| Prohibition was the great golden effort to eradicate the | | | | wife after the party and are pulled over. The |
| immorality associated with drinking alcohol in its many | | | | breathalyzer shows you have a blood alcohol content |
| forms. The movement was an utter failure as history | | | | level of .04. You're home free, right? Well, the officer |
| shows, but modern drunk driving laws seek to pursue | | | | doesn't agree. He or she takes a look at you and says |
| the same lessons in many ways. | | | | you are impaired. Off to jail you go. |
| Drunk driving laws are discussed in such ways that the | | | | How can this be considering you blew .04? In most |
| public is often misled. Are you for anyone going out, | | | | states, the police officers can charge you with driving |
| getting smashed and killing anyone in their car? Of | | | | while impaired. This simply means that in the subjective |
| course, not. Neither am I and neither is any politician. | | | | opinion of the police officer, you had consumed enough |
| Under this simple guise, however, laws are passed that | | | | alcohol that your driving was impaired. The testimony |
| are simply so vicious that they act as an effective | | | | of the officer combined with the fact you had some |
| form of prohibition on alcohol consumption. | | | | alcohol in your system is enough to convict you. |
| What is the magic number in drunk driving cases? | | | | This situation arises all the time across the country. It |
| Everyone knows it. The magic number is a .08 blood | | | | usually leads to a serious court battle. Sometimes the |
| alcohol content level. If you are found to have a "BAC" | | | | driver wins. Sometimes the driver loses. Even when he |
| over this level, you are considered a drunk driver and in | | | | or she wins, they end up paying huge attorney fees |
| a lot of trouble. The truth, of course, is .08 is a fairly low | | | | and emotional costs. It is an empty and hollow win to |
| level which equates to three or four drinks depending | | | | say the least. |
| on what you are having. There are many people that | | | | This driving while impaired standard is effectively a |
| can consume this and not be impaired at all. Still, a level | | | | form of prohibition. While we all agree people that are |
| must be set so let's just say submit that .08 is a good | | | | drunk should not drive, a person who has had one or |
| level. | | | | two glasses of wine in an evening shouldn't be included |
| You go to a wine party and you have two glasses of | | | | in this punitive movement across this country of ours. |
| wine and some appetizers. You drive home with your | | | | |