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Jhp147 · July 14, 2001, 09:13 AM

Going from cute lawyer tricks to civil liberties to practice and policy to drunk driving in general, now going back to civil liberties with the last post. Which has a point I agree with by the way. My general feeling is that the .10 to .08 was a "feel good" measure, like a lot of gun control laws. I have never consumed alcohol and taken an Intoxylizer, but the guys who have as part of their class to certify to use the instrument say that they were way past "drunk" and into "walking comatose" at .10. I don't think going from that to a bit less drunk means anything, especially when prosecutors and juries in Texas, at least, are not bound to convict at any level. The way to really take them off the road is to make it easier for officers to process the DUI arrest. Locally, a DUI arrest will consume,easily, 3-5 hours of a shift. You are stuck listening to a drunk for a lot of that time, plus report writing. I know we are paid to do it, but when you know that you are in for a major hassle, you get a bit picky about arrests. I know this is anecdotal, but I think this is why most BACs show above .18-.20, usually into the mid .20s when they blew. I'm sort of removed from night shift now, so that may not be as accurate as it was in years past.

July 14, 2001, 09:13 AM	#71
Jhp147 Senior Member Join Date: November 27, 1999 Location: Texas Posts: 597	continued wandering thread.... Going from cute lawyer tricks to civil liberties to practice and policy to drunk driving in general, now going back to civil liberties with the last post. Which has a point I agree with by the way. My general feeling is that the .10 to .08 was a "feel good" measure, like a lot of gun control laws. I have never consumed alcohol and taken an Intoxylizer, but the guys who have as part of their class to certify to use the instrument say that they were way past "drunk" and into "walking comatose" at .10. I don't think going from that to a bit less drunk means anything, especially when prosecutors and juries in Texas, at least, are not bound to convict at any level. The way to really take them off the road is to make it easier for officers to process the DUI arrest. Locally, a DUI arrest will consume,easily, 3-5 hours of a shift. You are stuck listening to a drunk for a lot of that time, plus report writing. I know we are paid to do it, but when you know that you are in for a major hassle, you get a bit picky about arrests. I know this is anecdotal, but I think this is why most BACs show above .18-.20, usually into the mid .20s when they blew. I'm sort of removed from night shift now, so that may not be as accurate as it was in years past. __________________ Sometimes...days are just something you get through.