Petition to keep the current alcohol limit for driving
in [UK Drivers]
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From: Ian Dalziel on 2 Apr 2010 08:44 On Fri, 2 Apr 2010 04:37:14 -0700 (PDT), Derek C <del.copeland(a)tiscali.co.uk> wrote: >The petition doesn't seem to have got many signatures yet. Is this >down to apathy, or are you all vegetarian tee-totallers who never go >to pubs out there? Apathy about these petitions, certainly - after the stonewall response to every other one I've signed. I'm dubious about the "morning after" line as well. Alcohol level is alcohol level, whether you've been in bed or not. Still, reducing the limit would indeed be moronic, so I'll sign it. -- Ian D
From: Derek C on 2 Apr 2010 09:33 On 2 Apr, 13:44, Ian Dalziel <iandalz...(a)lineone.net> wrote: > On Fri, 2 Apr 2010 04:37:14 -0700 (PDT), Derek C > > <del.copel...(a)tiscali.co.uk> wrote: > >The petition doesn't seem to have got many signatures yet. Is this > >down to apathy, or are you all vegetarian tee-totallers who never go > >to pubs out there? > > Apathy about these petitions, certainly - after the stonewall response > to every other one I've signed. > > I'm dubious about the "morning after" line as well. Alcohol level is > alcohol level, whether you've been in bed or not. > > Still, reducing the limit would indeed be moronic, so I'll sign it. > > -- Thanks Ian. The body eliminate alcohol at the rate of about 1 unit per hour, where 1 unit is about a half pint of beer, or one small class of wine. So if you drunk about 5 pints of beer the night before, you would still be over the new limit 8 hours later. One or two airline pilots who have much stricter limits than drivers have fallen foul of this. The only problem I find with drinking in the evening is that it sometimes makes me a bit sleepy later on. After a good night's sleep this is no longer a problem and I feel refreshed and alert. The nanny state has always tried to exaggerate the effect of drink driving by saying that 'x' percent of accidents are caused by drunken drivers. What they really mean is that 'x' percent of drivers who are involved in accidents are found to have too much alcohol in their blood. The cause of the accident may not have been related to this. By the way I am not suggesting that the paralytically drunk should attempt to drive cars. The current limits are sensible and shouldn't cause a significant reduction in driving ability. Derek C
From: Ian Dalziel on 2 Apr 2010 11:32
On Fri, 2 Apr 2010 06:33:48 -0700 (PDT), Derek C <del.copeland(a)tiscali.co.uk> wrote: >On 2 Apr, 13:44, Ian Dalziel <iandalz...(a)lineone.net> wrote: >> On Fri, 2 Apr 2010 04:37:14 -0700 (PDT), Derek C >> >> <del.copel...(a)tiscali.co.uk> wrote: >> >The petition doesn't seem to have got many signatures yet. Is this >> >down to apathy, or are you all vegetarian tee-totallers who never go >> >to pubs out there? >> >> Apathy about these petitions, certainly - after the stonewall response >> to every other one I've signed. >> >> I'm dubious about the "morning after" line as well. Alcohol level is >> alcohol level, whether you've been in bed or not. >> >> Still, reducing the limit would indeed be moronic, so I'll sign it. >> >> -- >Thanks Ian. > >The body eliminate alcohol at the rate of about 1 unit per hour, where >1 unit is about a half pint of beer, or one small class of wine. So if >you drunk about 5 pints of beer the night before, you would still be >over the new limit 8 hours later. One or two airline pilots who have >much stricter limits than drivers have fallen foul of this. The only >problem I find with drinking in the evening is that it sometimes makes >me a bit sleepy later on. After a good night's sleep this is no longer >a problem and I feel refreshed and alert. > How you feel isn't relevant - the alcohol is going to have the same effect on your actions and reactions whether you've been asleep or not. >The nanny state has always tried to exaggerate the effect of drink >driving by saying that 'x' percent of accidents are caused by drunken >drivers. What they really mean is that 'x' percent of drivers who are >involved in accidents are found to have too much alcohol in their >blood. The cause of the accident may not have been related to this. Indeed. I'd like to see a comparison of "drink related accidents" with "smoking related accidents". >By the way I am not suggesting that the paralytically drunk should >attempt to drive cars. The current limits are sensible and shouldn't >cause a significant reduction in driving ability. I don't think I'd go that far - any alcohol is going to impair performance. Just not necessarily any more than a myriad other things. -- Ian D |