[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Drunk driver math (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 8/23/2007 7:53:36 PM EDT
|
I arrested 3 people for DUI this weak and one zero tolerance citation. Here are their responses when asked how much they had to drink. 52yo Female "one glass of wine." BAC was .37% (one glass of wine after you emptied a bottle of vodka maybe) 23yo Male "Nothing." BAC was .09% (More like 5-7 buddy) 17yo male "Nothing." BAC was .02% (Zero tolerance cite) 24yo Female "three to four drinks." .27% (more like lost count after three or four). Most DUI suspects give the standard answer of "two beers" when asked. IME is someone says "five or six" then they are either honest and will be pretty close to the limit, or they lost count after five or six and are plastered. Someone who says "nothing" when they have an odor of an alcoholic beverage on their breath, bloodshot watery eyes and slurred speech is a liar. A bad liar. |
Yup. 
|
|
though i'm sure you know this, make sure you ask about timespan. if i have 3 beers in 1 hour, i'm over .08. i can't even feel a buzz, but i'm over the limit in TX. in addition, many bars pour heavy. i had a buddy go down for DWI after only 3 drinks because (unbeknownst to him, but knownst to us) he was getting drastically overpoured by a girl who was trying to get in his pants. still his responsibility, but somewhat of a grey area compared to the boneheads that throw down multiple jagers in an hour. |
First read through it sounded like the kid got a DUI. If thats what you did, then good call. |
I've had one and wont be driving anywhere, for a minimum of 8 hours. That was the rule when i was in the military, no driving for 8 hours after your last drink and stop drinking at least 8 hours before reporting for duty. That simple rule, self imposed, has kept me out of tons of trouble. |
Zero tolerance is not DUI. DUI requires impairment. Zero Tolerance is a traffic infraction and the "punishment" is a traffic school type class with a heavy focus on alcohol and driving. Upon completion of the class the charge is dismissed. So it doesnt show as a conviction when he's applying for college or auto insurance. |
That is a safe rule. I figure the one beer equals 1hr rule. Do you think that is a safe assumption? Anything over 3-4 beers in 3-4 hours is a "stay in all night" kinda thing. |
Even at one beer an hour you eventually overtake your livers ability to process the alcohol faster than you are drinking it. 6 beers in 5 hours and i'm still legal. 7 beers in 5 hours and i'm over. 7 beers in 7 hours and i'm still over. |
Hence the cap limit of 4-5 beers in 4-5 hrs and I refuse to drive.  I see you have had fun with your own breathalyzer machine. 
|
i'd have to see some evidence on this one. to the best of my understanding, the liver metabolizes at a pretty constant rate. no offense, but are you a smaller guy? i'm 5'10/155, and at one beer an hour i'll blow a .02 after a 12-pack. while the liver rate varies with body size, 1 drink per hour is a pretty reliable rule of thumb, even for heavy drinkers. |
And where is the incentive to be honest, if being honest involves admitting to something illegal? Cops laugh at dumb crooks that rat on themselves, but get pissed at the ones that don't... 
|
|
Metabolism of alcohol generally follows zero-order kinetics. That is, it's eliminated at a rate independent of concentration... and it's roughly one drink/hour for the average person. Keep in mind that certain things will increase/decrease systemic absorption of alcohol. A full stomach will slow absorption, as will anything that decreases gastric emptying. The longer alcohol stays in the stomach, the longer some of your enzymes, most notably gastric alcohol dehydrogenase, will have to break down the alcohol before it gets into the bloodstream. There are also gender differences in levels of that enzyme, and certain medicines will also affect it. One drink per hour is a fair rule-of-thumb, but other factors can throw it off. |
|
My brother was pulled 10+ years ago (in the parking lot right next door to his apartment). Officer asked how many and brother replied "5 Necastles, Sir." Officer said he had never pulled anyone that admitted to more than 2 before and appreciated his honesty, but still had to charge him (obviously). Brother has since never driven since after even a sip of alcohol. |
sounds like he got cornholed in county. I KEED, I KEED!! 
|
|
Sounds to me like you are doing a damn great job getting these people off the roads. And about the kid drinking, keep up the good work! Maybe one of these days he & a few here will realize that just maybe you saved his life. And the lives of others. Thank you! Mike |
|
Does anybody remember the recent drunk flight attendant news video? That woman had a BAC of only .03 and she looked pretty tanked. On a side note... I think it would be better not to blow and lose your license temporarily than to be charged with DUI. What you save in legal fees and what not you can spend on public transportation. |
I would rather prevent one dui related injury trraffic collision than arrest 10 tweekers or petty theives. In 2005, nearly 13,000 people were killed in crashes involving a driver or motorcycle operator with an BAC of .08 or higher. The one chick was a few miles into a 70+ mile trip intending to take surface streets, with a BAC of .27%. IMO there is no way in hell she would have made that trip without crashing. She has a 4yo son and ending up in jail for a few hours beats the hell out of ending up in the hospital or morgue. |
Not really. I only arrest about 30-40 DUI's a year. I know traffic cops thast arrest over 100 a year. But i have other responsibilities and cant spend much time on trasffic enforcement of any type. I just had a busy week this week. Most likely because its getting close to the end of summer and alot of people are getting in that last big summer blowout before going back to school. |
Are you one of those? I thought MTK was our resident drunk driver apologist. Here's a nicel ittle story from a couple of weeks ago;
Isn't is horrible how these jack booted thugs harrassed this poor woman twice purely for revenue enhancement before she even ran the old man down in the crosswalk?? This story isn't anything special. Occurs several times a day, day in and day out. If we get paged out for a MVC after 10 PM or so, it's better then even money that there'll be a drunk involved. But people keep claiming that there's nothing wrong with impairing your reflexes, reactions and perceptions then choosing to pilot several tons of steel at high velocity in close proximity to innocent bystanders. Assholles one and all. |
|
For once a police thread where I get to take sides with the cops!!! See I am not a total cop basher! Drunk driver are dangerous, and are not punished nearly severly enough. I recently lost my liscense after getting stopped at a DUI checkpoint. My answer was, I don't drink sir! He believed me. Then they ran my tag, and due to a clerical mistake my tag came back suspended. I got a citation and had to have my dad come pick me and my entire family up from the side of the road. I went to court with my ducks in a row, all my paperwork showing that my tag was never actually suspended. The judge took my paperwork, never looked at it (her head was facing away from me as she was talking to the secretary or whoever it was doing paper work off to her side behind the bench) and handed it back to me. She looked at whatever paperwork she had on her desk, and asked me if I was driving the car with tag number XXX-XXXX, I told her I was, but that the tag had never been suspended, that there was a clerical error, I have letter here from the DMV, showing that my tag was valid on that date and had never been suspended at all. She then lectured me for five minutes about driving without insurance. At this point I was like WTF? I hadn't been accused of driving without insurance, and have had an insurance policy in effect without any lapses for 18 years. She tells me that if I want to drive I should keep my car insured, fine $705, liscense suspended 120 days, and must complete drivers training. Even after all that I still don't have a problem with DUI checkpoints. The law is simple if you use public roads, you are subject to being checked for DUI at any time. |
|
When I was an immortal in my youth, my buddies and I would all drive drunk. In fact, we would get plastered by splitting a case of beer and a bottle of Dr McGillicutty's then head out to the bars. So one night we ventured to Frank's Chicken House in NJ. It was late, 4am or so. Just coming down 295. Lights in the mirror. I was passenger in my buddies 89 Z28. Blacked out windows, louvers, big ass stereo system, doing about 90mph. Theres 4 of us, all over 6" tall crammed into this thing. VH blarring, empty beer bottled all over the car. NJSP walks up. Asks my buddy "How many drinks have you had tonight?" My buddy, "I don't know, at least 15-20 plus shots, last drink was about 2 hours ago." Blows a .29, arrested, we have to find a ride(from his mother), he lost license in NJ for a year. One of my other buddies was driving and we were all in the car. Pulled over for speeding. Cop asks if he'd been drinking. he says yes. Blows .25 and cops asks why didnt he have one of us drive, just as he asks other buddy pukes all over the side of the road where we were sitting. Cops says" Nevermind I asked." Im the only one of my circle of friends not to get nailed for a DUI. I know now the stupidity of my young ways.. I have said it before on this forum.. I am surprised I am still alive.. Really
|
 If you do not think that drinking and driving is a problem, its only a matter of time till you find yourself in a situation that will put others at risk. Isn't there another buckeyerifleman? IP check? ETA: Yes there is another, he spells it BuckeyeRifleman. You the same, or just unoriginal? |
Sounds like you got one in the tail. From what you wrote you didn't have an attorney. Spend the $$$ get an attorney and get this overturned on appeal. Makes the judge look like an idiot. By the way DUI is a real crime in Ohio. More people are killed every year by drunk drivers than by guns. Great job and keep up the good work. |
I've got folders full of pictures of dead people that were killed by drunk drivers. Some of these people died as violent a death as you could imagine. Dismembered, disemboweled, decapitated, ripped in two, you name it. That could be your loved ones. |
My name is TheOtherDave, and I approve of this ZTP and attendant fishing expedition. Thanks for nailing the little reprobate. |
So...why do you keep these multitudes of photos?
|
I always feel sorry for the DUI's for a few minutes, and yes some of them may get home just fine, especially since they've probably just been scared shitless with their encounter with the popo, but in reality, they are a disaster waiting to happen to anyone on the road they may encounter. It's a lot of hassle getting a DUI (not for me, never had one), but tough shit, and hopefully they learn their lesson the first time around. Same for the juvies, sucks getting busted a week after you got your license, but then not many kids need to be driving at 16, and if you fuck up, then I don't really want you on the road anyway. |
If you drink enough of it sure. If you are asking can rinsing with mouthwash show up at a .02% BAC. No. There is a 15 minute observation period before the preliminary alcohol screening test during which the driver cannot eat, drink or smoke. This eliminates false positives from sources such as breath spray or mouthwash. |
Oh yeah, I got hosed. I didn't think I would need a lawyer, the cop who wrote the ticket wasn't a dick at all, actually he was fairly pleasant, and said that if it really was an error all I would have to do was go to the DMV and get the paperwork, show it to the judge and it would be dismissed. He was wrong, but I don't think he was trying to do me harm, he just has more faith in the justice system (as did I at the time) than is warranted. I may look into appealing it, I am not sure if I can though, they had me sign a form stating that I didn't want a trial, or a lawyer when I got there, before I my hearing, at the time I didn't even think about it, it seemed so simple. I actually have a beef with that procedure as well, the way the presented the form to waive your rights (that name should get the bells ringing alone), was that if you didn't sign you couldn't see the judge, thus you would be guilty of failure to appear, there would be a warrant and your DL would be suspended. |
|
If you haven't had a family member encounter a drunk driver on the road, you're either lucky, or don't have a very large family. One of my uncles was killed after being hit head-on by three drunk teens. Left behind a wife and newborn baby... If you're totally crocked, you've got no business being behind the wheel, and you deserve whatever you get. |
Same reason any officer does. 10 years from now I'm going to end up in court over the case. I'm sittting in a cheap motel at this very moment waiting to be called on a civil suit resulting from a traffic fatality involving a commercial trucker in 1999. I've had TWO honest DWI's out of about 1600 over the years. One was a school teacher (bottle of rose wine) Other was a telemarketer supervisor. (17 beers) |