djmisio85

Ok, so I got thinking about chavs and drink driving and if there is any relation.

Here in Japan, there are many decent people.
Here in Japan, the drink driving limit is ZERO, you drink and you get caught, prison, fine, loss of licence, and in the case of a foreigner like me, you would lose your job and get deported.... (it hasnt happened to me, because I will never drink and drive )

I think that in England drinking and driving should be banned completely. If you get caught, prison and not just a slap on the wrist, or even having the possibility of driving around drunk.....

I think alcohol is one of the reasons there are so many chavs and people who are nuisance on the streets and in our towns. Here in Japan, people drink a lot, but they do it in a civilised way. Its only the foreigners here who makes fools of themselves in public...

Anyway, drinking and driving is the stupidest thing that anyone can do, the british government need to sort themselves out.
Also when I heard on some other thread, how someone who is on crack and caught driving will get a slap on the wrist, but some who gets chased by the police (sober) and doesnt stop cos he doesnt realise the police are after him, goes to jail....

abbott

i fully agree i have NEVER once drank and driven in 12 years of driving , never even the day after whats the point .

used to get mega stoned and drive though and thats probrably just as dangerous

djmisio85

I dont understand why a country as powerful as Great Britain has not yet enforced a ban on drink driving....

David Lock

NO. It gives me enormous pleasure to drive out to a local country pub and have a pint. Yes I would take a bus but there aren't any. Yes I would get a cab if there were any and they didn't rip me off.

dl

SJ_Skyline

In principle, yes. In practice, no. I don't understand how a blanket ban can take into account things like residual alcohol, alcohol-based mouthwash - if someone can explain how these sorts of things can be accomodated then I'm happy to change my stance.

There is also a growing disatisfaction with the police (maybe authority in general) in the UK with the public increasingly alienated by countless, needless statutes. I believe the number of arrestable offences has doubled over the last 11 years so pushing through additional legislation is only likely to disaffect the public more.

As with so many things, better education is the way forwards IMHO.

PeteBrant

If I am driving, I don't touch a drop. Just not worth it for me.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

I'm with Mr Lock on this one.

If I go to the local Jap meet on a thursday, I will have one pint of lager and then cola there after. I've never known one pint to affect my driving ability.

Obviously I don't condone anybody who exceeds the limit, but it's there for a reason. If you don't go over it then your ok. Sounds a bit wierd I know.

s1lko

The biggest problem with allowing alcohol to be drunk is people's individual interpretation of the rules, how much they can drink and how their body handles alcohol.

Give an inch and there will always be the few that will take a mile.

I've had the occasional (one) beer and driven but I would still welcome a total ban with open arms. I'd rather innocent people's lives/welfare were saved than retain my 'right' to have a pint.

As SJ Skyline pointed out, there would be a few hurdles to overcome but other countries have managed it. Do these countries have non-alcohol based mouthwash, etc.? I don't claim to have the answers but there are precedents out there to be followed.

Brun

I sometimes have a pint after work and drive home. I don't have owt like Stella - i stick to the Tetley's type stuff. From taking my first sip to driving tends to be well over an hour. If i don't have that sort of time available then coke it is

GC8WRX

I live in a rural area, with zero public transport!

Why cant i drive out to a nice country pub, have a pint and some nice food, chill for a bit then drive back!

To take a cab would be about £20 each way, so should i be ripped off, or just drive my self?

Driving = £50 day out.

Using a cab = £100 day out!


Zero tolerance is bollocks!

I reckon after 3 pints i could lap a track at the same speed as when im sober, and as for the old reaction time chestnut, my old job had a yearly medical, and for a laugh we got half cut before it.

My reactions were almost the same as the year before,(0.03 difference), and id had 3 beers.

They were still way better than 95% of the older emplyees reacton times(aged 50 plus)

So by the reaction time argument, most 50 year olds shouldnt drive!

s1lko

But then can you imagine the reaction times of the same 50+ brigade if they had a drink too?

ScoTTyB

I feel I'm more than capable of driving on anything under 5 pints. I can drive to a far better standard than most people and am god like at all times when drunk.

PeteBrant

Post of the day

Luan Pra bang

Why ? I cannot see a single valid safetly argument for banning alcohol completely. I can drive perfectly safely after I have had 2 large glasses of wine over dinner. We have a limit set on the basis that there is a safe amount of alcohol to drink and still be able to drive. Unless some evidence show that people drinking 1 pint and driving is killing people then there is no logical reason to change the law.

PeteBrant

I think because varying amounts of alcohol affect people differently. I have known women who are almost completely blasted on a glass of wine (this is no bad thing).

An arbitary limit takes no account of your ability to consume alcohol. I am sure there are people that can drink 10 pints and not be affected, but similarly there will be people that can only manage a half.

I dont see why there is the imperative need to drink alcohol with food, or just have the "1". - If you drive, don't drink.

stilover

I think the drink drive limits is fine as it is.

I like to have either a half, or sometimes a pint when I go out for a meal. This doesn't make me over the limit. It doesn't affect my driving, as of the small amount of Alcohol.

Zero tollerance will have no effect on those who drink 7 pints then drive. They'll still do it.
Banning someone for having a half a Lager is over the top IMO.

Remember also, that if you don't drink but use mouthwash on a morning you'll be over the zero tollerance limit. Ban.

what would scooby do

Some drivers are so crap they would probably be better off with a pint in them

s1lko

It's more people's interpretation of the law and what they feel is a 'safe' amount. While the many of us know when enough is enough, there are still those that don't. And a total ban, while far from ideal for most people, is one of the very few answers for reeling this problem in.

It's interesting to see people coming forward with amounts they feel safe drinking, but would they be over the 'safe' limit if breathalysed?

Maybe pubs could be fitted with a breathalyser unit that people can use to double-check before they drive home? It would take a lot of the guesswork away, which I think is the biggest problem with the way things stand at the moment.

SJ_Skyline

Brilliant!

PeteBrant

Mouthwash alcohol dissapates after 2 minutes.

stilover

So why do they ask if you've used mouthwash then?

Is that 2 minute time scale fact?

PeteBrant

Alcohol that resides in the mouth dissapates after 2 minutes, typically. The police arent supposed to breathalyse you if you have put anything in your mouth in the last 15 mins. AFAIK

I mean if you had washed your mouth out with mouthwash, you could tell them and they would wait the 15 mins.

s1lko

That would give a positive reading, but as it's not ingested, a urine or blood test would rule it out if you chose to dispute it.

Besides, you wouldn't have that tell-tale boozy breath. Minty fresh!

SJ_Skyline

However, they will keep your DNA will be on their database for future reference

vindaloo

I voted no.

Different countries have different DD laws and limits. UK goes for the big bang approach. i.e. Abuse it and lose it (your licence). Continental countries tend to have a sliding scale approach, starting with fines. Means testing the fines can also work.

Devil's advocate: Assuming you do sport of some description? Would you play squash/tennis/badminton or do indoor rock/wall climbing after a pint? Really, the answer should be "no". As you know that the alcohol will reduce the limits to which you can push your body.

J.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Its all on the individual and the situation, I personally will have 1 pint or a glass of wine and drive half a mile home, say when I wait for a takeaway and nip into the boozer, its not big and its not clever but I reckon a sixteen stone bloke, used to a beer can take one pint of normal strength lager and be under the limit, but critically not a menace to society. I wouldnt have that pint before doing any distance

An 18 year old girl who ways 8 stone and has been driving six months should probably not drink a pint of lager then drive.

Being a cyclist nowadays I would advocate anything that improves road safety but I am not sure that it would make that much difference, its a lack of social responsibility thats the problem, not a low blood alcohol level, it would send a message out but those that ignore it would still ignore it and those who are responsible would be penalised and probably be convicted for a portion of Sherry trifle being in their system.

There are many reasons for bad driving, I suspect the BMW 3 series that cut the lights in roadworks this morning to meet me coming the other way was sober but still chose to ignore a red light.

I would abide by a zero limit but wouldnt really welcome it

PeteBrant

The UK limit is higher than most of continental Europe though.

s1lko

...to discount you immediately from any very naughty crimes.

r32

I voted no, the reason being that its difficult to ensure any one is at zero. You have a meal in the early evening, you have two glasses of wine. Are you clear at 8 in the morning to drive to work? Is your driving impaired? Would you be OK at 12 noon the next day? Who would know? Have you drunk night nurse or another cold remedy?

Apart from which the incidents that raise this issue are all about people stoned out of their mind, that ignore the current law, its not about people that are within the current limits. Its like the goalkeeper who tragically killed a couple of young boys, he's twice over the limit, yet the parents are calling for a total ban. Having zero is not going to make one iota of difference to these cases. There will still be those who go well over the top, pissed as crickets and go out driving. It will affect normal Joe Bloggs who may have had a glass of wine in the evening, or some trifle at Christmas, are these people dangerous? No, will it stop the drunks? No.

Lowering the level will have little to no effect. Perhaps the home office shouldnt rely on speed cameras to control the roads, can the cameras bring back traffic police. As you can get pissed drive any where you like, the chances of getting caught rely on you having an accident.

Spoon

That's why non of the girls I know can ever be breathalysed.