Will it really make the roads any safer??????

[TylerG]

When I began this thread I did not know how many drinks vs time constitutes a .05... I was under the traditional belief that one beer an hour for up to 3 hours was legally acceptable and the change to .05 would impact that. I can easily drink 3 beer in under an hour and not feel the effects, although I'm confident that put me above .08 so if I was only around for an hour or so 2 has been my personal limit, 3 if it was over the span of a few hours. It's been stated that alcohol affects everyone different and at that level of consumption I feel no effects, I don't notice ANY effect until 4 to 5 beers in a 1-2 hour timeframe and do not notice and obvious effects until 8-10.... however I've set my driving limits based on the .08


Without hard numbers I find it hard to believe that people from .05 to .08 cause and are involved in a high number of traffic incidents, infact I know when I have had one or two I am purposly a more careful and curtious driver due to the fact that although my BA level may be legal I still don't want to deal with an accident with the possibility of alcohol on my breath, I would assume that many are the same.

It is what it is, I can't change it and I'm not trying to "fearmonger" I was just initiating a conversation and maybe learn a few things which I have... As far as my original question about whether the law will make the roads any safer, I'm still not convinced.

2 has always been my limit in a short span when I have to drive, however it appears now I shall have to cut that in half..... Will this law make the roads safer? Not without proper enforcement, checkstop campaigns at only key times of the year are not going to increase the number of people intoxicated that they pull off the road. It's not just at Christmas, New Years, Long Weekends, that people go out and get right drunk and then drive themselves home, how many people do so on a daily basis that have never been caught, and have had close calls, or even already hit someone, injured or worse killed them. I'm in agreeance with Bogger on this, there is no FIRM facts that lowering the BAL is going to make our roads safer.

 

[powderbound]

Well bogger I am glad to hear that, I was not attempting single you out it was just a general observation of all the comments. The one i liked the most was...., well I can't even have one wine with dinner and it will put me over the limit... that is absolute bull crap. "One" will not bring any type of enforcement or regulatory action against you...5-6 within an hour will...

What people need to realize is that .05 is a lot of drinking period...science has proven this time and time again, yes there are those exceptional cases but they are so very rare and they are dealt with accordingly and generally result in a positive for those who have been under the microscope....Thanks again Bogger for opening the can of worms it was great to see all the comments.

Special thanks to the stats from the AB gov't link very helpful.

 

[fargineyesore]

Fargineyesore,
You dont have to be an expert to see when someone is sh%tfaced. This is 2011, bringing the Right to vote issue up is just rediculous and serves only to show how simplified your logic is.
I have lost friends to drinking and driving. I do belong here in Canada. Where I am free to offer my opinion, without having someone jump all over me because they dont agree with me.
If you actually had an opinion here rather than a personal attack on mine, i'd read it and say " well he's entitled to his own opinion". but there is nothing here but useless HATE.

You're right. I am getting to hate people who are ruining this country with their nanny state BS. And it is my right to feel this way, although people like you would take that away if you could. I've also lost relatives to DRUNK (notice the difference, DRUNK vs drinking) driving. That didn't spur me to ask for some stupid knee jerk law that would have punished someone other than the type of person responsible for the tragedy. You are the one that said "the law is the law". The analogy is correct, it was the law back then so why should anyone have changed it The fact it is now 2011 doesn't change anything. You just can't accept when your logic is proven unsound. Make sure the Government tucks you in tonight.

 

[sledheadrevxp]

Well.....im a truck driver in the oil field and last night i was on site by red earth and heard a whole lot of chatter on the radio about the prime example of where this new bs law is coming from. From what i was told the night prior some guy running a picker truck was cruising through the bush pissed to the gills and decieded to stop to check out his truck. Guess he crawled under it and never applied the parking brake. Now if your to drunk to remember to pull that little button on the dash theres a problem there. The long and short of it all is while he was under the truck it rolled over him and killed him. Come on now. Wtf is the matter with these people? No common sense? Slightly wrong in the head maybe? Wish i knew the answer to that one!

 

[grizzlymud]

No body says you can't make the choice to have a drink and get behind the wheel, if that's what you want to do, then do it, NO ONE can stop people who want to do this no matter what the law say.

If you're saying the .05-.08 drivers aren't killing people, where do you get your facts? I HAVE lost some friends to drunk drivers too and I don't believe the laws being made to stop people from getting behind the wheel are really going to work, but at least it's going to make some people (like everyone on this site) think twice about driving even after a couple of drinks.

You are never going to please everyone when it comes to law making but they have to start some where. The 0.08 BAC law wasn't working, that's why it's being changed. I was in court the other day watching all the REPEAT impaired drivers being sentenced and fined, there was a gentleman who are in his late 50's and he hadn't had a licence since 1988 but continues to drive without a licnese andd impaired!! What does that say about repeat offenders, if we don't get them off the roads, they continue to drive under the influence injurying and killing people. He's not the only one out there I am sure but it scares me to think my sons drive on the same roads as this guy did.

It's everyone's chioce and no one is telling you have to live your life, just trying to get people to think of the others on the road when they are driving under the influence. Just saying...

You posted this in you own post it stated 45% were alcohol related and 41% were intoxicated.

 

[grizzlymud]

It's not all about money, it's about the prevention of deaths and injuries. Of course the money comes into play, it's the way judicial systems works, your break the law you pay the fine and/or do the time!!

If it was all about saving LIVES SMOKING would have been against the law along time ago, why isn't it? Because the gov't makes TO MUCH FAWKING MONEY OFF IT. So can you answer me that? If not, sorry to say but your point is INVALID.

 

[Fuel Fire]

Well this is my first response to a thread on any site so be kind....

So by saying you would rather have a judge hear the evidence of a .05 case then lets make a change to the Criminal Code and make it .05 instead of .08???............

In this country we used to have the presumption of innocence, and due process in our legal system. Judges are supposed to be non partisan, and unbiased. Police are not. And why would we need to change the law to 0.05 when under the criminal code, and as far as I am concerned common sense your not impaired.

Oh and for that MP to say that the law was always 0.05 hes only telling a half truth. To enforce a 0.05 24hr suspension the police need to also observe impairment. This new law they automatically assume impairment.

Anyway you cut it its another law making way for the paramilitary police state of the future, eroding citizens rights and freedoms until we submit to a tyrannical Orwellian government. Laugh all ya want but its coming.

 

[X-it]

The drunks won, you can drink and drive again. Carnage should go up by 40% again.