Arrested for drinking and driving

Dolby said:
Not in all cases - like on the cusp.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breathalyzer

Research indicates that breath tests can vary at least 15% from actual blood alcohol concentration[citation needed]. An estimated 23% of individuals tested will have a BAC reading higher than their true BAC[citation needed]. Police in Victoria, Australia, use breathalyzers that give a recognized 20% tolerance on readings. Noel Ashby, former Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner (Traffic & Transport), claims that this tolerance is to allow for different body types

Things like breathing patterns can even effect reading. Is it fair to lock away people to rot in jail?
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Such things by their nature are meant to cover a majority of cases. It would be expensive and unreasonable to treat every case on its own merit at the side of the road which is why they take a blood sample and allow you to individualize your case in front of a judge who by the way is also bound to be subjective but within reason.
 
R13... said:
Such things by their nature are meant to cover a majority of cases. It would be expensive and unreasonable to treat every case on its own merit at the side of the road which is why they take a blood sample and allow you to individualize your case in front of a judge who by the way is also bound to be subjective but within reason.
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So arrest you, set court dates, cash, inconvenience everyone - just to be told you're innocent at the end?

That seems worse for everyone than simply saying to someone blowing a 0.25 'You're fine'

Alternatively - raise the limit and take away the error that the machines give?
 
Dolby said:
So arrest you, set court dates, cash, inconvenience everyone - just to be told you're innocent at the end?

That seems worse for everyone than simply saying to someone blowing a 0.25 'You're fine'

Alternatively - raise the limit and take away the error that the machines give?
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They're actually thinking of making the limit zero... Which should remove the blow 0.25 and you're fine problem.
 
Slootvreter said:
Whether being legally over the limit is the same as being a drunkard, has got nothing to do with the law. Grow up. I stated exactly what my stance here is. I will not drive home after a heavy night out or a hard drinking session at a friend's house. Yes, I am selective here. Fortunately, I know my limits. Whether you approve, is immaterial to me.
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Am I the only one seeing this oxymoron? Being over the limit is not legal.
 
XennoX said:
Am I the only one seeing this oxymoron? Being over the limit is not legal.
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No, means 'legally he is over the limit' or 'according to the law he has exceeded the limit'. It's a reference to the law so you can be legally under or over the limit.
 
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ponder said:
Remember to stay away from cough syrup, mouth wash etc etc
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... if they have mouth wash before driving, they deserve to thrown in the jail to rot for the rest of their lives. The law is the law and there for a reason.

*sarcasm*
 
They test for alcohol and fatigue at work. Alcohol test is compulsory and fatigue center is voluntarily. It does really help in terms of driving the right behavior. Since we started the programme, we have far less incidences of our employees caught driving under the influence outside work environment.
 
Dolby said:
So arrest you, set court dates, cash, inconvenience everyone - just to be told you're innocent at the end?

That seems worse for everyone than simply saying to someone blowing a 0.25 'You're fine'

Alternatively - raise the limit and take away the error that the machines give?
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Perhaps you missed this: They use the machine only as a guideline. If it indicates you as over the limit, they take you for tests, to confirm.

XennoX said:
Am I the only one seeing this oxymoron? Being over the limit is not legal.
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That was not the point being discussed, but interpret it as you wish.
 
Viva said:
+1

I don't trust people who are over the limit to make a call with regards to their own ability to drive. That's ridiculous.

Put differently, all people who ended up killing people while driving under the influence argued that they were perfectly capable of driving. They were mistaken, because they were not capable of good judgement calls after drinking.

A person who respects other people's lives will have the insight to stick to predefined rules, just in case his judgement is wrong.
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Funny how perfectly sober people also manage to kill people quite regularly, but nobody ever takes their license away or sends them to jail.

I'm not advocating people should drive around utterly smashed, but in most cases the legal limit is ridiculously low to the point where being even slightly over the limit will put you in jail but might not actually impede your ability to drive.

Having two bottles of wine and then driving is a different story though.
 
Slootvreter said:
Perhaps you missed this: They use the machine only as a guideline. If it indicates you as over the limit, they take you for tests, to confirm.
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No I didn't miss it - but this happens first :

Dolby said:
So arrest you, set court dates, cash, inconvenience everyone - just to be told you're innocent at the end?
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They've setup the court date a year in advance, you can't leave the country, cancel your holiday plans, lose your deposit on your holiday ... and after a year it's 'oops! You were right! You did only have a beer and you're actually good to go!'

They hardly use it as a guide line - it's just not prosecutable in court (though, it has been at least once). It's like GUILTY (via the machine) until proven innocent in a year.

They really need to revise driving over the limit IMO and not take that machine so seriously. If first world countries give a 20% leeway, why can't we?

Legal limit is 0.24 - how about only reacting at 0.28+? Just about everyone you catch under that is going go be fine at the blood tests, so it's just a huge inconvenience and cost to haul them to the station
 
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Why not do what the Tobacco companies is forced to do, force the motor industry to slap on a big ****ing sticker on the doors : "Warning, driving can kill you. Driving under the influence can kill you. Other road users can also kill you."
 
So get a bloody self testing unit to use as a guideline if you're adamant you need to have that extra beer with dinner.

I know so many people who drink and drive (I'm not talking two beers here) and they think it's an achievement. When you tell them they're wrong for doing it, they become aggressive toward you. Just yesterday on a WhatsApp group a guy was texting and boasted that he's multitasking so he sends us a pic of him driving. The group gives him **** and gets annoyed and tells us to relax. Same thing goes with drunk drivers. It's all fun and games until you're arrested or kill someone, then you come running for help.

Grow a pair, deal with the consequences of your actions and learn from it and spread awareness. Do your part now and Lead SA

Oh, and use Smartguys. No contracts like Good fellas. I've only had good experiences with Smartguys but make sure to book your ride way in advance.
 
B@rrels said:
Because of the backlog at labs,there is a chance that the blood sample might not be available at your court date.If you can represent yourself or get a legal person to rep you,he could have it thrown off the roll...worked for me:o
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sweet thanks makes me feel Somewhat better about the whole thing :)
 
B@rrels said:
Because of the backlog at labs,there is a chance that the blood sample might not be available at your court date.If you can represent yourself or get a legal person to rep you,he could have it thrown off the roll...worked for me:o
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ponder said:
Have the results of the blood work come back yet? If 'yes' what was the result, if 'no' wait for the results and request a copy.
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Nope Not yet. Thanks for the advice and not adding fuel to the flame War:)
 
B@rrels said:
Because of the backlog at labs,there is a chance that the blood sample might not be available at your court date.If you can represent yourself or get a legal person to rep you,he could have it thrown off the roll...worked for me:o
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MaximusZA said:
@OP how long was it from when you blew to when they took the blood test? if you were just over then in the time it took for them to take the blood tests you may have dropped below the limit.
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about 45 min I would guess I feel pretty confident in my sobriety in that I may have been over but not by a lot I don't want to get cocky though
 
SauRoNZA said:
Having two bottles of wine and then driving is a different story though.
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pfft after 2 bottles of wine I still drive more responsible than 50% of the Eastern Cape :)

Serious note.. it's an interesting subject, as alcohol & medicine etc. have way different effects on people. But guess they have to enforce some rule.
 
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