Reducing drink drive limit to 50mg from 80mg

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podgerodge

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Can someone explain to me how reducing the limit from approx 1.5 pints of beer to 1 pint of beer will have an impact on road deaths?

And what "statistics" show (according to the Indo) that drivers just under the current drink drive limit are 2 to 3 times more likely to be in an accident?

I'm not saying I don't believe them. Well, I am actually. I still don't believe my reactions have slowed down (not scientifically, but to have an effect on my driving) after 1.5 pints. Cue - rants about "it should be a zero limit" without backing up with proof.
 
I don't know! I don't drink and drive but what concerns me is driving the following day after a few beers the night before. if it goes to zero limit, then drivng next day may well get you nabbed!
 
podgerodge - to say that you dont think your reactions are slowed is simply a subjective opinion - perhaps if you submitted to scientific testing you would find that they had slowed. For some people who metabolise faster or who have a bigger body weight/frame perhaps 1.5 pints wouldnt have too much of an effect - speaking personally Id be drunk after 1.5 pints - so Im sure its different for everyone.

It should be a zero limit - why on earth would anyone think its a good idea for someone to drive after drinking alcohol - a drug that is known to slow reaction speeds and impair judgement?
 
It should be a zero limit - why on earth would anyone think its a good idea for someone to drive after drinking alcohol - a drug that is known to slow reaction speeds and impair judgement?
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Zero limit makes no sense, you would probably be over the limit after a meal that had alcohol as an ingredient. The real point is that next day driving is a real concern. I don't have a drink anymore when I'm driving but when I'm working next day I'm very conscious of the fact that I could be over the limit even though I definitely am not impaired. They should leave it as it is.

I would be interested in the statistics that point to how many people that have been involved in accidents that were in the 50-80mg bracket. Very few if any i'm sure.
 
MrMan said:
I would be interested in the statistics that point to how many people that have been involved in accidents that were in the 50-80mg bracket. Very few if any i'm sure.
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This is also what concerns me. I'd like to see the facts that back up the lowering of the limit from 80mg to 50mg. Those facts would help me believe that this is not just the government making it look like they are doing something - as is their strategy in so many other areas under their responsibility - instead of actually doing something.
 
truthseeker said:
I would like to see some scientific proof that backs this claim up.
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I don't understand this - why would you need scientific proof?

Zero tolerance = 0 mg blood alcohol permitted. If you consume any alcohol at all, be it in a meal/desert or whatever, your blood alcohol level could easily be above zero?

Yes, very small amounts may be metabolised very quickly but this will not always be the case.
 
If 1.5 pints have no effect on you, why do you even want to drink it? Surely non-alcoholic would do just as well?
 
good - scientific evidence galore then (Mythbusters being the pinnacle of scientific evidence of course) :)

So then - why not avoid boozy food if you are going to be driving also? I dont think this is a particularly hard line to take - I cant remember the last time I had food with booze in it, surely itd be special occasion type stuff?

As for liking the taste - surely a non alcoholic beer tastes like a beer?
 
Stroganoff, sherry trifle, loads of red or white wine based casseroles to name a few...
 
Caveat said:
Stroganoff, sherry trifle, loads of red or white wine based casseroles to name a few...
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exactly my point - I dont eat any of those on a regular basis - there is also a huge difference in something containing alcohol that has been 'baked' in an oven whereby most of the alcohol will have evaporated such as a casserole, or a food that contains a pure alcohol that hasnt been heated up.

All mostly a moot point anyway, if you ate something containing alcohol and drove within 20 minutes you may not be absolute zero but chances are you would either have metabolized the amount consumed or it would be so small as to be undetectable in your blood.

If on the other hand you went off and ate 5 kilos of freshly prepared sherry trifle you may be more at risk - but people dont tend to consume such large quantities of food as to be at risk.
 
or it would be so small as to be undetectable in your blood.
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But zero limit is what was suggested above - I take zero to mean zero, as in 0.00mg. I realise in practice that in a lot of cases there is a small permissible level e.g. 0.02 - 0.05, but if you look at Swordshead's link, some countries actually do apply a 0.00 limit.

Yes, Obviously it makes sense to avoid booze saturated meals or deserts but I'd be pretty upset if I found myself being fined/prosecuted for having an e.g. 0.01 mg reading - which is theoretically possible under an actual zero limit.

My point being, I don't think it's at all practical to apply this 'absolute zero' type of limit.
 
Noel Brett from the Road Safety Authority said on Morning Ireland about a year ago that a zero alcohol limit was unenforceable and probably unconstitutional in Ireland as alcohol is sometimes created naturally in the human body and even a tetotaller could find themselves registering a small level of alcohol in their system.

The Donegal County Coroner recently stated his opinion that reducing the limit from 80mg to 50mg will have no impact in reducing road deaths, while also confirming that in his 25+ years as a coroner, he has rarely if ever seen a case where moderate consumption of alcohol by a driver caused a fatality or serious injury. He believes that this move ignores the point that there is still a hard core of people driving around while several times over the legal limit, and who are causing accidents. He appealed for resources to be concentrated to catch these people, rather than moderate drinkers.

On a wider point, its not hard to see how the latest move could encourage drug driving - which the Gardai are comparatively powerless to either monitor or punish.
 
Caveat said:
But zero limit is what was suggested above - I take zero to mean zero, as in 0.00mg. I realise in practice that in a lot of cases there is a small permissible level e.g. 0.02 - 0.05, but if you look at Swordshead's link, some countries actually do apply a 0.00 limit.

Yes, Obviously it makes sense to avoid booze saturated meals or deserts but I'd be pretty upset if I found myself being fined/prosecuted for having an e.g. 0.01 mg reading - which is theoretically possible under an actual zero limit.

My point being, I don't think it's at all practical to apply this 'absolute zero' type of limit.
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Ok - point taken and agreed upon - there should be some tolerance level to allow for food ingestion as opposed to absolute zero.

When advocating absolute zero I hadnt thought about food (or perhaps cough medicine or other over the counter remedies that are alcohol based). Its not as clear cut as absolute.

But I still feel that people shouldnt consume alcohol as alcoholic drinks at all and then drive.
 
About the 5 kgs of Sherry Trifle ........ yes, no problem but you've got to eat it fast. Yum yum. If not, a few generous sized Black Forest Gateaux with loads of Kirchwasser. Or my Aunty Mary's famed Christmas cake ....."Yerra, sure the brandy stops the fruit from goin' stale". The latter washed down with a few toisins of cough mixture.
 
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