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"Volumes
might be written upon the impiety of the pious."--Herbert Spencer
You Are Drunk
You are stopped at a police roadblock.
According to the law you are drunk if:
You
were driving safely. No probable cause. No accident. No death. No traffic ticket.
You pass the Balance and other Field Sobriety tests
You
pass the Visual Observation tests
Your
breath test registers .08 BAC
The breath machine is calibrated to a 2100:1 - blood/breath ratio. This is accurate for
less than 10% of the population. Most people have ratios between 1300:1 and 3500:1
depending on their body chemistry. This leaves about 40 percent of the tests reading lower
than the actual alcohol level and about 40 percent higher. What is your ratio? Don't know?
Don't be embarrased, the person operating the breath machine doesn't know either.
If you fail the breath test, ask for a blood test if you think their machine was "biased". You have that right. Only then will you have a saved sample, if you need to go to court.
Join
1.7 million other Americans arrested last year, most of whom were moderate drinkers who
caused no injury, death or property damage. You will be treated the same as the dangerous
drunks with BAC levels above .14. These deadly drunks account for most of the deaths
although they make up only a tiny fraction of the total arrests.
Penalties vary by
state. Although the maximum sentences are much greater, usually first offenders get 2-30
days in jail, $300-1000 fine, 12 month license suspension, mandatory AA or MADD
meetings, Loss of job? (cant drive), higher car insurance costs, marital &
societal pressures.
We will not allow a man or woman to leave [a
roadblock] knowing they consumed alcohol"---Chief William B. Berger, former president
of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Quoted
from The Anti-Drunk Driving Campaign: A Covert War Against Drinking, by Charles V. Peña
There are nearly one billion drinking and driving trips annually this crime will not be tolerated.---NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey W. Runge. Quoted from The Anti-Drunk Driving Campaign: A Covert War Against Drinking, by Charles V. Peña
"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues."---Abraham Lincoln