Drink driving limits

[marcus]

I was watching a TV show the other night all about alcohol and the local limit here in Australia..and it got me thinking about the drink driving laws in other countries around the world..I was surprised to hear that drink driving only became illegal in Italy in 1990 which is absolutely crazy.

Here in Australia our limit is .05 and unfortunately if you read through the monday papers you will find plenty of people who have been caught over the weekend.

so what is the limit in your country and are there any little rules that have to be obeyed if you are caught??

by the way if you drink and drive your a bloody idiot !!!

[Airhead]

Originally posted by marcus

by the way if you drink and drive your a bloody idiot !!!

Exactly Marcus exactly...

So whenever I figure I could be ****ed, I ride, or drive, like a flippin' deamon, so I limit the time I'm on the road.

[marcus]

oh great moff..there is a statement for the youth from a role model if i ever heard one !!!!!

[Neil C]

My boss and I have discussed this.

It seems (at least in the US) that we have given up trying to teach school kids that it is not a good idea to have sex at an early age, so, we are giving them condoms and teaching them how to have "safe" sex.

Same with drugs. We can't tell people that they shouldn't do drugs, so we've started giving them needles and a dole so they will be safe and not commit crimes.

We should start a driving school that uses this principle. Since kids are going to drink and drive anyway, let's teach them how, and at the same time, remove the stigma of drunk driving. Get them liquored-up and show them how to be safe drunks. Just keep the car between the little lines on the road, if you don't recognize a stop sign, just stop at every sign you come to (alternate: don't stop at any signs). And so on.

Mof, you sound like you'ld be a good candidate to head the Australian branch of our "Smashed, not Crashed" school. What are your credentials?

[Craig]

I presume that you two are making some sort of joke ?? If you're serious then you've really gone down in my estimation...

Having attended at an early age the funeral of a young family member who was mown down by a drunk hit and run artist i'm sure you can appreciate why.

[TimD]

Uh, I can't imagine that these two esteemed fellows are serious....

It takes on a different complexion when you have personal experience of the problem. Only a few months ago, Bluebottle and I stopped to pull a guy out of the wreck of his car when he smashed it into a barrier. When he emerged, he absolutely reeked of alcohol, and he was subsequently shown to be three and a half times over the legal limit.

Can't say much more on this, as I have agreed to be a witness in a forthcoming prosecution...

As for myself, I will allow myself a single pint of beer if I know I'm driving later in the evening. It ensures I'm well below the limit, and after an evening of slooshing it away with orange or cola, it has a minimal effect on the system.

But it's an effect I notice. I take too much pride in my driving to want to reduce my capability behind the wheel, and one beer is quite enough.


Oddly enough, statistically the hardcore of British drink-drivers are in the 45-60 age bracket. The young ones tend not to take the risk....

[Airhead]

Yes Craig the tongue was firmly planted in the cheek, as I'm sure Neil's was as well. In his cheek, not mine.

I have been on the receiving end of the road trauma caused by alcohol working in an Emergency Department. It has sort of encuraged my gallows humour. My apologies, neither myself or Neil were to know your personal history.

[Wrex]

Having a small amount of knowlege of Moffats professional background and knowing that he has kids in a dangerous age group, I was sure that it was just his weird sense of humour.

That said, I must say that it makes me sick and angry when I find out there are some that are still proud of their 'achievement' when they drive home drunk.

However, we seem to be winning the battle. The government here has finally realised that making something socially unacceptable is far more effective than just handing out fines and suspensions. Similar results are being established with smoking. TimD pointed out the age group of most offenders in Britain, and I think it is similar here as well. I see more of my parents friends 'running the gauntlet' than mine.

As Marcus has pointed out, the advertising campain here in Oz ends with "If you drink and drive your a bloody idiot". The common response to that from a moron is "but if you make it home your a legend." If that is said in my presense, I punch in the mouth will follow.

[Neil C]

Aha! So there is a topic which is off-limits to humor. I apologize.

My point was not about drunk driving. It was about the attitude that "we can't do anything to stop unsafe behavior because we've lost all moral authority, the best we can do is make stupid behavior safer". Teaching a kid to have "safe" sex makes as much sense as teaching someone how to drive drunk. Of course I wasn't serious. Please.

Wrex, a punch in the mouth? Really, I thought that remark was clever commentary on the acceptance of drunkeness.

[Wrex]

It probably is Neil. But like Craig I have personal experience that gives me an emotional (over)-reaction. I will drive you home, I will pick you up, I will pay for your cab ride, but I won't endorse drink driving.

We have to be clear to our guests, friends & relatives that drink driving is unacceptable.

In my younger years I was the manager of a nightclub, and (after much debate) convinced the owner to hire 5 mini-buses to pick people up and take them home in the local area. It was a huge success.

The guests spent the money they had for a cab at the bar anyway, parents were supportive of our club, we recieved great PR for the exercise, guests stayed all night instead of club hopping, and the police 'looked after us' after learning of our responsible behavior.

If everyone had the same attitude, we could almost completely wipe out drink driving related deaths on our roads.

[Diabando]

I am a fairly broadminded person, but one thing I will not tolerate in any form, is driving under the influence (whether it be alcohol or other drugs).

I could sit here and just speel on about it - go right off my trolley so to speak, but I would just send you all to sleep! So, in short...

It has to be controlled - somehow, we have to achieve this, as a community.

[Sharky]

I don't know what's the alcohol limit while driving over here but I do know the statistics. 60% of accidents that end up with someone dying are caused by drink drivers as well as 40% of pedestrians that are run over.

However I never EVER drive when I have drinked regardless of how much it was. That's just plain stupidity.

[kuchi]

Originally posted by Sharky
However I never EVER drive when I have drinked regardless of how much it was. That's just plain stupidity.

That is because you NEVER EVER drink my friend Sharky.

As for what is the level of alcohol permitted here in Colombia, well I think is less than 1%. The thing is that here almost all of the drivers that are found drunk have no less than 6% of alcohol in their blood. Amazing how some are able to drive, for me it is unthinkable. Every time I take my mom's car I know I can't drive, and if I know I'm going to have some drinks, I usually stay at my frien's house, and leave the cae parked. Some just don't have responsabilities in this life.

[Warwick]

At one time when it was not so socially unacceptable (15-16 years ago) I will admit to getting wrecked and driving home on several occasions.

Living in a rural area and with pretty much everyone doing it I didn't think anything off it.

One night after a big party I was hardly capable of walking let alone driving I started off home driving a friend,she made me stop the car got out and walked because I was so erratic.

That made me realise just how stupid I was being (and lucky I hadn't killed or injured someone)I stopped drinking all together after that night and still dont drink to this day.

At the time I was considered weird simply because I didn't drink and quite often people would try to push drinks on me,it did however make me very popular with my mates as they then had a sober driver to get them everywhere.

I saw many of these guys crash,write off cars injure themselves and once they and their vehicles were patched back up,go straight back to the same behavior and some of them still do to this day.

Once I would have thought nothing of it now I think it sad that these people haven't learnt better,beacause it can only be a matter of time before they are caught (and many have been)or worse kill or injure someone!

[Ray Bell]

The introduction of random breath testing in Australia led to a similar drop in the death rate on our roads as did the introduction of compulsory safety belt wearing... about 20% reduction overnight!

And still many deaths were caused by drinking drivers...

Maybe they had never pondered anything like this:

DON'T WORRY MUM

Don't worry Mum, we'll take care of your rose,
for we know that it meant so much
when you planted it there, a little while back,
when Dad and I last felt your touch.

Don't worry Mum, though the winter's chill
will bring frost to each branch and thorn,
deeper warmth will come with the sun each spring
as the cycle of life's reborn.

When the dewdrops form, she will give her thanks
to the sun as it meets her needs.
Brighter rays may hurt, but it's pain that's growth
for her blooms and their tiny seeds.

As Elizabeth rose lets her flag unfurl
in a world that is still half-mast,
she will stand for life, as her fragrant scents
bring release from the painful past.

Yes, it seems so cruel when a tragic loss
sees the world turning upside-down,
when a drunk can cause a horrific end
to a casual trip to town,

But don't worry Mum. Life will find its way,
though the living would change their place,
though you won't now see the woman emerge
through the freckles that hide my face,

And you won't take care of my father's needs,
but I'm here and I'll see things through.
As the years go by, you can rest assured
all his love will be there for you.

So don't worry Mum. All the care you took
with this rose means that Dad and I
can assure you of this - she will bloom each year,
as she grows where our ashes lie.

My brother, Brian, wrote this. He had met the 'mum' to whom it is addressed and knew of the case, when a drunk came over a brow and barrelled a little girl and her dad, killed them and then used his drunken state as his defence in court.

This is not a part of the poem, but it is a part of history. The driver was adjudged less responsible, less guilty, because of his inebriate state and received a fine and brief licence loss for the double fatality he caused.

This caused a right stink at the time, the presiding magistrate being famous for handing down some really stiff penalties for speeding and the like!

As for myself, I have only once driven while slightly intoxicated, and I reckon I was on the brink of disaster the whole way (Oran Park to Silverdale). Generally I am a non-drinker because I am always a driver.