Having been arrested and charged with drink driving a few years ago. I attended a drink driving course, which aswell as reducing my ban from 12 to 9 months also showed the effects of alcohol.

 

I was left with feeling that alcohol affects people in very different ways, some more so than others and that it certainly wasn't as clean cut as is currently taught.

 

There was some discussion of a sobriety tests being used before (or instead of) breathalising, but nothing more has been heard about this or any study into it's merrits.

 

 

What kind of sobriety tests, out of interest?

 

I mean, at the best of times, some people are shit drivers - slow reaction times, crap coordination, lame concentration, poor sense of awareness... I guess that's a separate issue though.

Not too sure what they'd have involved as it was never mentioned in detail, but I would suspect walking a line, saying the alphabet and so on... Really only works to prove how drunk or illiterate some people are.

 

I think the legal limit is just right though, it strikes a fair balance (well as fair as the law can be).

Edited July 26, 200420 yr by Alex

As the drink driving limit is in the form vol alcohol x vol blood ^-1 it allows for the variables in how quickly people motabilise alcohol, how big they are etc which is, in essence, how much alcohol affects different people.

My dad only drinks at christmas and his birthday and he refuses to drive for 3 days afterwards.

 

My dad ROCKS.

QUOTE (Ginge @ Jul 26 2004, 17:07)

My dad only drinks at christmas and his birthday and he refuses to drive for 3 days afterwards. My dad ROCKS.

my dad drinks less than yours nuh nuh nah nah nah!

 

24 pack of guiness for fathers day 2002 and we've still got it

QUOTE (Kether @ Jul 26 2004, 12:54)

As the drink driving limit is in the form vol alcohol x vol blood ^-1 it allows for the variables in how quickly people motabilise alcohol...

So you reckon there are no other factors?

 

I.e. Proportion of alcohol in blood directly correlates to the amount it affects your ability to drive?

QUOTE (LiquidEyes @ Jul 26 2004, 20:59)

QUOTE (Kether @ Jul 26 2004, 12:54) As the drink driving limit is in the form vol alcohol x vol blood ^-1 it allows for the variables in how quickly people motabilise alcohol... So you reckon there are no other factors?   I.e. Proportion of alcohol in blood directly correlates to the amount it affects your ability to drive? hes saying that sobering up is proportional to the amount of alcohol and what size someone is     i think

QUOTE (2funkedup @ Jul 26 2004, 21:16)

hes saying that sobering up is proportional to the amount of alcohol and what size someone is

Nah. What he's saying is, the blood test inherently factors in your size & metabolism (cos bigger people have more blood, and people with faster metabolisms 'burn it off' more quickly).

 

So we can take it as read that you can know (proportionally) how much alcohol is in somebody's blood.

 

What I'm asking is, does the amount of alcohol in somebody's blood directly correlate to how affected they are?

 

I.e. given two people (of arbitrary size and metabolic rate) both with the same proportion of alcohol in their systems, do they both have the same degree of impairment of reactions / coordination / concentration?

 

I'm making no assumptions, since I know little about the way alcohol acts upon the brain.

QUOTE (2funkedup @ Jul 26 2004, 21:16)

hes saying that sobering up is proportional to the amount of alcohol and what size someone is

(ahem let me rephrase ... yes that is essentially what Kether was saying ... but that doesn't answer my question)

i am on my 8th day...cold turkey, the way i feel, is as though i have never smoked..i think this is it the last tim i quit for good

QUOTE (LiquidEyes @ Jul 26 2004, 21:23)

So we can take it as read that you can know (proportionally) how much alcohol is in somebody's blood. What I'm asking is, does the amount of alcohol in somebody's blood directly correlate to how affected they are?

Yes, of course.

 

More alcohol in blood = more depressant affect than if there is less alcohol in the blood.

 

It's quite simple logic really.

QUOTE (LiquidEyes @ Jul 26 2004, 21:26)

QUOTE (2funkedup @ Jul 26 2004, 21:16) hes saying that sobering up is proportional to the amount of alcohol and what size someone is (ahem let me rephrase ... yes that is essentially what Kether was saying ... but that doesn't answer my question) i thick and wasnt really sure, just felt like typing