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Utah Gov. Gary Herbert Signs Bill Lowering Legal Blood-Alcohol Limit To .05%

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Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
.08 is an arbitrary number to begin with and .05 is equally as arbitrary.
 

Madness

Member
I'm not seeing the issue, that is still like 2 or 3 beers. No one is stopping you from having a beer.

What's even worse is that I think some people may genuinely be alcoholics if they would risk their own lives and the lives of others to have beers or hard liquor with their meals and drive afterwards. In the US, drunk driving deaths make up over 1/3rd of all traffic fatalities, with over 10k being killed, and thousands more being injured. You don't have a right to drink and drive period. Numerous studies have shown even 1-2 beers affects your judgment, impairs your ability to think and react quickly. So either pony up the cash for a taxi, uber, lyft which has never been easier, get a designated driver friend, don't drink, take transit or stay your ass home.
 
0.05 is a very generous limit, some of you are very ill informed with what it takes to get there. I think we're about 0.04 here in nz and you can easily have 3 or even 4 beers on a night out with dinner and water and be fine.

1 beer with dinner would struggle to register.
 

Carn82

Member
its .05 here in The Netherlands as well. So it's basically 'two drinks max'; I usually prefer not to drink when I have to drive.
 

Funky Papa

FUNK-Y-PPA-4
Norway has 0.02 so I dont feel sorry for you.

We use grams per litre over here, but it's around 0.03 for a 70 kg male. And I don't think it's particularly strict.

Back when I was going out thursday to sunday I would always carry a breathalyser in my glove compartment and would wait for a bit if I crossed the limit. 0.03 may not sound like a lot, but it's still quite dangerous because it's enough to impair your reflexes whithout making you feel shitfaced.
 
Good. Even a single drink can impact you. Nobody should be defending drinking and driving.

Lol.

If you are under the limit in the UK, the boose will not have any impact on your driving capacity. That's kind of why the law exists.

People saying "don't ever have a sip of boose and drive" live in a fantasy world. I'd love to see a statistic between crashes of people who have some amount of alcohol in their system but are under the limit still and people who have zero alcohol. People driving when tired or anxious are probably a much greater hazard.
 

pringles

Member
A single glass of wine taken with a full meal is not going to affect your driving unless you weigh 34 lbs., are 14 years old, or do not have functioning kidneys.
Your ability as a driver is impaired long before you feel drunk or even a little tipsy.

This thread is really ugly. There is a statistic I read, from sweden but likely applicable everywhere, that people aged 18-24 driving with a .05 are 900x more likely to be in an accident than those driving sober.
 
That's fair, but at this level society should look at some functionally impaired drivers as well. Slow reaction times, uncorrected vision, thrill seekers.

I might also say that texter is worse than a drunk even at .08 in many ways. You might do more to disable phone features.
 
Excessive? Gross. It should be this way everywhere. If you've had drink or drugs of any amount in a 12 hour window, don't get behind the wheel, period.

Lol, you're ridiculous.

It's fine here in Aus. A couple beers or bourbons with Coke during dinner isn't going to put you over when driving home, or if it does, you're an exception to the standard and should learn your limits.
 

RulkezX

Member
Lol.

If you are under the limit in the UK, the boose will not have any impact on your driving capacity. That's kind of why the law exists.

People saying "don't ever have a sip of boose and drive" live in a fantasy world. I'd love to see a statistic between crashes of people who have some amount of alcohol in their system but are under the limit still and people who have zero alcohol. People driving when tired or anxious are probably a much greater hazard.

It's called Google.
 
How is this a bad thing?

Because people hate feeling like they're being restricted from doing the things they want (like drinking) and instantly freak out without researching anything.

Some people think they are in control.

Yeah, it's depressing. "A beer during dinner won't have any effect on my ability to drive"... yes, it will. We've set limits based on what we've determined to be a maximum reasonable decrease in impairment, not on the BAC required before impairment starts... which is basically anything above 0.
 

Skinpop

Member
these things are always frustrating because they say "well it's .05 now" and then we try to figure out "well how much is .05 exactly?" and there's 100 different answers.

I will say that if you have 3 beers with a meal you shouldn't drive after that. So if that's .05 then...good rule I guess.
The answer is don't ever drink if you intend to drive. It's the worst kind if stupid.
 
Are people in this thread really arguing that any alcohol whatsoever precludes driving? Like, if a 300 lb man has one light beer with dinner and then drives two hours later, he's a moral monster? Seriously? I rarely ever drink and I have no problem with a .05% limit, but some people in this thread sound incredibly extreme.
 

Bluth54

Member
I'm looking forward to the day when self driving cars are mandatory so drunk driving isn't an issue. Unfortunately I imagine the government will drag their feet on making self driving cars mandatory (and they'll probably have to subsidize conversions of existing cars like the analog to digital TV transition, which wont be cheap).
 
Your ability as a driver is impaired long before you feel drunk or even a little tipsy.

That threshold is not one glass of wine absorbed into an entire meal, especially if you're not getting up from the table and directly into a car. Unless you are somebody with a very low tolerance.

I'm sorry, nobody's advocating drunk driving in this thread, but the puritanical reactions are over the top. You may as well be saying that nobody who didn't sleep perfectly well should drive to work in the morning, that's likely a much more dramatic impairment to reaction time and coordination.
 

br3wnor

Member
My wife doesn't like to drink much so any time we go out to dinner or a party, she'll drive if I drink even one beer. If I'm driving I'll sometimes have a single beer but I need to give myself at least an hour before I'll go. I'm paranoid about DWI's since it's a solid $10k to deal with one around here. This law does seem dumb but wouldn't effect me personally if I was in Utah.
 

Protome

Member
Amazing, there's even a defence force for drink driving.

Don't drink and drive, even if you've "only had one" and "feel fine."
 
Lol.

If you are under the limit in the UK, the boose will not have any impact on your driving capacity. That's kind of why the law exists.

People saying "don't ever have a sip of boose and drive" live in a fantasy world. I'd love to see a statistic between crashes of people who have some amount of alcohol in their system but are under the limit still and people who have zero alcohol. People driving when tired or anxious are probably a much greater hazard.
Yes, people being tired or otherwise not able to focus on the road are also a danger. But it is more difficult to check for that unfortunately. And the fact that one happens does not mean we can't worry about the other also. People on their phone are also causing crashes, does that mean we now stop worrying about drivers with bad eyesight?

Why is it a fantasy world to say you shouldn't even have one drink when driving? Is somebody pouring booze in you without your knowledge?
 

E92 M3

Member
Excessive? Gross. It should be this way everywhere. If you've had drink or drugs of any amount in a 12 hour window, don't get behind the wheel, period.

You understand how ridiculous you sound, right?

A glass of wine with dinner will do nothing.
 

JustenP88

I earned 100 Gamerscore™ for collecting 300 widgets and thereby created Trump's America
Don't drink and drive. Ever. Any amount.

D.A.R.E. to keep adults off drinks.

Good way to keep those jails packed and that fine money coming in.

Someone's got the right idea.

I'm gonna be cynical about any legislation intended to curb drunk driving that results in more people being popped for it until people in American government take public transportation seriously.
 
I'm gonna be cynical about any legislation intended to curb drunk driving that results in more people being popped for it until people in American government take public transportation seriously.
Why? People can chose not to drink. It's not like it is a needed thing to have alcohol with your diner or whatever. Order a soda. Also, taxi's exist.
 

The Lamp

Member
People who never had alcohol in their lives apparently. It seems you are a monster if you pair a steak with a beer at a steakhouse because you are inebriated. I am all for the reduction in tolerance, but the extremists get to me.

This happens in most alcohol threads. I'm not even talking about 0.05, I'm talking about the people who think 1 drink impairs you for 12 hours. There's always a couple of GAFers who think having a beer with your dinner makes you too drunk to do anything the rest of the evening lmao. It's the kind of comments you'd hear from people who have never had alcohol in their life or have zero tolerance.

Excessive? Gross. It should be this way everywhere. If you've had drink or drugs of any amount in a 12 hour window, don't get behind the wheel, period.

Congrats, you have no idea how biology or metabolism works.
df88fa25-d4ab-4536-80a3-adc59d58d4db.jpg
 

CTLance

Member
Yikes. Some posts in this thread really drive home why we desperately need to delegate driving to computers.

0.05% is an already generous limit. As a German, I side with the Nordics on this and believe 0.02% is a better common minimum because there's people out there who can be sufficiently zonked out even at 0.05%, but hey, at least it's not 0.08% anymore. Baby steps.
 

CTLance

Member
Edit: whoops, double post.
Edit2: to make use of this, see how it is in my country.
wiki said:
Zero for beginners (less than 2 years' experience or under the age of 21), professional drivers, bus drivers, truck drivers, and drivers transporting passengers commercially; 0.03% in conjunction with any other traffic offense or accident; 0.05% otherwise. For cyclists, the limit is set at 0.16%, where not in conjunction with any other traffic offense or accident. From 0.16%, cyclists face the same penalties as driving a car at that limit.[47]
Penalties start at a €500 fine and 1-month license suspension. From 0.11%, the penalty is a €500 fine and the withdrawal of the driver's licence for at least 6 months, but usually about 1 year (penalty is set by the court); from 0.16%, reissue of the licence requires a successful Medical Psychological Assessment (MPU).[48] From 0.11% within 10 years of an offence from 0.05%, there is a minimum €1000 fine and a 1-year licence withdrawal; the driver has to successfully pass an MPU and is required to prove to the court that they have been sober for the last 12 months, before they can get their licence back. For repeat offenses, the fine is multiplied by the ordinal of the offence (doubled, tripled, etc.), regardless of the amount by which the driver was over the limit. These minimum penalties are usually exceeded by the German courts. From 0.11%, the courts usually also require the DUI offender to do unpaid community service.
Pretty painful stuff, eh? So, be glad that you're just getting off with 0.05%...
 

Mendrox

Member
lol @ the naivete and idealism.

Would you still laugh when somebody with .05% killed you with his car? I don't think so.

Alcohol is too important it seems.

This happens in most alcohol threads. I'm not even talking about 0.05, I'm talking about the people who think 1 drink impairs you for 12 hours. There's always a couple of GAFers who think having a beer with your dinner makes you too drunk to do anything the rest of the evening lmao. It's the kind of comments you'd hear from people who have never had alcohol in their life or have zero tolerance.



Congrats, you have no idea how biology or metabolism work.

And in your case from people that haven't lost loved ones cause of people that were a bit drunk and couldn't handle themselves. Also yeah everyone is the same. Let the asian guy over there drink two beers and drive after a hour and let's see what happens. Maybe he has won the genetic lottery.

Of course waiting 12 hours after 2-3 beers is pretty dumb, but why do people not understand that taking drugs ala weed/alcohol and driving is just not a good idea. Doesn't matter how much. I hope Germany will go even further down.

Amazing, there's even a defence force for drink driving.

Don't drink and drive, even if you've "only had one" and "feel fine."

Yeah fuck them. Just hoping they won't kill or hurt anyone. EVEN WITH ONE BEER IN YOUR BLOOD.
 

SummitAve

Banned
For the sake of public safety, I'm assuming they have already banned all cell phone use while driving before going after this, right?
 
I've tested with a breathalyzer and you don't get 0.05 with just one beer at dinner unless, perhaps, you're a petite woman drinking a strong beer.

The 0.08 number in other states is misleading as at least in some of them you can be charged with DUI at 0.05-0.08.

For instance http://szafirm.com/marylands-statutory-presumptions-dui/

The second way the State can do this is by way of showing a breath or blood sample of .07 or more. At a .07, it is considered “prima facie” evidence that the person is impaired by alcohol. The term “prima facie” means, according to Black’s Law Dictionary, evidence good and sufficient on its face. Such evidence as, in the judgment of the law, is sufficient to establish a given facts, or the group or chain of facts constituting the parties claim or defense, and which if not rebutted or contradicted, will remain sufficient.

If the driver’s breath or blood result is .06, there are no statutory presumptions whatsoever. This means that the State can try to prove guilt for the 21 902(a) or (b) offenses by introducing poor performance on the standardized field sobriety tests, as well as any other observations that the Officer makes.

If the driver’s breath or blood result is .05 or less, it shall be presumed that the driver was not under the influence of alcohol and that the person was not driving while impaired by alcohol.​
 
For the sake of public safety, I'm assuming they have already banned all cell phone use while driving before going after this, right?

Cell phone restrictions:
Utah classifies talking on a hand-held cell phone while behind the wheel as careless driving. This is a secondary offense, meaning you cannot be stopped only for cell phone use.
Texting restrictions:
All drivers, regardless of age, are banned from texting while driving.

The cell phone use is a bit confusing to me. It seems like it is not allowed, but there needs to be more going on to actually stop you. Strange. Should be banned.
 

Alienfan

Member
Seems fine by me (although it should be lower) , don't drink and drive period. There are so many other options of transport now, you don't have any excuse
 
I don't mind 0.05 or even 0.03 limit but 0.00 limit would be ridiculous. It' not going to reduce people driving while totally wasted (that are majority of serious DUI accidents) and just makes life of normal people harder when you have to be absolutely sure you don't have even a drop of alcohol in your blood. Even some candies can give you tiny amount of alcohol that then would show in breathalyser as something like 0.001. Busting those people is not going to make roads any safer.
 

kess

Member
I'd probably feel better about this if it wasn't a religiously motivated bill masquerading as a safety measure. The state feels the need to compensate over public bars (which have technically only been legal since 2009) and eateries who would love to tear to tear down their "zion curtains."

For reference, Utah is the only state with a 3.2% beer limit outside of its state stores, and does not allow patrons to view either the alcohol or the bartender behind the counter of the bar.
 

Ekdrm2d1

Member
Police shooting thread: "I knew he was black before I entered this thread".

This thread: "I knew he was a Republican before I entered this thread".
 
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