Drinking a beer while driving?

Of course a person's decrease in motor skills correlate to the amount of alcohol someone has consumed, but that doesn't hurt my argument. I'm not saying that having one beer renders you incapable of driving a car; I don't think it does, but it doesn't take long to drink 3 which can impair your motor function. You could have 3 shots of JD in 30 seconds. I'm saying that having a drink while driving makes you much more likely to engage in an activity that's dangerous to yourself and, more importantly, to those around you, which is having too much to drink.
Posted via Mobile Device

Do you agree that bars present a more significant danger to morotists than elimination of open container laws?
 
the main problem in america is that most communities are not designed for mass transit. most people drive to and from their bars. in clemson i drove obliterated almost every friday night (as did almost every person in the bars i went to). however in baltimore i take a taxi since a taxi is about the same cost as one beer. if you truly want people to stop driving while drunk then you have to provide easy and cheap public transportation.
Stick to places like Fells Point where you can easily walk to a dozen or more bars (and hear music to boot). :wink:
 
Open container laws also affect designated drivers who may be driving drinkers around. Because a driver *might* be drunk and dangerous, harmless behavior is targeted.
 
Open container laws also affect designated drivers who may be driving drinkers around. Because a driver *might* be drunk and dangerous, harmless behavior is targeted.

Ok. Start a petition to modify the open container laws. If there are open containers in the vehicle and the driver registers .00 BAC, no ticket for the open container. As a concerned citizen, I'll even sign it. Happy now?
Posted via Mobile Device
 
Be careful, I believe it's Mississippi that won't sell you cold beer, but you can buy warm beer, a styrofoam cooler, and a bag of ice.

That's only in Oxford (which is also in a dry county). Batesville, (Panola County), you can buy all the cold beer you want, as long as it's after 7am and before 10pm Mon.- Sat. and after 12n on Sundays. :smile:
 
Not condoning drinking alcohol and driving by any means, but I see more people texting, using cell phones, and stuffing their face with food while driving, than people chugging a cold one, and would be willing to bet that a staggering amount of accidents are caused by these issues, more than drunk driving. IMO...being impaired while driving doesn't necessarily mean being intoxicated. Again, I'm not condoning someone slamming down a half a case and then hitting the interstate, but having one beer while driving, I don't see the issue. To me, someone taking their eyes off the road for a few seconds to text, pick up their big mac and fries, dial a number on their phone and cause a fatal accident is no different. The end results are the same.
 
drinking a beer in a car is no more dangerous than drinking a coke. BAC is the only relevant data point in this conversation... unless drinking a coke is considered distracted driving then maybe that can be relevant.

This is true on beer/coke number one. It gets less and less true on beers/cokes 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. Again, the law exists to give the police reason to pull you over and see if that is no. 1 or no. 12, which I think you would agree is not the same thing.

On a different note, let's say you'd had one or two and you hit somebody and killed them. Even if you say you truly believe you're not impaired at that point, wouldn't you always wonder? I think it would eat me alive.

And yes, there are several other things, texting chief among them, that are at least as dangerous as drinking to some point. The difference is that the law has yet to catch up with those activities. It is starting to, especially with cell phone use. In civil cases, you can bet one of the first things to be subpoenaed will be the driver's cell phone usage records, looking for usage at the time of the accident.
 
Last edited:
I wear a helmet on my motorcycle, but I do not think there should be a law requiring me to wear one as in Alabama (but not Florida). I know many riders who when they go over the bridge on Hwy 98, they pull their helmets off. Mine stays on.

I wear a seatbelt, but don't think it should be a law.

I don't drink and drive (in terms of an open container) but again don't think there should be a law.

Now in terms of DUI, I think the second offense should be a felony, but that's me.
 
DUI is based on blood alcohol level. Open container laws are different. Even if the officer witnesses the driver drinking, the DUI will not be an option unless the blood alcohol level is above the proscribed threshold.

This isn't true. You can get a DUI and be below the "legal limit"
 
This isn't true. You can get a DUI and be below the "legal limit"

That is based on the assumption that the driver is not a "junior" driver, below the age of 21, and that the driver did not refuse to submit to the test.

Neither of these scenarios alters the point one bit. :cool2:
 
That is based on the assumption that the driver is not a "junior" driver, below the age of 21, and that the driver did not refuse to submit to the test.

Neither of these scenarios alters the point one bit. :cool2:

Actually it's based on neither of those. And yes you can get a DUI with a BAC below 0.08.
 
It takes very little alcohol to put you over the legal limit.

Not so much. Check out this...

TABC Blood Alcohol Percentage Chart

So as a 155 pound man, I can drink about 3 1/2 beers in an hour and still be .08! But in actuality, if I drank that much in an hour, I would be drunk...at least for a little while. That is well over the 2 beers in an hour that I feel comfortable with that I mentioned earlier in this thread.
 
Advertisement

Trending content

Advertisement

Latest threads