Biker said;
You're missing the point, 12-34hom. I'm *not* impaired after 4 beers. Some folks are and some aren't. How can you make a blanket statement indicting everyone who drinks 4 beers and drives? That's insane. I've been pulled over after a few brews and did just fine. Not all people fit into the same cookie-cutter as you would like to believe.
Well maybe you are impaired and maybe you aren't. Have you ever tested your reactions after four beers? I'm not saying driving home from the bar, I'm saying conducted some scientific testing. It could be you just have a tolerance. that's not the same as not being impaired. I arrested a drunk driver one night, who I wasn't sure would blow 0.10 (the limit at the time). He was definately driving badly, but he did very well on SFSTs. Not even much nystagmous. Another officer who had much more experience then I did at the time agreed he might not test out. Guess what, he blew a 0.28! He was an alcoholic and had quite a tolerance. Was he impaired? Darn right he was.
The Moskowitz and Robinson Study (1988) showed that the following behavioral categories were affected at 0.05 BAC:
Reaction time
Divided Attention
Visual Functions
Tracking
Information Processing
Perception
How many beers gives you a BAC of 0.05?
In addition one of the effects of the lower BAC levels is that people tend to overestimate their abilities and get brave. The Anacapa Sciences' Study conducted for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Casey and Stuster (1982) identified these 12 risky driving behaviors of both automobile and mororcycle drivers at BAC of as low as 0.02:
Running stop signs or traffic lights
Unsafe passing due to oncoming traffic
Unsafe turn in front of oncoming or opposing traffic
Following too closely
Unsafe lane change or unsafe merging
Weaving through traffic
Crossing a double line in order to pass
Passing on the right
Excessive speed for conditions
Improper turn
Splitting traffic
Stunts
Now I know that there are many drivers who do these things stone sober. But the facts are that drivers impaired as little as 0.02 are more likely to do these dangerous things.
In a perfect world, we'd be able to legislate laws that took each individual's impairment at the time into consideration. Unfortunately we don't live in a perfect world. Our lawmakers set the standards at levels that impair most people. You can also be arrested and convicted at a BAC of far less then the legal limit.
The best way to avoid tragedy is not to drink and drive. You're kidding yourself if you think you can belt down 4 beers in an hour and not be impaired.
Jeff