In point of fact, you won't be charged until you blow 40, but the five oh won't tell you that.Southampton Gull wrote:
Matt, if you blow 35 you will NOT be charged as you are not over the limit.
Dave (the other one), yes, being genuinely under the influence of alcohol while driving does cost lives, having a glass of wine with lunch then driving home 3 hours later, does not.
I love that you live in a world where zero is the answer, but I'm afraid it isn't. If you aren't sure if you'll be over, then don't push it, but, for reference, unless you're a tee-total, 4 stone woman with 0% body fat and 0% water retention, one beer/glass of wine/shot will be just fine.
As with most things, it's up to personal discression. If you know you're a hopeless, uncoordinated buffoon once you've had even one beer, then don't drive. If you've had a skin full the night before, probably don't drive.
The vast majority of drinkers I have come across in my professional capacity were miles above the limit and lying to me about having drunk the majority of it after driving.
These idiots are dangerous.
Some people get done the morning after, still over the limit, but with no criminal intent.
These people are stupid.
So, we've punished the dangerous and we've punished the stupid, why do we need to start punishing the innocent when that will, in all likelihood, have absolutely no impact on road safety? What it will do is cost the economy hundreds of millions of pounds, and see the jobless total rocket. Insurance premiums will rise, the defecit will need to be paid for, policing effectiveness will drop meaning that the incidents of actual crime will go up. Basically, for the sake if eradicating something which doesn't hurt many, if any, people a year, we sacrifice a vast amount of everything else.
A zero DD limit is a little bit like curing mobile phone use while driving by banning people from having a mobile phone in the car at all.
As to our having one of the highest DD limits in Europe; we also have some of the safest roads, what does that tell you?
Matt.