pulled over for a tail light or something like that.

 

And also, as someone who has driven in that grey area (you're fine to drive but you might be slightly over the limit) many times, I can tell you that driving while falling asleep and dozing off is a million times more dangerous. I think we've all been on the 90 late at night coming back from Syracuse or Rochester- perfectly sober- and feel lucky to be alive by the time we get home.

Edited April 22, 2013 by metzelaars_lives

[NoSaint]

 

 

I've talked to several cops about this very matter. They will all tell you that 95% of the DUI's they issue are to people who are NOTICEABLY driving intoxicated- swerving, drifting, driving well below the speed limit, etc. I think most adults who are experienced drinkers can go out for the night, have a handful of drinks, maybe be at a point where they might blow a .10 but be absolutely no danger to anyone on the road. The people who kill people in drunk driving accidents are the people who I described above and/or are being careless. All that being said, Al Michaels, who I'm sure had a few drinks and was being perfectly responsible, ran the risk that I'm sure many of us do from time to time- you're fine to drive but there's always that chance you hit a checkpoint or you get pulled over for a tail light or something like that.

 

And also, as someone who has driven in that grey area (you're fine to drive but you might be slightly over the limit) many times, I can tell you that driving while falling asleep and dozing off is a million times more dangerous. I think we've all been on the 90 late at night coming back from Syracuse or Rochester- perfectly sober- and feel lucky to be alive by the time we get home.

 

its not like theres no science behind it - at the .1 level, you are impaired. you might not be sloppy but your reaction time is slowed, which is an issue still, even if your not swerving into oncoming traffic. As to the second half, im not sure the relevance besides pointing out its likely a good idea to get a room when you are driving tired too, or better plan your commutes.

 

i get that drunk driving processes are a bit of a cluster in this country but i grow really tired of the "but we all do it" and the "there are other dangerous things like texting or being tired" arguments. the best answer is that we should probably all take our driving a bit more serious, but thats not really a popular answer.

 

and not trying to claim a moral high ground for myself here, but we dont all do it. id say i likely drink as much as just about anyone on this board, but i havent gotten behind the wheel when drinking.... at some point its a choice you make, and its not that hard to live, have a great time, and not put yourself in that spot. lots of people make that choice.

[mattsox]

You'd drink too if you had to work with Cris Collinsworth

 

That goes without saying!

[Mr. WEO]

I like that a 6 sentence story has a 3 sentence "story highlights" sidebar.

[metzelaars_lives]

its not like theres no science behind it - at the .1 level, you are impaired. you might not be sloppy but your reaction time is slowed, which is an issue still, even if your not swerving into oncoming traffic. As to the second half, im not sure the relevance besides pointing out its likely a good idea to get a room when you are driving tired too, or better plan your commutes.

 

i get that drunk driving processes are a bit of a cluster in this country but i grow really tired of the "but we all do it" and the "there are other dangerous things like texting or being tired" arguments. the best answer is that we should probably all take our driving a bit more serious, but thats not really a popular answer.

 

and not trying to claim a moral high ground for myself here, but we dont all do it. id say i likely drink as much as just about anyone on this board, but i havent gotten behind the wheel when drinking.... at some point its a choice you make, and its not that hard to live, have a great time, and not put yourself in that spot. lots of people make that choice.

 

I wouldn't disagree with anything you just said. To the untrained drinker perhaps my comments sound incredibly ignorant. And yes, if I were in the .1 range and even if I had both hands on the wheel, was driving perfectly straight and, really, was driving the same way I would be if I was completely sober, I suppose that if someone jumped out in the middle of the road out of the complete blue, my reaction time would be slightly impaired. Granted. But my point is that the VAST majority of drinking and driving fatalaties, accidents, arrests, etc. are people who are completely smashed and/or are being careless. Like the idiot in Buffalo who got on the 33 going the wrong way. Having a few drinks as an experienced drinker and being in the .1 range, I'm not getting on a highway going the wrong way. And yes, I believe there is an element of "the idiots ruin it for the rest of us" involved, I really do.

[Lurker]

Nick Adenhart? Sad.....

According to Wiki, that drunk blew a 0.19 percent two hours after the crash, and was also driving with a suspended license. He got a 51-year sentence...

[NoSaint]

 

 

I wouldn't disagree with anything you just said. To the untrained drinker perhaps my comments sound incredibly ignorant. And yes, if I were in the .1 range and even if I had both hands on the wheel, was driving perfectly straight and, really, was driving the same way I would be if I was completely sober, I suppose that if someone jumped out in the middle of the road out of the complete blue, my reaction time would be slightly impaired. Granted. But my point is that the VAST majority of drinking and driving fatalaties, accidents, arrests, etc. are people who are completely smashed and/or are being careless. Like the idiot in Buffalo who got on the 33 going the wrong way. Having a few drinks as an experienced drinker and being in the .1 range, I'm not getting on a highway going the wrong way. And yes, I believe there is an element of "the idiots ruin it for the rest of us" involved, I really do.

 

I just get frustrated with the "perfectly safe" type arguments. Though the stallworth "dude just ran out in front of me" situation is rare... It does happen.... And once you get past that, and start thinking about how often the other people in the road suck at driving (especially at night with drunks, tired people etc...) and you do get situations where people do stupid things you have to react to. You owe it to the others on the road to atleast attempt to be the best driver you can be and at a .1 you simply aren't. It's by no means as bad as the guy that's blacked out swerving into traffic but its also not fair to portray as no problem at all which a lot of folks try to do. I don't text, I'm not eating and I haven't drank if I'm on the road, simply.

 

Making a concious choice to live downtown, walking distance, a short cab or with easy public transit options certainly does help that - and that was a calculated decision based on lifestyle.

Edited April 22, 2013 by NoSaint

[mousetrap08]

I am thankful that I have quit drinking and curently going threw group rehab since early last Fall. My whole life and health has improved since.

[BRH]

The story I read didn't say he was stopped at a checkpoint. It said he made an illegal U-turn NEAR a checkpoint. Which, unless you're completely gullible, probably means he saw the checkpoint and knew he was probably too messed up to pass it. And the proof he was too messed up is not in the BAC level but in the fact that he thought he could make a u-ey within sight of a checkpoint and get away with it.

[Sig1Hunter]

In 2010, 10,228 people were killed in alcohol impaired driving crashes in the US. How many people die as a result of terrorist attacks? Yet, there is outrage over the killing of a handful of innocent people (justifiably so) - and minimal cry over the loss of a small city each year because of someone's conscious decision to drink to excess and then drive.

 

http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/impaired_driving/impaired-drv_factsheet.html

[ALLEN1QB]

Throw the bum in jail and throw away the key

[Direhard Fan]

Why did you pick on Cris Collensworth? Flew to Houston with him in 2004 and he was the nicest down to earth person you could meet. Next day came up to me at the Superbowl and talked some more.

[yungmack]

The other week one of my acquaintances told me that he'd been married, but his wife was killed by a drunk driver. The next time I see him, I'll be sure to pass your post onto him. I'm sure he could really benefit from your words of wisdom.

A few months ago, a friend of mine was shot dead and dumped in a garbage can. Based on your response here, can I count on you to actively support draconian controls on firearms? After all, three times as many people in the US die from gunshots than from drunk drivers.

Edited April 22, 2013 by yungmack

[JohnC]

Nick Adenhart? Sad.....

 

Yes. He was an only child. From everything I read about him he was a great kid. The person who killed him and the others was a multiple offender prior to the incident.

[buffaloboyinATL]

The story I read didn't say he was stopped at a checkpoint. It said he made an illegal U-turn NEAR a checkpoint. Which, unless you're completely gullible, probably means he saw the checkpoint and knew he was probably too messed up to pass it. And the proof he was too messed up is not in the BAC level but in the fact that he thought he could make a u-ey within sight of a checkpoint and get away with it.

A friend of mine told me that when he was in college, there was a sign on the highway that said "sobriety check point in 1 mile". Many cars proceeded to get off at the next exit, a quarter mile up the road, where it turned out the real sobriety check point was placed. He was ok because he did not drink much but he said that many were not as lucky. From what he said, the exit they chose was not normally a very busy one because there was not much around, so it was likely that you were only exiting to avoid the stop. Creative strategy but would probably be deemed illegal these days.