Are random breath tests for drivers a good idea?

Part of me says yes and the other part says no. I do not agree with drunk driving at all. I hardly ever drink and then drive. I may have a drink or two but then stop. I always play it safe. So that is not really fair to me. But yet at the same time I do not want a drunk out on the road.

 

Me, I dont think you should drink and drive at all

 

Random breath tests as in what? Like the road blocks that police do? or making you have a breathalyzer in your car? I think the former is ok...the latter only after you have already broken the law.

 

Might as well close every bar in the world and I don't even go to them. If I want a drink I do it at home however having a drink or two should NOT be a problem if you can handle it. Having 10 or 12 is another problem.

Hell, I gargle with Listerine in the morning. A lot of alcohol in that but I don't drink it. Bet I'd fail a breathalyzer though.

 

No....We are presumed innocent until found guilty, and I think it also violates the illegal search law. It has been ( checkpoints ) found unconstitutional in MI. And yes, I am against drunk driving. whats next, checkpoints to prove you have insurance ?

 

Hopefully not if it was administered properly. They are supposed to get a deep lung sample in the test. They are designed to take a reading after enough air and forceful enough air has passed through the sensor. That helps ensure that alcohol in the mouth doesn't skew the readings high, and, more important to the tester, that masking agents in the mouth don't skew it low. Of course, if administered improperly, all bets are off.

And, no, I am neither a drunk driver who has studied up on the angles nor a cop. lol I just have to maintain and accuracy check the darn things in the hospital I work at so I know how they are designed to be used.

 

I do not like to drink and drive. But if I am at a party, I may have one drink and then switch to soda. I make sure it has been several hours before I drive the alcohol has left my system. My fiancee and I have a system where if he drinks I drive and vice versa. The other one may have one or two tops if we are staying for several hours.

 

I believe it takes about 12 hours for the effects of alcohol to leave the system so unfortunatly you can have a person go out the previouse night and be good get a cab home etc then in the morning think they are ok and hop into a car and go barraling off down the highway, yet in realaty they are still under the influence of drink!
Also how many people have accidents and then say well I only had ONE drink! the point is it does slow down your reaction time so do you in all honesty want to be responsible for possibly taking someones life or putting them in a wheelchair for life simply for the sake of ONE Drink!
You want to drink then get a cab home or have a designated driver as the life you ruin might well be your own

End of rant LOL

 

I had a cousin who went out one night and then next day he got pulled over on the way to work. And he got a DUI for being under the influence.

 

Have you considered that fact that the people who say that are lying? Furthermore, I don't know anyone who has ever said that. I drove twice today, to work, and back home. I drove home after having 2 beers at a retirement party at a bar at work. I promise you that the more dangerous driver was the one who drove to work who was not yet completely awake.

One drink may have a profound impact on the motor skills of a 110lb woman and no impact on a 200lb man. Your example is a generality and not very realistic in most cases.

 

So because you personaly dont know of anyone makes it untrue?? and what would your excuse have been if you had been stopped and found to have a BAC above 0.08? whats so clever about drink driving? It dosen't have to have a profound affect on your ability to drive all it needs to have is a affect which all scientific reserch says it has.
Of course your size matters but regardless of weight size etc it still has a detrimental affect

Care to dispute that with scientific evidence?

Have a read they all say basicly the same thing that booze has a affect on how you drive even if you dont realise it yourself, your reaction times are slower check the reserch before you start with your usual pontificating

Alcohol and Driving

Drink driving - Flinders University

The effects of alcohol on driving

Driving and Alcohol

Drink driving and the legal alcohol limit

Blood / Breath Alcohol Concentration (BAC) calculator - Wisconsin Department of Transportation

 

Do you just post stupid links or do you actually read them. I guess I followed the guidelines set forth in your references.

Just about everything I read in your links stated that one drink was fine to stay under a 0.05 BAC, even for a 40KG woman.

Say, is the Cointalk moderator motto, "All wrong, All the Time"?

 

LOL yeh I read your posts
And every one of those links says that drinking has a affect on your driving or are you calling me a liar? As for weight You brought that up not me I stated even one drink has a affect but of course you been the font of all knowladge knows better than all the medical and scientific reserch you realy are a clown do you know that
So go ahead be a hero and drink up then go for a drive LOL you realy are sad as far as I am concerned I have had it with you and your stupidity

 

Don't lose you cool Steve and do something rash. For the record, I did not call you a liar. I said you were wrong, which you are.

 

What bit of what I wrote is wrong? that a single drink will have a adverse affect on a persons driving ability? care to show me the scientific evidence to back that one up? or is it something else I said? cut and paste it so I can see were I am wrong?

 

If that is true, then why are you allowed to drive up until a BAC of 0.05? Answer, because it is not true!

 

Because goverments are unwilling to have a zero tollerence policy now show me the scientific proof that says a single drink has no affect?

How Alcohol Affects Driving and Similar Skills
Slowed reaction time
Even small quantities of alcohol will affect your driving ability to some degree.

How alcohol affects driving skills
No person can drink alcohol without affecting their ability to drive a vehicle or ride a motor bike or bicycle. You don’t have to be drunk to be dangerous on the road. Although you may feel or look all right, your driving ability will be impaired, especially in an emergency, if you have been drinking alcohol.This is because alcohol is quickly absorbed into the blood stream, where it travels to all parts of the body, including the brain. When it reaches the brain, alcohol acts like an anaesthetic. It slows down and gradually dulls parts of the brain that are needed for driving. Once alcohol is in the bloodstream, its effects on the brain cannot be stopped or controlled.

Under 0.05 is the legal limit for most drivers because of the well-documented crash risk associated with this blood alcohol concentration (BAC).

Even if your legal limit is 0.05 it is recommended that you don’t drink any alcohol at all if you plan to drive. This is because alcohol affects different people in different ways and it is very difficult to judge your blood alcohol concentration.

Alcohol is a depressant. It is absorbed into the blood stream and affects body functions. Although quickly absorbed, it remains in the body for an extended period of time. Many mistakenly believe that strong coffee or a cold shower will alleviate the effects of alcohol. These remedies do not work, however; only time will eliminate alcohol from the body.

All from those links you accused me of not reading Now you go to those links and cut and paste where they say it is fine to have a single drink that it will not impaire you in the slightest If you cant find it there try looking at any of the masses of reserch on drink driving or goverment sponserd reserch

 

No thanks, I will just cut and paste from my own link if that is okay with you.

"Among all male and female drivers, except those in the 16-20 group, the relative risk of
receiving a fatal injury is lower for drivers with a positive BAC under 0.02% than for drivers with 0.0%
BAC."

Guess that means, one drink makes me a better driver.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/research/809-050pdf.pdf

What about it limey?

 

OK clown you want to go with the insults because you cant come up with a decent scientific argument well go for it You keep on drink driving like the moron you are there does that make you feel at home now talking to you in the same way that you talk to other members
As far as I am concerned you are not worth the time so I shant bother trying to have a civilized conversation with you

From your own report clown

Based on extensive research over several decades, we now have overwhelming evidence showing
that even BACs as low as 0.02% impair driving-related skills

Try actualy reading whats in your links

 

First, what insult?

Second, at my weight, one drink will not put me over 0.02% BAC, so therefore, one drink makes me a better driver. That is not my opinion, it is stated as a fact in the study I linked.

Third, you stated that regardless of weight/size that one drink will have a detrimental effect on driving skills. Are you now claiming that anyone who has a BAC between 0.00% and 0.02% is the result of cough syrup and not an alcoholic beverage. Furthermore the increased risk associated with driving with BAC's between 0.02% and 0.05% are so low that they are not worth criminalizing which is why it is legal. People who are tired, talking on cellphones, or just not paying attention are much more dangerous than drivers with BAC's between 0.02% and 0.05%.

Instead of exaggerating and sensationalizing this issue, you are welcome to admit you are wrong. BTW, I don't care about you or any other member of this forum and the way I speak to them should be evidence of that. And whether I am worth your time or not is completely irrelevant to the fact that you are dead wrong.