Drunk driving is wrong without a doubt but to me its a mistake not a defining moment in someones life.

Maybe a should rething my what I think of my Grandparents cause I bet everytime they get behind the wheel is just as dangerous and Ben Wallace was the other night.

You have your own fricken website. If you and Dan don’t like some of the comments then don’t allow us to make comments. The comments obviously bother you.

Freedom of speech is a two way street.

And there’s certainly another side to the reliability of breathalyzers:

http://www.carlcederlaw.com/Intoxilyzer-5000

2. I thought I included enough “if the allegations are true”s in the post, but one more just in case: ”if the allegations are true.”

Mike Payne made that distinction very clear, and he fits into what I’d guess is the most common crowd: those who manage how much they drink when they know they’re driving.

Ryan, I suggest you look at this chart to see the huge middle ground you’re missing.

Or perhaps you were just making reference to shiitake mushrooms…because you enjoy them in your stir fry.

1.  A .08 isn’t an arbitrary number.  Many studies, including ones commission by that National Safety Council, have determined that everyone in impaired at a .08.  That’s the definitive line in which people failed enough elements of motor skills tests in order to sufficiently say they are impaired.

2.  .08 is what’s called a per se statute.  If there is scientific data that survives defense challenges in court that says the defendant has a BAC (or breath alcohol concentration) above a .08, then the defendant can be convicted of DUI regardless of proving loss of motor skills.  It’s a default measure where if you are measured at a .08, the court can automatically determine that you are impaired, regardless of any video evidence is presented. 

If under a .08, the prosecution can still charge someone with DWI, but they need to prove through standardized field sobriety tests and interactions with the officer that the driver was indeed impaired at the time of driving.

3.  Breathalyzers are indeed reliable.  I think you are getting confused with two types.  One is a portable breath testing unit (PBUs), which are inadmissable in court in most (if not all) states.  That number can only be used as probable cause to make an arrest, but that number cannot be used to get a conviction in a court of law.  Breathalyzers (in many states, they use the Intoxilizer) that are admissable in court cost about $100K and require yearly operating training in most states.  These instruments are routinely calibrated and they have triggers for interferents, such as excess mouth alcohol or acetone (from untreated diabetics)- which renders the test void.