Legal Help DUI

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by burning_acid1

He probably didn't have to blow because it's an automatic DUI if you're on a GDL license. Any alcohol (in this case, he admitted consuming alcohol) warrants a DUI.

CPS usually makes you blow when you have your class 5 to determine whether or not you are DUI (over 0.08).

That's not true is it? I know it's an automatic 30 day suspension, but are you saying that if a cop makes someone on a GDL do a breathalyzer and they blow 0.01, it's an automatic DUI?

[normtwofinger]

Where are the parents of this child? Take that car away!

[moon]

Originally Posted by burning_acid1

He probably didn't have to blow because it's an automatic DUI if you're on a GDL license. Any alcohol (in this case, he admitted consuming alcohol) warrants a DUI.

CPS usually makes you blow when you have your class 5 to determine whether or not you are DUI (over 0.08).

Except he has already said that he didn't get a DUI.

Originally Posted by normtwofinger

Where are the parents of this child? Take that car away!

Why?

What facts about this incident do you have that show he should not have his car?

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by CMPunk

Umm, how is drinking and driving legal?

He just means that you're generally okay to have 2 or 3 beers and drive. Although, I think generally cops will give you a 24 hour suspension if you blow between .05 and .07, and then a DUI if you blow over .08.

For example, one time we were jamming at my buddies house, and a neighbor called the cops. So the cops came to the door and told us to shut 'er down. As I left the house I saw that he was still parked out front, and I had been drinking, so for some reason (I guess I just wanted to make sure that he wasn't going to pull me over as soon as I got in my car, because he probably saw all the beer cans when he was at the door) I went up to him and asked his opinion on whether I was okay to drive home. I told him I had 4 beers over the course of 3 or 4 hours. He said I'd be fine, and said "Put it this way, I'd drive home after that".

[flip]

Originally Posted by flameswin

That's not true is it? I know it's an automatic 30 day suspension, but are you saying that if a cop makes someone on a GDL do a breathalyzer and they blow 0.01, it's an automatic DUI?

Since the legal limit for GDL drivers is 0 I think you could get a DUI for blowing .01.

I wonder what the margin of error is for breathalyzers though. Could a person who is 17 or so years old blow .01 just from eating food that was prepared using wine? I'm not sure so maybe you could fight it if that happened.

Maybe I'm wrong. I was never GDL so I'm not sure how that works.

[normtwofinger]

Originally Posted by moon

Why?

What facts about this incident do you have that show he should not have his car?

Out till 2:30AM drinking at a friends house and then drives home and gets caught by the cops. If I did that I wouldn't have car privledges for a long time.

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by flip

The cops can give you a DUI even if you are under that limit but act intoxicated.

That being said, it is completely legal to consume alcoholic beverages and then get behind the wheel. It is totally legal to do a shot of tequila and then go for a nice Sunday afternoon drive. There are just restrictions on how much you can consume before it becomes illegal.

I can't believe you didn't know any of that.

You are contradicting yourself here. First you state that cops CAN charge you for DUI even with a BAC under 0.08, but then you state that it is totally legal to get behind the wheel after a drink because the of the 0.08 limit/restriction.

Which is it? It can't be both.

[flip]

Originally Posted by normtwofinger

Out till 2:30AM drinking at a friends house and then drives home and gets caught by the cops. If I did that I wouldn't have car privledges for a long time.

How much did he drink? How long from his last drink until he drove? What was he drinking?


Since you can't answer any of those questions I say should just stay quiet. You obviously can't help answer the OP's question and know nothing about this incident.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by flip

Depends on what you are asking.

Are you asking if literally drinking while driving is legal? If that is what you are asking then, no it isn't legal. You can't have any open alcohol in your vehicle. Even if it is unopened there are restrictions. To be safe you should always leave beer in its original packaging (in the case) when you drive and should put all alcohol in the trunk to be really safe.

Are you asking if it is legal to consume alcohol and then operate a motor vehicle in Alberta? It that is what you are asking then, YES it is totally legal. There are restrictions however.

For one, there is a limit to which your blood alcohol level can be at. I believe it is .08 here in Alberta. The cops can give you a DUI even if you are under that limit but act intoxicated.

Second, is that you can't be a GDL driver. They have special restrictions.

That being said, it is completely legal to consume alcoholic beverages and then get behind the wheel. It is totally legal to do a shot of tequila and then go for a nice Sunday afternoon drive. There are just restrictions on how much you can consume before it becomes illegal.

I can't believe you didn't know any of that.

Oh, now I get why so many people hate you

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by normtwofinger

Out till 2:30AM drinking at a friends house and then drives home and gets caught by the cops. If I did that I wouldn't have car privledges for a long time.

But we don't know how much he drank. Just because he was out til 2:30 doesn't mean that he didn't just have a couple of beers.

Although again, it would be nice if the OP clarified this.

[flip]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

You are contradicting yourself here. First you state that cops CAN charge you for DUI even with a BAC under 0.08, but then you state that it is totally legal to get behind the wheel after a drink because the of the 0.08 limit/restriction.

Which is it? It can't be both.

I'm not contradicting myself. You are incorrectly taking the second part out of context.


There is a law prohibiting driving while intoxicated. The standards set for that law are .08 BAC.

There is also a provision in that law that if you are intoxicated but aren't at .08 you can get a DUI.


Not sure how you think any of that is contradictory. I never said as long as you are under .08 that you are untouchable by the law.

In fact I said the exact opposite and qualified the statement.

It is totally legal to operate a motor vehicle so long as you are not intoxicated AND are under .08.

[flip]

Originally Posted by valo403

Oh, now I get why so many people hate you

I was about to post the same thing about you.

[normtwofinger]

Originally Posted by flip

How much did he drink? How long from his last drink until he drove? What was he drinking?

The parents of this child should know he has a GDL and cannot have 1 sip of booze and drive.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

You are contradicting yourself here. First you state that cops CAN charge you for DUI even with a BAC under 0.08, but then you state that it is totally legal to get behind the wheel after a drink because the of the 0.08 limit/restriction.

Which is it? It can't be both.

Well it's a fine line. It can be both. If someone is driving like crap and blows .04, a cop can give you a DUI. But if you have 2 or 3 beers and are driving fine, you are driving legally.

EDIT: For example, when that cop listened to how much I had to drink and over what time period, and said I'd be fine, was he telling me I was okay to drive illegally? I don't think so.

Originally Posted by hockeycop

Not sure why they didn't make you blow. Cst in a rush, end of shift, didn't want to see you blow over and have to lay a charge, cutting you a break... Could be any number of reasons.

After the suspension, you take that piece of paper to the District Office that the incident occurred in during regular business hours and they give you your card back.

Not for this type of suspension...

[flip]

Originally Posted by normtwofinger

The parents of this child should know he has a GDL and cannot have 1 sip of booze and drive.

How old is he? Does he live at home? What if he is 18? Can he not make that decision for himself?

Maybe they do know that is the law and they don't care. Maybe he doesn't live at home.

I don't see how this kids parents are at fault. Furthermore, I'm not sure how anyone can make judgments about his actions without any information except he probably consumed alcohol at some point during the evening. Might have been one sip or it could have been a whole 26. He was followed by EMS and eventually the police talked to him. They suspended his license because he admitted to consuming alcohol at some point in the evening.

We can make assumptions that he was followed because he drove erratically, we can assume he was drunk, we can assume he is irresponsible, we can assume he could have killed someone but all they are is assumptions.

All we know is that he broke the rules of GDL driver's licenses and is trying to figure out if he can get out of the 30 day suspension. Making any inferences beyond that are purely speculation and not grounded in any facts.

[wooohooo]

There's a reason why GDL drivers are not allowed to consume ANY alcohol. These guys are most likely 16-18 year olds, who are just started to learn how to drive and likely have little alcohol experience. This is much different than a 30 year old who has been driving for 10+ years and can take a few beers.

If they're GDL and get pulled over randomly they wouldn't be required to do a Breathalyzer unless it warrants it.

As for the OP, I'm not going to make any judgments on him now. I'm not sure why he was pulled over, but he probably did not drink enough to for him to be charged. However, getting pulled over by an Ambulance is kind of odd... very odd.

I'm a firm believer of GDL or not, and you've had something to drink, do not drive. Legal or not, a few beers will impair your judgment.

[jayswin]

I have to agree with what flip is getting at here (that doesn't happen very often), you guys are making some assumptions about certain things that could totally change whether he should be crucified or not.

However, I'll state one more time, it would be nice if the OP would divulge a little more info, so people wouldn't have to assume.

[flip]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

There's a reason why GDL drivers are not allowed to consume ANY alcohol. These guys are most likely 16-18 year olds, who are just started to learn how to drive and likely have little alcohol experience. This is much different than a 30 year old who has been driving for 10+ years and can take a few beers.

If they're GDL and get pulled over randomly they wouldn't be required to do a Breathalyzer unless it warrants it.

As for the OP, I'm not going to make any judgments on him now. I'm not sure why he was pulled over, but he probably did not drink enough to for him to be charged. However, getting pulled over by an Ambulance is kind of odd... very odd.

I'm a firm believer of GDL or not, and you've had something to drink, do not drive. Legal or not, a few beers will impair your judgment.

When unqualified that is a very dangerous statement. With food? Without food? How many is a few? 2? 4? 6? For how long will it impair your judgment? What about someone that is 5' 100lbs vs someone 6' 200lbs? Will they be equally effected? How long between beers? What if it is shots of hard alcohol?

Could you imagine if law enforcement agencies and our lawmakers used the same sort of totally subjective, baseless methods to come up with drinking and driving laws?

It is one thing to not drink after consuming alcohol, ever. It is another to expect others to do the same and to make wild assumptions about what effect alcohol will have on them.

[normtwofinger]

I was not saying it's the parents fault, but they should take action now and prevent him from doing it again with some discipline. (ie take away the car). I know I don't know how much he had to drink or when his last drink was. But it was enough to make an EMS driver worry enough to get the police involved. I know that if I was in this situation and still lived at home, whether I was 16 or 26, my parents would be outraged and there would be consequences.