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recommended: lower u.s. drunk driving threshold


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Actually created/had to use that line on a gig last week when one of the attendees (a "liberal") was talking about how that last shot fucked him up, SHOULNT-A DRANK THAT ONE,like it was the shot's fault that he drank it, like he didn't know how much he could handle, like if you keep drinking it becomes a surprise when you get fucked up.

And this in the context of an earlier discussion a few seats over with another attendee (a "conservative") about how 2nd Amendment rights should be absolute b/c Otherwise The Government Will Control Everything. But War On Terror is OK because We Need Protecting.

So at some point, it all comes together, and while that's fun to see in porn, in real life it's kinda like not porny at all.

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I guess I find it falls into the area of wouldn't it be nice if ...

Since people are not going to stop having a drink or possibly two and then driving, particularly in the U.S. where it is much harder (than say Europe) to find alternate transportation, do we want to tie up police resources for low level impairment or only focus on more serious impairment? Some might argue that it is not a zero-sum game, and that when the culture shifts, this won't be an issue.

First, I don't think the culture will shift in the U.S. where we have made sticking it to the man part of our DNA. Second, police resources are stretched incredibly thin. I do see it as a zero-sum game (I see almost everything as a zero-sum game). And even threatening to redeploy police to enforce a very low blood alcohol level will further degrade respect for the police -- i.e. don't you have anything better to do... Granted if the police stopped enforcing the war on drugs, then they might have time to enforce the war on 0.05 BAL. I just don't see the marginal cost of extra enforcement as worth it frankly.

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If you've been drinking you shouldn't drive. Period. I don't see why this is a point of contention.

Just my thoughts.

I agree.

The absolutists. Looks like a club in the making.

Funny thing is that nearly all of these clubs that Jim has been playing in with Janiva Magness would likely go out of business tomorrow if their patrons suddenly decided that they could no longer drink and drive. :)

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If you've been drinking you shouldn't drive. Period. I don't see why this is a point of contention.

Just my thoughts.

I agree.

The absolutists. Looks like a club in the making.

Funny thing is that nearly all of these clubs that Jim has been playing in with Janiva Magness would likely go out of business tomorrow if their patrons suddenly decided that they could no longer drink and drive. :)

How many cities in the US have absolutely no taxi service of any kind? What is so hard about taking a taxi or other public transportation home from a club if you've had too much to drink? Or having a designated driver who stops imbibing a few hours before you're going to leave? Or cutting yourself off a few hours before you leave? Planning ahead seems pretty simple to me.

As for clubs going out of business, the same argument was used with smoking bans. Somehow live music venues have survived. It's about adaptability.

Methinks if anyone here had a child or parent killed by a drunk driver, they'd think differently on this issue.

I don't care if .05% isn't drunk for certain people. Laws are not about individualism. Laws are for society at large. Without laws there is no society. Also the argument that this gives the police more power is false. They already have the power to put your butt in jail for drinking and driving. This just lowers the threshold. It has been proven that lowering the threshold will reduce deaths. As soon as you sit behind the wheel, it's no longer just about you. Your actions can have a dramatic and permanent effect on someone else's life.

I also see the correlation between the gun mentality and this situation. "Well, I'm not irresponsible, so why should I shoulder a small burden for the betterment of society at large?"

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Agreed. Drunks have no business getting behind the wheel.

I was hit by a drunk driver myself; nearly threw me from the vehicle. Once, I watched a drunk [we found a half empty quart of booze on the front seat] blow through a red light and nearly kill the driver of the car he hit [my brother and I jumped out of our car to apply first aid and direct traffic]. This is serious business, no doubt in my mind.

It is the proverbial "slippery slope" I am concerned with here.

Edited by GoodSpeak
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So Jim, what's it going to be, this:



If you've been drinking you shouldn't drive. Period. I don't see why this is a point of contention.

or this:


How many cities in the US have absolutely no taxi service of any kind? What is so hard about taking a taxi or other public transportation home from a club if you've had too much to drink? Or having a designated driver who stops imbibing a few hours before you're going to leave? Or cutting yourself off a few hours before you leave? Planning ahead seems pretty simple to me.

A designated driver or someone who cuts themselves off a few hours before leaving is still going to blow greater than a .05.

As for a taxi... really? So I'm supposed to take a taxi from Boston to New Hampshire? $100-120 taxi drives are far out of my league and I'd bet many other music fans. It sounds like a great idea but not very practical. And look at the last club you played at in Massachusetts with Janiva, the Bull Run. It's in the middle of nowhere (believe me, Shirley, MA is really in the middle of nowhere). I don't even know if they have taxis out there. :)

Hey look, I had one beer with dinner last night and San Pelligrino water at the Jim Hall show. I wasn't the least bit buzzed. But I have to wonder if I still wouldn't have popped a .05 on a breathlyzer.

PS. the new quoting system sucks. :)

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at the time i retired from a factory in ohio in late 1976, for anyone involved in a workplace bodily injury incident, the threshold allowable was .01. testing was automatic for everyone involved.

earlier in my employment career, from the1960s, returning to factory work after downing upwards to 4 or 5 quick double shots of bar whiskey was relatively common.

i suspect that, rightly or wrongly, allowable thresholds will continue to tighten, workplace and vehicle. we will adjust; we must adjust.

Edited by alocispepraluger102
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I think you know what I mean, Kevin. If you are drinking, finish your drink, and then go immediately get in your car, that is unacceptable. I don't care if it's 10 drinks or 1.

If you have two drinks at the beginning of a show and the show lasts 2 hours, as long as you don't drink any more you would be fine to drive. I doubt you'd blow a .05 then.

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130515/NEWS01/130515012/Drunk-How-many-drinks-does-take-reach-0-05-blood-alcohol-level-

If taxis are too expensive, then get a designated driver.

If you're trying to argue with me that lowering the legal blood alcohol level will put me out of work, I have every confidence that people and clubs will adapt to the new law, just like they have with every other law. And if your doomsday prediction comes true and all clubs go out of business, I'll find another line of work. I'd rather drunk people stop killing innocent people on the road.

But I'm certain live music will continue.

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