Dempsey in 'nanny state' showdown on drink-driving limits

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Originally Posted by dahamsta

Will you outlaw cough medicine too SunnySweeney? Strenuous exercise? Tiredness?

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Sure, why not.

In the US, if your driving is impaired because of antihistamines/ drowsy cough medicine etc and you are caught - you are subject to the very same DUI laws as alchohol.

As regards tiredness, let's say you are in an accident and there is evidence that the cause was fatigue - because you had just got off a trans atlantic overnight flight and then embarked on a long car journey ...... or you worked a 16 hour shift and then decided to drive half way across the country ...... you should be liable for that and whoever you've harmed should be able to sue the panse off you.

If you decide not to wear your prescriptive reading glasses and get in an accident because you are half blind, then they should throw your ass in jail.

Getting back to alchohol - my view is they should reduce the concentration to virtually zero. If you give people an inch, they'll take a mile (particularly in this country).

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a high horse I need to ride around the place ....

You're taking the extremes of tiredness there. What if you just have a rough day at work? Or your infant has been keeping you up at night? Should new fathers have to take a bus into work each day?

Also, not to be pedantic, but if you're wearing reading glasses, which correct long sightedness, in the car, you're probably in trouble. :P

"Give 'em an inch and they'll take a mile" is a slippery slope argument - it don't hold no weight with me.

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Originally Posted by SunnySweeney

Getting back to alchohol - my view is they should reduce the concentration to virtually zero. If you give people an inch, they'll take a mile (particularly in this country).

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If you don't enforce (particulary in this country) they'll take a mile.

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Originally Posted by John83

You're taking the extremes of tiredness there. What if you just have a rough day at work? Or your infant has been keeping you up at night? Should new fathers have to take a bus into work each day?

Also, not to be pedantic, but if you're wearing reading glasses, which correct long sightedness, in the car, you're probably in trouble. :P

"Give 'em an inch and they'll take a mile" is a slippery slope argument - it don't hold no weight with me.

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Unfortunately we cannot breathalyze for tiredness - if we could, I'd be in favor of that too. In an impefect world, we can just hope that people use their own personal judgement and act accordingly.

What we can breathalyze for (with relative accuracy) though is alcohol and we should take advantage of that - I'm personally in favor of reducing the limit to 0.000mg.

I am of the opinion that even a small amount of alcohol impairs judgement and the ability to make quick split second decisions. We are asking someone with impaired judgement to make a decision if they are able to drive. That's just crazy. Now if we reduce the allowed blood alcohol level to (practically) 0.000mg, the only decision the punter needs to make is - Do i want that first gob full of beer or do I want to drive home? Hmmm


I don't buy the slippery slope argument. Our government hasn't the imagination and couldn't get off their asses long enough to set us on our way to a fascist totaliterian state. We live in a relatively free society but we still have some laws. The reason we have laws is that presumably before they were passed things weren't working so well - hence speed limit laws, seat belt legislation, driving tests for learner drivers etc.

Impaired driving in general is a serious issue. At the risk of sounding dramatic here, as a father now, it scares the hell out of me. I've definitely got more conservative as I've got older.

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Originally Posted by SunnySweeney

I'm personally in favor of reducing the limit to 0.000mg.

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This is where everyone stopped reading SunnySweeney. You don't understand the basic biology of the subject you're commenting on (despite someone already taking the time to explain it to you), so either go away and do some research into it, or be quiet.

Those are your options, and I'm telling you this as a moderator.

adam

Say I'm in the medical profession. After finishing work, I wash my hands with an alcohol-based cleaner. Should I be banned from driving home?

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Originally Posted by dahamsta

This is where everyone stopped reading SunnySweeney. You don't understand the basic biology of the subject you're commenting on (despite someone already taking the time to explain it to you), so either go away and do some research into it, or be quiet.

Those are your options, and I'm telling you this as a moderator.

adam

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OK, I did some research (very little I admit). This is the first link that popped up for me.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/outr.../factzero.html

I am in favour of zerro tolerance. If you had read my post, you would have noticed that I also said that I was in favour of reducing the allowable limit to VIRTUALLY 0.000mg.

10 of the states within the US already have a 0.000mg standard for under 21 yr olds - while the majority of the other states are at .0002mg or less.

Listen, I like the board and I don't want to cheese anyone off - so that's the last I'll contribute on the matter.

GLuck to all

I can't speak for the .00 laws in the US because that page doesn't make it clear what .00 means - as someone has already pointed out, nobody has a blood alcohol of absolute zero - but I would note that your own numbers are out by a factor of a hundred. That's quite a lot.

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Say I'm in the medical profession. After finishing work, I wash my hands with an alcohol-based cleaner. Should I be banned from driving home?

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Does it impair your ability to drive?

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Say I'm in the medical profession. After finishing work, I wash my hands with an alcohol-based cleaner. Should I be banned from driving home?

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Just don't brush your teeth and use a mouthwash...

Its imaterial really what Dempsey sets the level at, if there isnt enough enforcement then he may as well whistle dixie. There is no point in doing 2000 test over a bank holiday weekend and not bother the rest of the time. I've been drving for over 8 years, I live just outside Dublin and drive 50 miles everyday to and from work, I work a lot of weekends and would regularly be on the way back from work around 10pm on weekends. I have never once been breathalized, not once.

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Originally Posted by centre mid

I live just outside Dublin and drive 50 miles everyday to and from work, I work a lot of weekends and would regularly be on the way back from work around 10pm on weekends. I have never once been breathalized, not once.

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Driving 9 years, live just outside Limerick city and have been breathalised exactly once and that's because I was doing just over 40 in a 30 zone (longpavement for those who know it) at 2AM midweek.

I was in Killkenny at the weekend. Garda roadblocks on the Dublin Road at lunchtime. I'm told they do it every Sunday to catch The stags heading back to Dublin over the limit. I wouldn't have been thinking about that. Seems unfair. I know if your over the limit, your over the limit, but i think its a way of catching people out, who'd never drink & drive.

Except that if they're caught, they ARE drinking and driving.

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Originally Posted by Mr A

Except that if they're caught, they ARE drinking and driving.

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Exactly. This idea that it's okay if there's some special event on doesn't make any sense. Buy a bloody train ticket.

The point is we've all probably been guilty of drink driving the following day, as it’s extremely difficult to know at what stage the following day the alcohol has left your system. As usual there’s no information or attempts to educate people about being over the limit the next day.

Yes there is. I don't listen to ads much, but even I'm pretty sure I've heard ads about how you may be over the limit the following day. A site like drinkaware.ie - promoted on all drinks ads - tells you how long alcohol lasts in your system.

And what about those two weeks we sent on drink-driving-the-day-after camp?

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

And what about those two weeks we sent on drink-driving-the-day-after camp?

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Was that during drink-driving-the-day-after month?

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Originally Posted by Ringo

As usual there’s no information or attempts to educate people about being over the limit the next day.

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From drinkaware.ie, which, to the best of my knowledge, is visible on every advertisement for alcohol on Irish TV.

http://www.drinkaware.ie/index.php?sid=6&pid=18

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A Simple Solution
There is, however, a simple solution. Make arrangements to get home by taxi or by public transport, or take it in turns to be the designated driver.

If you're drinking tonight you might be over the limit to drive tomorrow morning. The thing is, your body gets rid of roughly one standard drink per hour. No amount of black coffee or cold showers or even a full Irish can sober you up faster.

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They should give information on beer mats or in toilets. Put better information on the product like cigarettes. Put it in peoples faces. Having a web site link is a cop out.