Holiday Drunk Driving Statistics

[maverickeastwood]

0.0-0.049 mg/ml of alcohol/blood is green
0.050-0.079 mg/ml of alcohol/blood is yellow (24 hr)
>0.08 is a criminal offense and your screwed

I've had a couple 24 hrs in the past with the truck towed to the impound and I'm left in the street...not fun.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by nik-

I once had my license suspended for 24 hours and I blew under .08 (.05 I think)

They also towed my car and tacked on the mandatory one day impound fee of $75.

I was left downtown with my friend with no ride at 2:30 in the morning in December. Luckily a friend drove by (I still can't believe how incredibly lucky that was) and we got a ride back up north in the back of a pickup.

So getting upset about the 24 hour suspension being the last action is silly when you don't know the circumstances

Rough. I received the 24hr suspension the night anaheim won the cup. Two beers over the course of the game and the celebration afterward. Any amount of alcohol in your system and they take you off the road. I suppose that is a good thing but I sure wasn't happy about it that day. At least the cop let me call someone to move my truck into the nearby parking lot where my friend happened to work (yes, a pub)(yes, I pounded a few since I relieved of driving duties for the night).

I don't understand why the one poster is so upset about 24hr suspensions. Do you figure that it should be an impaired charge?

Originally Posted by maverickeastwood

0.0-0.049 mg/ml of alcohol/blood is green
0.050-0.079 mg/ml of alcohol/blood is yellow (24 hr)
>0.08 is a criminal offense and your screwed

I've had a couple 24 hrs in the past with the truck towed to the impound and I'm left in the street...not fun.

Sorta right.

That is if a roadside is administered which isn't necessary for a 24 hr. A 24 hr disqual. is based soley on the suspicion of drinking.

>.08 is, according to the crim code, the threshold for impaired driving, it is actually 0.1 mg% as the intoxilyzer allows for a +/- .01% and all values are truncated. Thus a reading of .099 mg% would be .089 (+ or - .01) and then truncated to .08 mg% which is still below the legal limit. It would net you a 24 hr however.

I think people tend to get up in arms over a 24 hr because it appears the message is not getting through. Any alcohol in your system has been proven to impair the abilities of a driver. Further, I would guess the vast majority of impaired drivers intend to only have 'a few' but as we all know, 'a few' turns into a few more.

[FlamesInYourEyes]

My friends folks have been driving drunk (hardly able to stand kind of drunk) weekly for 25+ years and have never once had any troubles with the law of any kind. With my luck I'm sure that if I were to have 2 beer and drive I would be put away for the rest of my life. Though I guess they have never been in any accidents, so maybe they are quilified to operate there vehicles intoxicated. Whatever!

[Locke]

Originally Posted by FlamesInYourEyes

My friends folks have been driving drunk (hardly able to stand kind of drunk) weekly for 25+ years and have never once had any troubles with the law of any kind. With my luck I'm sure that if I were to have 2 beer and drive I would be put away for the rest of my life. Though I guess they have never been in any accidents, so maybe they are quilified to operate there vehicles intoxicated. Whatever!

I hope you are wearing your flame suit today.

[fleuryisgod]

What would of happened to all those who refused the test? Are they assumed guilty?

[JD]

Originally Posted by flueryisgod

What would of happened to all those who refused the test? Are they assumed guilty?

Yep, the penalty for refusing the test is the same as for impaired driving. That cement truck driver that killed those 5 people in December was charged with refusing the test, among many other things.

[Calgaryborn]

You could refuse to take the test on the grounds that there wasn't justifiable cause to require the test. If your lawyer can convince the judge that it was an unwarranted intrusion on your privacy you will get off.

[iggypop]

Originally Posted by maverickeastwood

Whats crazier is that the c-train can run 24/7 during stampede and NOT the holidays. It almost like they want to catch ppl. No cabs, fine...the city can step up and run transit 24/7 albeit at a reduced schedule. I didn't spend the holidays here...too hard to get around unless you got wheels, worse if your hammered.

On another note though, why is this fine? I know I am off topic, but why won't the city issue more cab license's to make the road safer. I really don't understand that. I agree though, why not increase transit to 24/7 as well?

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Calgaryborn

You could refuse to take the test on the grounds that there wasn't justifiable cause to require the test. If your lawyer can convince the judge that it was an unwarranted intrusion on your privacy you will get off.

Good luck with that one.

[Calgaryborn]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

Good luck with that one.

I've seen it done. The police have a check list of symptoms of drinking that they will record incase it goes to court. Things like red eyes, irradic driving, slurred speech, ect. If they don't have enough grounds to harass you the Judge will throw their case out.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Calgaryborn

I've seen it done. The police have a check list of symptoms of drinking that they will record incase it goes to court. Things like red eyes, irradic driving, slurred speech, ect. If they don't have enough grounds to harass you the Judge will throw their case out.

Enough grounds to harass? You mean enough grounds to keep drunk drivers off the road. All someone has to do is admit that they have been drinking and the police can demand a breath sample.

[maverickeastwood]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Rough. I received the 24hr suspension the night anaheim won the cup. Two beers over the course of the game and the celebration afterward. Any amount of alcohol in your system and they take you off the road. I suppose that is a good thing but I sure wasn't happy about it that day. At least the cop let me call someone to move my truck into the nearby parking lot where my friend happened to work (yes, a pub)(yes, I pounded a few since I relieved of driving duties for the night).

I don't understand why the one poster is so upset about 24hr suspensions. Do you figure that it should be an impaired charge?

Not neccesarily true...2 beers over, guessing, over three and a half hours (If it REALLY means 2 glasses of beer) and all the variables are in your favour; you ate, drank slowly, body mass, etc. shouldn't have got you dinged with a suspension. If you admitted to having ANY alcohol, they will test you, if you had ZERO and you had a buddy that was just stinking...they will test you. You, possibly, should've been OK.

[maverickeastwood]

Originally Posted by iggypop

On another note though, why is this fine? I know I am off topic, but why won't the city issue more cab license's to make the road safer. I really don't understand that. I agree though, why not increase transit to 24/7 as well?

...It's an ongoing issue that hasn't been resolved yet (cabs), but the city has shown they can run transit round-the-clock.

[maverickeastwood]

Originally Posted by Calgaryborn

You could refuse to take the test on the grounds that there wasn't justifiable cause to require the test. If your lawyer can convince the judge that it was an unwarranted intrusion on your privacy you will get off.

...Or, no offense, just don't DD. Less hassle.

[Phanuthier]

A couple months ago at school, a bunch of my engineering friends (well, not close friends) were sitting around bragging about what was the drunkest state they had ever driven in. It was a little disappointing, and getting dramatic about it wouldn't have had any affect since there were a bunch of them sitting around not taking it seriously.

[Calgaryborn]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

Enough grounds to harass? You mean enough grounds to keep drunk drivers off the road. All someone has to do is admit that they have been drinking and the police can demand a breath sample.

I've sat in a court room and watched someone have their case dismissed because although she had told the police she had a couple they had no reason to disbelieve her or suspect she was over the legal limit.

[Calgaryborn]

Originally Posted by maverickeastwood

...Or, no offense, just don't DD. Less hassle.

I don't drink.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Rough. I received the 24hr suspension the night anaheim won the cup. Two beers over the course of the game and the celebration afterward. Any amount of alcohol in your system and they take you off the road.

That's interesting, because I've gone through a checkstop, told them I've had 2 beers over a few hours, and they just waived me on.

I do agree that the city could do more to discourage drunk driving. More taxi licenses, run C-trains and some major bus routes 24 hours. Years of statistics, as well as comments in this thread indicate that people will still drive drunk show that something needs to be done.

I'll admit that I have driven drunk in the past. I'm sure a lot of us that "know better" have also done that. My last time was the turn of the millenium, and 4 of us were on the phone to cab companies from 12:30 until 5:00. At 5:00 we got kicked out of the hall we were at, and had to do something to get home.

I'm not saying that in any way I was in the right. But the bottom line is that more cabs would have kept at least one drunk driver off the streets that night.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by ken0042

That's interesting, because I've gone through a checkstop, told them I've had 2 beers over a few hours, and they just waived me on.

It might be because I downed the final half of the 2nd shortly before leaving. Whatever the case, it really annoyed me because I've heard stories from a few people about getting through checkstops with all kind of liquor in them.