<p>We just saw the police report from an accident we were involved in a couple of weeks ago. Driving along the freeway doing the posted speed at 5:30 am on a Sunday, we hear and feel BAM! Next thing we see is a little car swerving back and forth up ahead as driver tries to regain control after taking out the entire right side of my car. Guy told us he fell asleep. Also told CHP he had several beers the night before. </p>
<p>Police report says breath test results were .06 (.08 is California limit). CHP ARRESTED the guy for DUI, even though below the legal limit because his driving was apparently impaired. We did get a little laugh at the report because he was also cited for making an illegal lane change -into the side of my car. </p>
<p>Just a reminder that driving with ANY alcohol on your breath can land you in trouble.</p>
<p>This reminds me about my worries about when the kids drive home from after prom parties at 5 a.m. I am thinking that their driving is impaired not from alcohol but from being so tired.</p>
<p>In our area they can and do write people for a DUI/reckless, requiring up to 2 years of alcohol classes, even if you barely blow anything, if they can claim the driving was imparied.</p>
<p>Wow, I didn’t know the “impairment” thing could be triggered by less than the legal limit. Good to know. I was pulled over a couple of years ago – in an unfamiliar town I was driving perhaps a bit erratically trying to find my way. The cop REALLY wanted to nail me. He asked if I had drunk. I said yes a drink about 3 hours before but that I hadn’t drunk more because I knew I was driving(truth). He made me blow into the breathalyzer 3 times. It came back zero each time, and he doubted it openly to the other cop that was with him. He REALLY wanted to get me, it seemed. I said, “Officer, I was completely honest with you up front. I had one drink 3 hours ago.”</p>
<p>If I had registered any alcohol, I now realize, he probably would have claimed impairment. To this day, I don’t know exactly what I did – must’ve changed lanes too quickly or something – to get his attention in the first place.</p>
<p>I remember a commercial campaign either my local state was running or it might have been a national highway safety one, but it was talking about how drowsy driving is impaired driving.</p>
<p>It’s kinda like how if the weather is really bad out (heavy snow/rain/fog) you can be cited for speeding even if you’re going underneath the posted speed limit. The number given there is for driving in good weather, not all weather.</p>
<p>You don’t have to have alcohol to have impairment. Drowsy driving can be just as dangerous. My H used to have to frequently drive a three hour distance for work. Too often he would do this late at night after a long, hard day. Twice he was ticketed for weaving because he would get tired. Very dangerous. A major reason that he changed jobs and we moved.</p>
<p>I read a study that said that being awake for 17 hours resulted in similar impairment when driving as having a BAC of 0.05. I can’t find the actual study but I did find this:</p>
<p>“Two pieces of Australian research (Dawson & Reid 1997 and Williamson et al 2000) have found that being awake for 17-19 hours (eg, from (say) 6am to around 11pm-1am) brought a deterioration in performance on some tests equivalent to having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of around 0.05%, the legal limit. After 24-27 hours, impairment was equivalent to a BAC of 0.1%.”</p>
<p>Re: driving sleepy
If you ask at your high school, the kids will tell you about accidents late at night that didn’t involve alcohol. Tired kids coming home from activities or work or just watching movies with friends. They think that since they are often up at 1 AM, they are fine to drive at 1AM… after a day at school, a football game and some time hanging with friends.<br>
I think this ought to be addressed at schools in conjunction with the DUI issue.</p>
<p>Depends on the kid. I’m really fine until around 5 A.M. as long as I got say 6 hours of sleep (I am however useless until around noon)–I spent the summer staying up to 4 or 5 most days. I spent much of senior year driving home late (well not 5, but 1 plenty of times) as did other people, and no one got wrapped around a tree or otherwise severely disfigured (or in any sort of crashes during these late night drives–no one else on the road, so it takes serious effort.)</p>
<p>After our accident we came home and H directed S to go out & check the side of the car to see what happens when you drive drunk or tired on the freeway. Since damage was minor, S was underwhelmed. :(</p>
<p>I suspect the guy who hit me would have received a ticket for impaired driving (tired) if alcohol were at zero.</p>
<h2>Thanks to the reader with a keen interest in the law who sent the following story from today’s Washington Post, about a Virginia mom and her husband who each will serve 27 months in jail. Their crime? They provided alcohol to her son and his friends at his 16th birthday party. to read more just click on the link below.</h2>
<p>I wonder if the legal limit is if they stop you at a roadblock, for example. However, if you do something else illegal–accident, run a stop sign/light, etc.–having had a drink is a factor, and can be considered, just like fatigue, even if it’s doesn’t reach the limit. Maybe it also depends on how close it is, and, of course, it probably changes state to state.</p>
<p>Over the legal limit and you’re presumed to be driving impaired. Under and other things come into play. Did you do something to appear as though you were impaired? Police use their judgement in deciding whether to arrest or not. Prosecution has to do more work to make a case against you.</p>
<p>I, myself, slur speech somewhere well below legal limit. No way do I trust myself to drink anything and then drive.</p>
<p>A friend of mine (age early 20’s) fell asleep at the wheel years ago on Rte 95, he awoke to find his car running along/straddling the guardrail. He was shocked, bruised, but not seriously hurt. His car was pretty badly damaged underneath. The policeman asked him what happened, and friend said, “I must have fallen asleep.” The policeman said, “If you fell asleep, I will have to cite you for reckless driving. But if you just lost control of the car, it was just an accident.” So my friend said, “Well, I lost control of the car.” So he didn’t get a ticket. But he did learn a lesson, it scared him to death and I’m sure the policeman could see it.</p>
<p>DH used to drive tired all the time and it made me SO ANGRY, especially with the kids in the back seat! He is the nicest guy you’ll ever meet, but in a car he wants to be the driver. I’d notice his eyelids drooping, and I’d say, “Are you ok?” and he’s say, “Of course” and get perturbed. But one night on an interstate I made him pull over, and we traded seats. IN LESS THAN ONE MILE AFTER I STARTED DRIVING HE WAS SOUND ASLEEP AND SNORING. He’s so danged stubborn… my blood pressure is going up just thinking about that night and it was at least 10 years ago!</p>
<p>Having a certain blood alcohol level and DUI are two separate charges. If your blood alcohol level is above the legal maximum, you can be cited for that, period, without any proof needed whether or not your driving was affected. And there are a good many people whose driving can be affected at lower blood alcohol levels; if they are stopped they can be cited for driving under the influence (which, by the way, can be due to influences other than alcohol, such as drugs).</p>
<p>I once was on a jury in a DUI case. There were two charges - driving with excess blood alcohol and DUI. The defense attorney was focusing on questioning the blood test results, but it didn’t matter much because the driver was clearly intoxicated in any event, so he was at least guilty of DUI.</p>
<p>Ugh, my dad’s the same way. We did a cross-country road trip to get me out to grad school, and he always wanted to drive. I had already driven cross-country twice alone in that car and never had a problem, but he just didn’t seem to trust my ability to drive. At one point I could tell he was just too tired after a lot of walking the previous day and very little sleep that night, so I did the same thing with making him pull over and letting me drive. Just a few more miles down the road and he was out like a light for the next two hours.</p>
<p>The police conducted a dui investigation which the overweight woman had trouble completing, finally she provided a breath sample which measured .04. Still, she was arrested, her child taken away from her as she was taken to jail. At the jail she provided a chemical test that was below the .04 she provided in the field. That didnt stop the District Attorney from filing charges for DUI instead of apologizing for the conduct of law enforcement.</p>
<p>Yup,my friend was pulled over last night at one o’clock in the morning. She had had a glass of wine with dinner around seven in the evening at a dinner party and was returning home. She did something to alert a police officer waiting by the road. (We think she touched the double yellow line) He followed her for two miles before turning on his flashers. She was terrified by that point because she thought some psycho was following her. She did not know it was a police officer until his lights came on. He pulled her out of the car!and interrogated her. He administered an impairment test by having her lift one leg up and point her toes. Then he had her walk heel-to-toe. She passed both tests perfectly (in high heels, no less!) Then he measured her BAC and it came back .03. He issued two tickets 1) improper control of car and 2) failing to comply with a posted speed limit . And he refused to let her drive home. He insisted that she call someone to pick her up and leave her car. So she called me and I got her. So the lesson here: Any amount of alcohol will get you a ticket. You could be forced to leave your car and find another ride home. Or worse, you could be taken to jail for the night.</p>
<p>If you’re under 21 (in our state of HI) & blow ANY detectible level of alcohol, you can be cited by the police & its a serious offense (you’re not legally allowed to drink here & in most states until you’re 21).</p>
<p>If she is ever followed the future & worried about who is pulled behind her, tell her to drive to a highly lit area–open gas station, police station or similar. There are folks who impersonate police & have been known to attack single female occupants after pulling them over. It is scary, especially late at night. When she pulls over, she can tell the officer why (or she can call 911 & tell them).</p>