[News] Drink driving - why?

[NogansRun]

Around 12% of UK road deaths are caused by drink driving - FACT. This means 'sober' drivers account for the other 88% of road deaths. Clearly the authorities are after the wrong people.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Are they guaranteed to be as accurate as official tests?

Of course not. They're just cheapo things, probably made in China, designed to make people who are already inclined to take risks, more inclined to take risks.

Re previous question of yours, I wouldn't want to see a zero limit, for reasons I've outlined in my reply to Buzzer above.

 

[BensGrandad]

Of course not. They're just cheapo things, probably made in China, designed to make people who are already inclined to take risks, more inclined to take risks.

Re previous question of yours, I wouldn't want to see a zero limit, for reasons I've outlined in my reply to Buzzer above.

Is it not up to the law makers to make these defences inadmissable as you said such as spelt his name wrong how does that have an affect on the evidence if the correct person is in the dock. If they said it happened Franklynn Rd Haywards Heath but was by the hospital in Lewes Rd ok but not if a surname has a spelling/typing mistake. I believe that it is, to help stop money influencing justice.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

By the way: if you had a crash, and recorded a breath/alcohol reading of somewhere under the limit: you could still be charged, and consequently banned, for driving whilst unfit through drink (S4 Road Traffic Act), so long as it could be demonstrated that your driving was somehow impaired- crashing for no good reason may well be deemed evidence of that- and it's proven that you have alcohol in your system. The penalties are pretty much the same as for the over prescribed limit (S5 Road Traffic Act) offences.

Frankly, your reactions are slowed by alcohol in any case, therefore surely it's not about being at the limit or otherwise- that's an absolute maximum, FFS. If a child runs out from behind a parked car, and you slam the brakes on, but hit them and kill them anyway: would you not spend the rest of your life asking yourself whether you'd have stopped quicker if you'd not had the couple of drinks? I'm not personally sure "how much alcohol can I get away with?" is the right approach, but it's one a lot of people seem to take, regrettably.

 

[Notters]

There is no official Lee-way on speeding.

There sort of is, I think, though it probably depends where you are.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/feb/05/mattwells.vikramdodd

 

[Bob!]

I do not know the stats on this but would think that the worst offenders are the 50- 65 age group as we have always done it and I have been driving 40 years syndrome.

Speak for yourself please.

I'm in that age group.
I have not 'always done it'.

 

[dazzer6666]

Around 12% of UK road deaths are caused by drink driving - FACT. This means 'sober' drivers account for the other 88% of road deaths. Clearly the authorities are after the wrong people.

Which is, I would imagine, massively disproportionate to the number of drivers on the road of course..........(I know, I’m about to be whooshed)

Zero simply wouldn’t work, but reducing the tolerance level to align with most of the rest of Europe would change current behaviours for many. Those ‘one or two pints or glass or two of wine with lunch’ or the ‘morning after’ risks that people currently take would become far fewer.

 

[Diablo]

Those recommending a Zero blood alcohol level......Drink a pint 8pm today and two days later traces of alcohol will be there.......We could develop a better test that would show "parts per billion" which would show up alcohol for many days.....There needs to be a level over which you can`t drive. Where this is set is I believe about right ! I`m happy to drive after drinking a pint of 4% or a glass of wine.

 

[bravohotelalpha]

I have not read all 17 pages so apologies if I am repeating.
If I were Ant's Mum I certainly would have tried my very best to prevent him driving in the first place (easier said than done I know - and I have read the reports of him rowing with his Mum after the accident)
I certainly would not have got in a car with Ant behind the wheel knowing he had been drinking - what on earth was she thinking

 

[Commander]

I'm not personally sure "how much alcohol can I get away with?" is the right approach, but it's one a lot of people seem to take, regrettably.

So many people go go by this, but then people's opinions of what is and isn't OK seem to differ wildly. I always think that two pints of lager impairs my judgement and reactions significantly when just walking down the street, but a lot of people seem to think they'd be under the limit to drive on this. I guess it depends on the strength of the beer etc., but that still seems a lot to be able to drive on.

 

[seagulls4ever]

I have no opinions as to what the limit should be.

I just want to point out that a 'zero limit' could still allow for trace/low levels in the body (e.g. 1-5mg/100ml, instead of 35mg/100ml as it is now).

 

[Springal]

I have not read all 17 pages so apologies if I am repeating.
If I were Ant's Mum I certainly would have tried my very best to prevent him driving in the first place (easier said than done I know - and I have read the reports of him rowing with his Mum after the accident)
I certainly would not have got in a car with Ant behind the wheel knowing he had been drinking - what on earth was she thinking

Did she know he had been drinking? Not really sure we can speculate on what happened here

 

[BensGrandad]

Speak for yourself please.

I'm in that age group.
I have not 'always done it'.

That was said as a generalisation and I must admit I fell into that category until about 1995 until I was diagnosed with mouth cancer and decided the law of averages said that I would get done and due to the cancer had to change my life pattern so one night said that is it and I havent done it since that night.. Incidentally havent smoked since either.

 

[Buzzer]

Unfortunately, [MENTION=5200]Buzzer[/MENTION], we have the joint highest permissible alcohol levels in mainland Europe. Most countries in the EU, as well as Scotland now, have a limit of 20 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath. Here, and in I think only a couple of other places, it's 35.

It's a poor show. I personally disagree with the limit being zero, as there would be far too many arguments against, and the courts would end up being occupied with the specialist defence solicitors accessible largely to the rich, clogging up the system with ludicrous technical arguments to try and get their clients off seemingly cut & dried cases. They do this anyway of course- I wouldn't mind betting that if Ant McPartlin is charged, he'll have somebody like Nick Freeman or Phil Lucas claiming that, despite him being whatever it might turn out to be over the limit, it's all invalid because the police officer spelled his name slightly wrong, or didn't have her hat on when she arrested him, or because he secretly and without thinking ate a Haribo Gold Bear that he found in his pocket in between being arrested and breathalysed. But we should without doubt at least fall into line with the rest of Europe.

It may be one of the highest but it's still v.low and for a lot of people a 20mg or 35mg level could well equate to the same thing - anything over a pint so it may be a moot point whether it's 20, 25 or 35. Also, that table of deaths attributable to drink suggests that the UK doesn't have a higher number of drunks on the road than the countries with lower limits, so it might not be as bad as it sounds. Perhaps that's mainly due to having a culture where it's not tolerated. I lived in S Africa where it was just accepted as something people did because no-one dare walk out in public after dark and they don't trust taxis.

We are clearly doing something right in having a low level of drink-related deaths. It's how we get the message across to Gibson and Ant (or Dec) that seems to need working on.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Did she know he had been drinking? Not really sure we can speculate on what happened here

If she did know she’s a ****. If she didn’t then he’s an even bigger **** than we currently think.

 

[dangull]

I have driven after having 2 pints of lager, as that's roughly what your allowed before going over the limit. Never thought my driving was affected, but would never drive with any extra.

Many country pubs would close down if you took these type of customers away.

 

[BensGrandad]

They just said on the news Ant going back into rehab and this weeks show cancelled, I suppose that is a plus, but that is his defence sorted then.

 

[Quinney]

I have driven after having 2 pints of lager, as that's roughly what your allowed before going over the limit. Never thought my driving was affected, but would never drive with any extra.

Many country pubs would close down if you took these type of customers away.

I’d be sweating a bit if I had to blow into breathalyser after 2 pints.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

They just said on the news Ant going back into rehab and this weeks show cancelled, I suppose that is a plus, but that is his defence sorted then.

Of course he’s gone into rehab. Did you expect anything else? Every single celebrity who has “an error of judgement” with booze or drugs does the rehab route. Sure, some likely do have an issue but equally some don’t and cry wolf.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

It may be one of the highest but it's still v.low and for a lot of people a 20mg or 35mg level could well equate to the same thing - anything over a pint so it may be a moot point whether it's 20, 25 or 35.

I won't go into specifics for obvious reasons, but...it won't. And it isn't very low, not at all.