Driving under the legal limit? Doesn't matter, your vehicle is impounded anyway.

[kipperfan]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

That's not a seasoned drinker. Early 90's I (pulled over for speeding) recorded 0.27 at the station and could walk a perfect straight line, carry a normal conversation, answered all the officer's strategic questions without hesitation to the point the RCMP thought there was an issue with their equipment as people at half that level were typically incoherent. That's a seasoned drinker.

Anyway I can say after serving my one year suspension and dealing with harsh insurance for five years I learned my lesson and have never driven drunk again. I'm okay with this personally as I have kids now and one of them had a close call with a sober driver let alone one one driving at 0.05 or more.

I know the guy, trust me, GWE is a seasoned drinker. Well seasoned some may say...

[GreatWhiteEbola]

Originally Posted by kipperfan

I know the guy, trust me, GWE is a seasoned drinker. Well seasoned some may say...

Yeah, why do you think I'm in a wheelchair?!?!?!?! Less distance to the floor, bitches!

[HOOT]

IMO they are going after the wrong people. I personally HATE everything to do with drinking and driving but at the same time see no issue with having a couple drinks at dinner or while out. The government should spend less time harassing what is mostly good people with another money grab and actually be tough on the people killing others while driving drunk. Seems to be the typical response to crime, tough on small crime and relaxed on serious crimes. It's really too bad to see this happening over and over.

[Olao32]

Maybe someone with a legal background can explain this to me.

If this new law imposed at the provincial level truly does bypass due process, can someone not challenge it under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms at the federal level?

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by GP_Matt

Not the glass of wine with dinner crowd that the new law (can we really call it a law if it is above the courts) targets.

Why do you people not understand this is not going after the "glass of wine" drinkers?

A glass of wine is not 0.05.

Two glasses of wine is not 0.05.

Three glasses of wine might be 0.05 if they are a small person and it was a very, very short time span. Do you want them driving?

For the record, 7 beers in 1 hour and I was not 0.08. (EDIT- It was 1.5 hours)

Pass my keys!

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

For the record, 7 beers in 1 hour and I was not 0.08.

So that brings me to one of two conclusions:

- The breathalizer you bought doesn't work / you may not be using it correctly
- Every website that has a BAC calculator is wrong.

Which is the scary part in this. If it is the device not working; a person could use it and think they must be fine; just maybe a little tipsy. (Obviously you have more common sense than that.)

[valo403]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

Why do you people not understand this is not going after the "glass of wine" drinkers?

A glass of wine is not 0.05.

Two glasses of wine is not 0.05.

Three glasses of wine might be 0.05 if they are a small person and it was a very, very short time span. Do you want them driving?

For the record, 7 beers in 1 hour and I was not 0.08.

Pass my keys!

We don't understand it because there are plenty of sources out there that say that you're wrong.

125lb female, 2 glasses of wine over 1 hour. 0.056.

http://bloodalcoholcalculator.org/#LinkURL

[GP_Matt]

I wonder how often the police will charge a person with the lower limit because it is less paperwork/time and there is no chance of fighting it.

This law could easily have the effect of impacting those who aren't dangerous while at the same time reducing the punishment on those who are a danger.

[GP_Matt]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

For the record, 7 beers in 1 hour and I was not 0.08.

Pass my keys!

How confident are you in this tester of yours. I think we can round up some money on CP to pay you to test it out. I am thinking out at the pub, you consume 7 beers in an hour and then as a laugh someone calls the police to report you for driving drunk. You aren't of course, but then the officer brings out his machine and if you pass we will pay out.

Your numbers go against everything I have ever heard about blood alcohol content. (Unless you happen to weigh in at 350.)

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by GP_Matt

How confident are you in this tester of yours. I think we can round up some money on CP to pay you to test it out. I am thinking out at the pub, you consume 7 beers in an hour and then as a laugh someone calls the police to report you for driving drunk. You aren't of course, but then the officer brings out his machine and if you pass we will pay out.

Your numbers go against everything I have ever heard about blood alcohol content. (Unless you happen to weigh in at 350.)

I've played with two different breathalyzers. The 0.05 tests was with a consumer grade breathalyzer, the 0.08 test was with a breathalyzer provided by the university for a research project. It was not my project so I can't attest to its accuracy, but it looked more elaborate than the home rig.

I get a laugh that people are using an online BAC calculator to refute real world results. It would not surprise me if the online calculator had a fudge factor in to prevent any liability and also to get people to err on the side of caution.

I will happily submit myself to a 7 beer scenario again with any provided tester to see how it pans out. For the record, the 7 beers was cans, not pints. 7 pints and I'd be in a world of hurt.

At the time of the test, I was 220lbs.

I'm currently ~200lbs, but 6'7", so no idea if that means bigger internal organs and more processing capacity.

I also realized there was an error in my first post, it was 7 beers in about 1.5 hours, not 1 hour.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

I get a laugh that people are using an online BAC calculator to refute real world results.

Sure- why should we believe what science tells us when we can believe you?

So you have decided that the CAA is wrong, as is another independant site. Would you believe what the Alberta Gov't has to say about BAC levels?
http://protect.aglc.ca/protectupload...rt_ProTect.pdf

(This chart taken from a link on http://www.saferoads.com/ which is the gov't site on this.)

It's pretty easy for those machines to give incorrect results. Not allow enough time, not providing a large enough breath sample, etc. I know when I had to give a breath sample for the police they made me expell a lot more air out of my lungs than was comfortable.

You and I weigh roughly the same; so I know from years of casual drinking what my BAC level will be given my consumption. You are correct in that 7 beers in 90 minutes will make you drunk; however the reason you feel drunk is that you are also legally drunk.

Would I drive if I was .05? Probably not. I try to keep myself under .03 as I know my reaction is not 100% at .05. But to suggest that one can drink 7 beers in 90 minutes and still be under .08 is a very irresponsible statement IMO. Some people might take that into consideration when drinking. Maybe not off a message board, but have you mentioned that to friends and colleagues?

[Caged Great]

We should make it like Japan. 0.00 blood alcohol level. Zero. Nada. You drink = you don't drive.

[Fire]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

We should make it like Japan. 0.00 blood alcohol level. Zero. Nada. You drink = you don't drive.

Might as well start closing down half the restaurants.

[Senator Clay Davis]

We already have zero tolerance for all probationary GDL drivers.

[zamler]

Originally Posted by Locke

You are actually better off being drunker in order to be afforded due process where you have a chance to beat the DUI.

Well then, instead of being careful I'm gonna get downright s***faced and get behind the wheel. The justice system works.

[Red Potato Standing By]

Originally Posted by Fire

Might as well start closing down half the restaurants.

Isn't that the same argument they used when they started banning cigarettes in restaurants?

[VO #23]

Originally Posted by Olao32

Maybe someone with a legal background can explain this to me.

If this new law imposed at the provincial level truly does bypass due process, can someone not challenge it under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms at the federal level?

The B.C. laws have already been challenged, and the automatic roadside prohibitions for persons blowing over .08 was found by the court to be a Charter violation. The B.C. legislature has since adjusted those laws.

The same judge held that the .05-.079 bans were compliant with the Charter, as they were seen to be a reasonable limitation on Charter rights in the name of public safety.

It's important to remember that these decisions were made by the BC Supreme Court (equivalent AB court is the Court of Queen's Bench), not by an appellate court. Therefore the law is not binding on any other province, and probably would barely be regarded as persuasive. I think a really strong argument could be made that the .05 bans are an unreasonable limitation on Charter rights, and expect any jurisdiction with similar laws to have to consider this question in the courts.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by zamler

Well then, instead of being careful I'm gonna get downright s***faced and get behind the wheel. The justice system works.

If you are careful why would you even worry about being over .08? There's no brownie points for you blowing 0.085 compared to the guy that blew 0.14. Once you eclipse 0.08 on the breathalyzer at the station it's party over for both of you the same as it should be.

[moon]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

The nice thing about doing it this way and not touching the criminal code is you don't protect people's rights. There are two ways to err in this situation, one is to let drunky-mcdrunkerson get his license back, which currently happens all too much, and people have lost their lives when these guys get back behind the wheel.

This way you err on a broken breathalyzer and someone losing their car for 3 days and out some cash.

Yeah, yeah, slippery slope, got it. Id still rather have people flirting with driving drunk off the road thanks.

You do have to admit though with your results it seems almost impossible to have some of the BAC recording that drunks have.

I am thinking of say Justin Blackmon who had a .24 (?) BAC reading and, athough it isn't linear, it would seem he must have been dead to drink that much to get a reading so high based on your results.

I guess there might be a point when you have X many drinks your BAC jumps up but to get to that level it seems really unlikely based on your numbers.

[Travis Munroe]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan
For the record, 7 beers in 1 hour and I was not 0.08.

Maybe under .08 after 1.5 hours but at 2.5 hours I bet you were over!

Correct me if I am wrong but it actually takes a bit of time to catch up with you. Essentially you were drinking a beer every 13 minutes. Right at the 1.5 hour mark you just finished your last beer and took the test. The last couple beers may have not hit you at this point.