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Drinking, driving, and the limit.


Ukeraa

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Too much variety for anything to be hard and fast, there was an ITV thing a few years ago where they went to your average pub and breath tested about 20 people and there was no pattern at all - a girl that had a single alcopop failed but a guy who had 5 double scotches passed.

 

The morning after is even worse - a guy I know went on a bender on a Friday night finishing up about 6am, so stayed at his mates house all day Saturday rather than drive home. Had another couple that evening, then got up early on Sunday to drive to work.

 

Got pulled, failed, lost license and job as a bus driver :(

 

Sad thing is he was anal about D+D, and even then got busted, poor bugger. As Ive always said, I personally think for drink (and drugs) a sobriety test is a lot fairer as "the limit" is such an unknown quantity.

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being a pub manager, the amount of people i see drink driving daily is insane.

at least 5+ a day.

 

its usually the regulars who have their 3/4 pints of ale. (which is generally 4-5%ABV)

and women. my god. the amount of young girls (20-30 years old) who decided to share a bottle of wine or 3 then drive.

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being a pub manager, the amount of people i see drink driving daily is insane.

at least 5+ a day.

 

its usually the regulars who have their 3/4 pints of ale. (which is generally 4-5%ABV)

and women. my god. the amount of young girls (20-30 years old) who decided to share a bottle of wine or 3 then drive.

 

Where are you based and do you have a car park... I sense a mini meet coming on. ;)

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Strong prescription drugs fall under the same category.

 

Im sure youve checked with your doc already but when they brought the law in they said that it shouldnt adversely affect anyone using precription drugs in line with the prescription they had been given, could be worth looking into?

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That us the official line. Take it or leave it

Source?

 

It's what they teach on drink driving awareness courses, albeit with the 40 (or 45?) minutes addition before you start processing the alcohol. Having said that, it's based on the average healthy person, so even then it can differ.

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I had two small glasses of Merlot with a meal in a restaurant over 3 hours yesterday, used one of the disposable testers which showed up clear, They can't be trusted and are not to be relied upon. (My wife was driving, we just did the test because I had a few testers in the car)

 

I do have sympathy for o.p. friend but everyone knows the law, if you choose to take the risk you have to be prepared for the consequences, it's not just your own life/job at risk and i'm not sure I would want to risk my future on 1 hour for every unit theory !!

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I do have sympathy for o.p. friend but everyone knows the law, if you choose to take the risk you have to be prepared for the consequences, it's not just your own life/job at risk and i'm not sure I would want to risk my future on 1 hour for every unit theory !!

 

Absolutely, drink driving means a criminal conviction (fingerprints, DNA, mugshot) and will show up in any DBS check. My step daughter has 2 convictions, 9 years apart, just over the limit both times, and she is having to disclose this to potential employers now she is looking for a job as a teaching assistant. Just not worth it.

 

Pete

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Well, yes but I am suspecting that he gave them some reason to pull him in the first place

 

From my experience they can pull you over for any "reason" they think of. I remember getting pulled over at 2am once after being out on the town on a Saturday night and the reason they gave was "you were driving very cautiously sir". Of course I was f**king driving cautiously, id spotted the police car following me for the last half a mile, I was hardly likely to start driving like an idiot! They couldnt wait to breathalyze me but i hadnt been drinking at all so I was fine. They looked very dissapointed.

 

Calculation is easy. 1 unit of alcohol takes 1 hour to leave your system.

 

It varies drastically depending upon the person I think. I remember one night (long time ago now!) I was up until about 3 or 4am drinking tons of vodka with an ex girlfriend. I got about 3 hours sleep, woke up with the hangover from hell. I felt so sick I couldnt stomach eating any breakfast and was struggling not to chuck up. I cant remember why now, and its not something id ever do now, but I then decided to drive over a mates. On the way over to my mates, sods law, someone crashed into me (100% their fault as they were doing 60 in a 30), but the first thing the police do is breathalyze everyone. It was only then that the situation really hit me, until then I hadnt even considered I might be over the limit. However I suddenly realised that having been drinking from about 6pm until 4am, having hardly any sleep, no breakfast to "soak it up" etc, I must be well over the limit. All sorts of things flash through your head at that moment such as how are you going to cope with a driving ban, how will you get to work, will have to sell the car etc. Anyhow. I blew into the breathalyzer, struggling not to throw up over the officer, and it came up totally clean. It certainly taught me a lesson.

How to fake a breathalyser test by the sounds of it!

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I just don't drink the shite full stop. I would agree with a zero tolerance policy tbh. Various people react to alcohol in different amounts for example an old friend of mine during our years of misspent youth was safer after ten pints than when he was sober. He still got clobbered eventually first receiving a year ban then a three year one, only then did he wisen up and stop drinking and driving!

I also know people that aren't right after a glass of wine.

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I have not heard much about people being prosecuted for driving whilst under the influence of drugs which was bought in semi recently.

 

I used to know loads of people who thought they could get away with it back in the day as they werent "drunk", i wonder how many people are now being prosecuted, you got to believe there are as many drunk drivers as drugged drivers as drug abuse is so common these days, anyone got stats for prosecutions? Is it as mandatory as breathalysers or do you have to show visable signs of intoxication?

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I blew into the breathalyzer, struggling not to throw up over the officer, and it came up totally clean. It certainly taught me a lesson.

How to fake a breathalyser test by the sounds of it!

 

:lol: true. That reminded me of a mate when he got breathalyzed. He got stopped driving out of a pub car park (easy target really) after having 3 pints. He came up "amber" (or whatever it shows when it knows you have had a drink but your under the legal limit), and so for ages afterwards he took that as meaning he can have 3 pints and be fine.

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I blew into the breathalyzer, struggling not to throw up over the officer, and it came up totally clean. It certainly taught me a lesson.

How to fake a breathalyser test by the sounds of it!

 

:lol: true. That reminded me of a mate when he got breathalyzed. He got stopped driving out of a pub car park (easy target really) after having 3 pints. He came up "amber" (or whatever it shows when it knows you have had a drink but your under the legal limit), and so for ages afterwards he took that as meaning he can have 3 pints and be fine.

Rabbitstew, I'm starting to see you in a whole new light these days ;) What with your crazy drink driving stories and your exhaust flame kit....always thought you seemed a bit of a Eeyore's dark and gloomy place kind of person but I think you've got a hidden wild & adventurous side lol

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My Step dad used to have 3-5 pints with a meal 3-4 times a week and drove home, got pulled a few times and always passed.

 

Nearly a decade ago, I left the Police and witnessed some horrendous drink drive accidents. Having witnessed that, if you think you are getting close to the limit, then just don't risk it, literally a life changing moment "might" happen and for what? Save a taxi or a lift etc.

 

just pointless.

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I think a lot of young people are guilty of drink/drug driving, the consequences don't seem to enter a young persons head and in the moment it can feel like a bit of an adventure or even a laugh and if you're miles away from home with no money to your name and stuck at a party full of idiots suddenly the appeal of your warm bed can make the risk seem worth it.

 

I've got some straight up ridiculous story's from my youth and I often feel thankful I never hurt myself or anyone else, I can look back and laugh and thankfully nobody suffered for it but that isn't always the case.

 

I'm all grown up now and wouldn't dare behave in the way that I used too. Scary thing is I certainly wasn't a one off, all of my circle of friends and their friends would all be just as reckless, the same lads are now family men with well paid jobs and kids, so it's not like it only affects the bad lads, chavs etc.

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I think location also has a big part to do with it. I grew up in the middle of the sticks and so in order to get to the nearest pub everyone had to drive (or get taxi`s). I think at one point nearly everyone in that pub got done for drink/driving at one time or another. Even the landlord who used to sometimes offer lifts home to people got done once. The pub did have a reputation for being open 24/7 and I guess at 4am after a heavy session, the hassle of trying to get a taxi, compared to just driving home on "quiet" back roads, then having the hassle of collecting your car the next day just didnt seem appealing to a lot of people.

 

Personally my solution was to start dating a bird who lived close to the pub. :lol:

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The worst offenders i know are the older generation bizarrely, 50+, repeat offenders if you like and on the most part they are driving less than 4 miles home. They are not "pi**ed" per say, but they would definitely be over the limit after a few social pints and before anyone says, why dont you shop them, i would, but i only ever hear through friends after they have seen them out and about.

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The worst offenders i know are the older generation bizarrely, 50+, repeat offenders if you like and on the most part they are driving less than 4 miles home. They are not "pi**ed" per say, but they would definitely be over the limit after a few social pints and before anyone says, why dont you shop them, i would, but i only ever hear through friends after they have seen them out and about.

 

 

Figures don't support this. From 2012 here are the convictions for drink driving.

 

30-39......... 13,442

40-49..........10,519

25-29..........9,490

21-24..........8,496

50-59..........5.497

17-20 .........4,550

Over 60......2,811

Under 17....131

 

Add together the 2 groups 21-24 and 25-29, miles ahead of any other 10 year age group (and 21-29 is only a 9 year group). Also, Males account for 45,754 convictions, Females 9,010.

 

Pete

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The worst offenders I know, not doubting the conviction figures just in my experience its the older generation and as we all know, how often do you get pulled when your older compared to when you are a youth, maybe your just statiscally more likely to get caught as a youth?

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how often do you get pulled when your older compared to when you are a youth

 

Well, a lot will depend on your age, To be fair I know a couple older drivers who drink and drive and are alcoholics I don't know that many under 30's since I retired. I've never been pulled either as a youth or an adult, although TBH I did take a few liberties when I was in my late teens, very early 20's.

 

maybe your just statiscally more likely to get caught as a youth?

 

I would imagine that most police pulls are after dark when the police can't tell who they are pulling over. In any case youngsters (to me anyone under 40 :) ) that I see driving commit stupid offenses which get them pulled over, for example how often do you see a pensioner using a mobile while driving, tailgating or taking a swig of coke?

 

I like stats so here's some more.

 

 

 

In fatal crashes in 2011, the highest percentage of drunk drivers was for drivers ages 21 to 24 (32 percent), followed by ages 25 to 34 (30 percent) and 35 to 44 (24 percent). (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

 

So 86% of drink drive fatalities are in the age range 21 to 44, that even surprised me.

 

Pete

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In the main, I was surprised at how few people actually do drink/drive these days, so I think in general the message is getting over to people.

 

I think it was last year my local police force released details of their Christmas Drink Driving campaign. I cant remember the exact figures, but it was something like they stopped 2500 people who they "suspected were drink driving" and only 12 were actually over the limit. It was something like 0.4%. Whilst fair enough, locking those 12 people up may have stopped them killing someone by drink driving, but I had to wonder what an earth the other 2488 drivers were doing in order to be pulled over and that maybe the police needed better training at identifying a drunk driver.

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