Correct, but that's not how it's presented to us. It is presented as this person was drunk so they drove too fast and hit someone. But maybe that person drive fast all the time, and maybe they text all the time, and it's also possible that them looking down at their phone caused them to not see the minivan full of kids that they plowed into, and even though they had 3 beers at dinner, the alcohol really wasn't a contributing factor at all.

I don't want to come off as supporting drunk driving, because I don't do it. But I also don't agree with the fact that a DUI will ruin your life, even if there are no damages.

What we need is a comprehensive study that will show how many accidents were directly caused by the person being impared, and not just a contributing factor.

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Posted by UGATiger26

Jacksonville, FL

Member since Dec 2009

9049 posts

Posted on 12/18/18 at 10:51 am to dltigers3

Local news article about an experiment that was conducted with the .05 standard.

LINK

quote:
Starting with a 0.00 baseline and a field sobriety test, five people of varying body types were given different drinks and food items and tested at different points of the evening. Once they hit .05, they were also administered a field sobriety test.

quote:
After a second high point beer, Stapleford reported feeling a little tipsy. When Unified Police officers tested her, she blew a .053—just barely over the new legal limit. But on her field sobriety test, Unified Police Detective Kyle Liddiard said she passed.

quote:
On repeated breathalyzer tests, Stephenson flirted with .05 all night long. Opponents of the new DUI law have concerns that a mild social drinker could have only a couple of glasses of wine with dinner and wind up in jail. For Stephenson, who is a petite woman, it appeared that is the case. But she also passed her field sobriety test.

quote:
After his fourth gin and tonic, with metered shots over the course of three hours, Gehrke hit .05. However, he showed no significant signs of impairment on the field sobriety test administered by Unified Police.

Those bolded parts should have people upset. In other words, these people - by the police's own admission - were perfectly OK to drive but still subject to arrest for being above the new .05 limit.

Here's the kicker....

quote:
Police emphasize that what you drink and what you blow on a breathalyzer do not matter, because all you have to show are signs of impairment for you to be pulled over.

Oh, that's a relief

So what qualifies as "impairment?" Rolling through a stop sign? Speeding? Following too closely?

This new limit basically gives police cover to test and breathalyze anyone they pull over after 5pm on a Friday or Saturday.