Utah plan would give state strictest DUI limit in US

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Utah plan would give state strictest DUI limit in

Utah plan would give state strictest DUI limit in US
Michelle L. Price, Associated Press Updated 3:36 pm, Tuesday, January 3, 2017


SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A state lawmaker wants to make Utah's DUI threshold the strictest in the nation by lowering the blood-alcohol content limit to 0.05 percent.

Though state numbers show alcohol-related driving deaths and DUI arrests are down in Utah, Rep. Norman Thurston said there's more to be done. The Provo Republican plans to introduce legislation lowering the BAC limit from 0.08 to 0.05 when Utah's lawmakers return for their annual session later this month.

The BAC limit for most drivers is 0.08 in all states, but limits vary among states for commercial drivers or drivers who have had a past DUI conviction.

If Thurston's bill passes this year, it would give the state the strictest BAC limit in the nation, but a tough stance on alcohol is hardly new for the majority Mormon state. An estimated 60 percent of the state's residents and most of the state Legislature are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which instructs church members to avoid drinking alcohol.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Bill-to-drop-Utah-BAC-to-05-would-be-strictest-10832812.php

[2naSalit]

1. Well WTF?

That's one of those states that requires an altered state of mind just to drive through it! Although it is far more scenic than Kansas or Nebraska.

[UT_democrat]

2. Provo Republican

that says it all. He'd like the rest of us to suffer the tenants of the Mormon church like they do in "Happy Valley." Screw you Thurston.

[forgotmylogin]

14. With all due respect, you're not suffering unless you drink and drive.

[Matthew28]

3. So much for being the party of no government

I guess only when it hurts people. They love to hurt people.

[HoneyBadger]

5. Actually it will save lives

[Feeling the Bern]

7. Then why not make is 0.00?

[mwooldri]

19. Ask the Czechs.

They have a 0 limit, have had for years. Romania, Slovakia and Hungary too. Makes England/Wales limit of 0.8 look like a booze-up in comparison. The "norm" in Europe is 0.5, so I have no problem with Utah going there.

[Feeling the Bern]

20. Why not just bring back prohibtion? Drunk Driving problem solved forever.

[FrodosNewPet]

34. I don't support prohibition

But after SO MANY YEARS of my personal and professional life dealing with DFIs (Drunken Fuckin' Idiots), I support this lowering of BAC limits whole heartedly.

DFIs KILL INNOCENT PEOPLE! DFIs cause conflict. DFIs drain the emotional energy of their families and friends.

To hell with unrepentant DFIs, because that's where they send others.

[Feeling the Bern]

36. Again, outlaw it. . .let's keep feeding out prison industrial complex.

Prohibition of drugs has done a great job of feeding it. Let's just keep doing it. More harsh laws. more draconian sentences!

The pig needs more to eat!

[duhneece]

43. I support it, too because New Mexico...

has such a high rate of death by drunk drivers. Living with the 'fallout' of these deaths is too hard for our families and communities. I'm opposed to the entire War on DRugs but support laws dealing with folks who can't control their driving while drunk.

[LanternWaste]

49. It begs the question, what then is the precise BAC a driver should be legally allowed to operate

It begs the question, what then is the precise BAC a driver should be legally allowed to operate a vehicle with, and on what objective measure is that number based?

[FreeState]

15. Proof?

Is there a study that shows that or just a hunch?

[Feeling the Bern]

21. Proof. . .proof? Evidence? Facts? What are you, a communist?

[HoneyBadger]

25. .05 is identified by the AMA as the level at which skills go in the toilet

https://books.google.com/books?id=VEJPAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA13&lpg=PA13&dq=does+.05+save+lives&source=bl&ots=dm_hhfWVdC&sig=JTXe7ackRtJgTzQFNgHNfilCtVQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjI4bnJ8KfRAhXL5CYKHXA6BosQ6AEIIjAC#v=onepage&q=does%20.05%20save%20lives&f=false

[Drunken Irishman]

26. How many fatal accidents resulted from a BAC of 0.5?

Last edited Wed Jan 4, 2017, 11:16 AM - Edit history (1)

[HoneyBadger]

27. Like your screen name

[Johnathan146]

40. .5 might kill you just from the bac alone

At that point you likely dont have the cordination to get up and walk to your car.

[Drunken Irishman]

44. You know what I meant. 0.5.

[JohnnyRingo]

13. It's hard to use the word party

...since attending one will be illegal for anyone without a teetotalling friend to drive home. This will really hurt restaurants where one may want a glass of wine or a beer served with dinner as well.

I don't think this has so much to do with ending drunk driving as it does placating religious people who don't like alcohol served to others under any circumstance.

[christx30]

17. When I was married to a woman

that drank at parties, I was always the designated driver. Even if she offered me a sip of what she was drinking, just so I could try it, I always refused. I stuck with Dr. Pepper.
To this day I don't drink. I had 2 beers at home alone on NYE. Didn't even finish the second one.
Finding a designated driver isn't hard. You just have to care about your life and the lives of passengers and drivers around you more than you care about the liquid in the glass.

[dionysus]

29. Reducing drunk driving is not "hurting people"

[Quackers]

4. I don't have an issue with this.

I was hit 11 months ago by an uninsured drunk driver. I'm still receiving bills in the mail from the hospital and ambulance. Fuck drunk drivers!

[HoneyBadger]

6. We as a country will move away from alcohol and towards weed

It is inevitable and drunk driving accidents will decrease as as consequence

[groundloop]

9. And I'd wager that driving stoned accidents would increase

It's not ok to be in control of a car while in any way impaired. Do your alcohol or drugs at home, at a friends house, or arrange for a designated driver.

[HoneyBadger]

10. Actually the opposite is already happening

States with legal medical weed are seeing noticeable declines in DUI fatalities

[Feeling the Bern]

24. I've watched stoner friends drive. They are slower than shit driving

And don't take unnecessary risks.

[dionysus]

30. While this is true, it doesn't make it safer. I sure as hell don't

feel comfortable driving moments after ripping a fat tube.. . For sure, it's not as debilitating as alcohol, bit that doesn't make it "safe".

[Feeling the Bern]

32. Most people don't drive after ripping a fat bong hit. That's what friends and delivery is for.

[dionysus]

33. You get the point though, no? Driving stoned is driving impaired,

although to quite a leaser dwgree than booze.

The biggest problem with cops and weed is, a drig test can't tsll if you smomed 5 minutes ago, or the day before. I don't see cops having any accurate test, other than bloodshot eyes and reeking of weed...

[Feeling the Bern]

35. You get the point? It rarely happens. I am tired of police state supporters who want always

tougher laws so our prison industrial complex and get more people. Enough is enough. Tough laws and draconian sentencing only exploded our prison population.

I am against off of it. IT doesn't work and never has.

[dionysus]

37. You need to put down the bong if you think being against driving stoned is "police state support"

No one is advocating draconian drug sentencing. If someone drives fucked up, they're a piece of crap for putting people's lives at risk.

If someone thinks they aren't impaired when they drive high, they care more about their weed than the safety of others.

Pretty simple, really... there's a video on youtube where a study taped people driving, before and after hitting some serious bud. They are clearly impaired, backing over cones and shit.

[Feeling the Bern]

38. Look, I am done with this. Lower it to zero. Let's load up our jails.

In fact, make everything jail time.

[dionysus]

39. Don't forget to call a cab!

[snooper2]

45. I've smoked and drove for over 20 years now...

It actually helps me not want to push some fucking asshole forward when the light turns green because they haven't finished their text yet

[Feeling the Bern]

8. But. . .but. . .there are still drunk drivers, so that proves these laws don't work. Time to repeal

Same argument they use for Welfare, gun control, and anything else Republicans hate.

But augmenting the police state. . .well, it is good for public safety.

Add to that their theocratic bullshit and I will say it without reservation: FUCK UTAH!!!

[Ghost OF Trotsky]

11. More nanny state bullshit

.08 was bad enough.

I'd be happy with a constitutional amendment that made it illegal to drug or alcohol test ANYONE.

The ONLY person who should be administering a test like that to someone is their doctor.

[dionysus]

31. Drunk driving is no joke. Nothing "nanny" about it. I'm for allowing any adult to put whatever they

want into their body, but i sure as hell don't want em behind the wheel while doing it!

I got hit head on by a drunk in an F-350, seatbelt saved my life, my car was totalled. Driving impaired is a direct threat to someone elses life.

[progree]

12. They should tackle caffeine first - Put an end to Java Madness now!

No, the below is NOT from The Onion:

A Man in California Is Fighting a Caffeine DUI, and the State Won't Back Down, The Drive, 12/27/16

Joseph Schwab, 36, was pulled over on August 5, 2015, by a California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control agent in an unmarked car who claimed the 36-year-old had cut her off and was driving erratically,

It wasn't until samples were sent to an outside testing facility in Pennsylvania that caffeine showed up as the only drug in Schwab's system when he was arrested, The Guardian reported. Now, just about 18 months later, Schwab and his attorney are gearing up for trial.

According to California law, a drug is any substance that isn't alcohol that might “impair, to an appreciable degree” a driver's capability behind the wheel. How the state might attempt to argue caffeine did that to Schwab, we are not sure.

More: https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-california-fighting-caffeine-dui-192312988.html

Breathalyzer was 0.00%, toxicology report was that no illegal drugs, nor any alcohol.

There was nothing in any article I've seen that he was acting "hyper" or anything like that.

[Feeling the Bern]

23. So much for drinking coke or coffee. Fuck, we really use our badge wearing fascists as revenue

generators big time!

[sarisataka]

16. I don't see

any downside...

[Retrograde]

18. Norway is currently 0.02%

and it doesn't seem to slow down the bars and pubs at all. Of course, this is in cities, where there are alternatives to driving.

I like to visit local brewpubs and maybe have a few drinks at local restaurants when I travel, but I make sure I'm staying within walking/public transportation range: I'd rather pay a few $$ extra for someplace close than risk a DUI.

[Feeling the Bern]

22. Norway has good public transportation and reasonably inexpensive taxis

Americans are addicted to their cars.

[FreeState]

47. And very few people drive there regardless

Norway sells about 45,000 new cars a year for the whole country (4+ million people).

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/24/this-country-has-hit-a-major-milestone-for-electric-cars-heres-how.html

[dionysus]

28. The limits don't mean much anymore, because these days, even if you blow below

the limit, and the officer deems you buzzed, you will get charged.

It may be a slightly lesser offense, but it's still enough to lose your license.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing.

Here's an example. In the late 9ps, in NY the limit was .10. Of you blow a .09, they let you go. This happened to me when i got hit head on by a drunk driver. He had his eye on a cop ahead who had someone pulled over. He blew a red light AND drifted into my lane at the same time, hitting me head on with his huge truck, totalling my car. I blew under the limit and was let go, he didn't and got hauled off.

15 years later, the limit is .08... if you blow a .07, hell, even a .04... and the cop wants to, you will still get charged.

It's a DWAI insread of a DWI, but you'll still get your license yanked...

They take impaired driving a lot more seriously these days, which is good. In the old days, cops were known for leniency. In the 60s my dad missed a turn and drove out into a field. The cop helped him get his car back on the road, and basically said "you drive straight home now..." attitudes were vastly different back then, obviously. Today, you'd get busted hard for doing that kinda shit...

[Seasider]

41. I live in Utah and I don't drink

so laws like this don't really affect me but this is another classic example of how embarrassing the alcohol laws are in the state. Other laws already in place are the infamous "zion curtain" law which means restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages cannot be seen mixing or pouring those drinks by customers so they either need to have a wall or curtain obscuring that view. There's also the law that grocery stores can only sell beer and any other alcoholic drinks like wine and liquor can only be purchased at liquor stores.

I'm all for having a society where people aren't abusing alcohol and being a menace to others but it does make me laugh and shake my head when my fellow conservative friends here keep whining about big gov't and how gov't needs to stay out of their lives.

[snooper2]

46. It is illegal to throw snowballs in Provo Utah as well

According to Provo city ordinance 9-14-101, "every person who shall . . . throw stock, stick, snowball or other missile whereby any person shall be hit . . . is guilty of a misdemeanor."

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/575039869/Snowball-a-weapon-in-Provo.html




Utah... LOL

[Recursion]

42. DC used to be .01. Actually even lower

It was "any detectable BAC". I think enough teetotalers got DUIs that they eventually stopped doing that.

[Angry Dragon]

48. perhaps they should just outlaw alcohol......no more problems