Dui

[kairre]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA

Was arrested early this morning for DUI was my first ever offence of any kind not even a parking ticket. Took breathalizer test results were .082 cooperated in every way with officer. Officer advised me to plead guilty and I should be given community service and my record will be expunged. Is this good and correct advice?

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by kairre

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA

Was arrested early this morning for DUI was my first ever offence of any kind not even a parking ticket. Took breathalizer test results were .082 cooperated in every way with officer. Officer advised me to plead guilty and I should be given community service and my record will be expunged. Is this good and correct advice?

**A: is the officer also an experienced DUI attorney?

[BigMistakeFl]

Don't take advice from a cop arresting you.... Unless it's Carl, of course.

[mdvvm]

About 9 months ago I got a DUI in PA. There is a program called ARD which you no doubt will be eligible for. You do not need a lawyer to do this but it involves classes, evaluations treatment if necessary and etc. At the end of one year it can be expunged.

Depending on your personal circumstances a lawyer may be able to deal with this low amonut of BAC in some other way but I am not certain. Hope this helps.

[Jim_bo]

.082???? That's just .002 over. I would sure like to see the calibration records for that breathalyzer. That's pretty damn close...

[ERAUPIKE]

Originally Posted by Jim_bo

.082???? That's just .002 over. I would sure like to see the calibration records for that breathalyzer. That's pretty damn close...

An individual may not drive, operate or be in actual physical control of the movement of a vehicle after imbibing a sufficient amount of alcohol such that the alcohol concentration in the individual's blood or breath is at least 0.08% but less than 0.10% within two hours after the individual has driven, operated or been in actual physical control of the movement of the vehicle.

If you read the statute he is actually .03 over.

[paguy88]

imbibing a sufficient amount of alcohol such that the alcohol concentration in the individual's blood or breath is at least 0.08%

and how the hell is anyone to know when they are at .079 vs .082?

[ERAUPIKE]

Originally Posted by paguy88

and how the hell is anyone to know when they are at .079 vs .082?

I think the point is to avoid the whole situation altogether. A general rule to follow is 3 drinks a night, 0 drinks if you are driving. This will keep you nice and clear of that oh so fine line.

[FlyingRon]

Originally Posted by paguy88

and how the hell is anyone to know when they are at .079 vs .082?

You misunderstand the law. It's illegal to drive intoxicated. The intent is not to allow you to go around at 0.07. All the .08 level does is give a PRESUMPTION of intoxication so they don't need to make a bigger case over it.

The cop is wrong by the way, you don't PLEAD GUILTY first for ARD.

[Jim_bo]

Originally Posted by paguy88

and how the hell is anyone to know when they are at .079 vs .082?

You know that is a really good point. In most vehicle violations, a person could reasonably know where they were with respect to a legal limit (i.e. speed limit). However, with respect to BAC, a person has no real way of knowing. With a maximum allowed BAC of .08, that inherently implies that the law allows for SOME level of alcohol. So, drinking and driving is NOT illegal, drinking to >.08 BAC and driving is illegal. So, how is it reasonable to hold a person to that standard when there is no real way for them to tell if they are .079 or .082??

[ERAUPIKE]

Originally Posted by Jim_bo

You know that is a really good point. In most vehicle violations, a person could reasonably know where they were with respect to a legal limit (i.e. speed limit). However, with respect to BAC, a person has no real way of knowing. With a maximum allowed BAC of .08, that inherently implies that the law allows for SOME level of alcohol. So, drinking and driving is NOT illegal, drinking to >.08 BAC and driving is illegal. So, how is it reasonable to hold a person to that standard when there is no real way for them to tell if they are .079 or .082??

The way to avoid that is to not push the limits. If you know you have to drive, avoid drinking excessively or at all. There are portable Breathalyzers available at drug stores that are reasonable accurate. I would think for someone that wants to skate that fine line it would be a good investment. For the record, the limit for legal driving is .079. If an individual is driving with a .08 limit they are at the per se limit and therefore legally intoxicated.

[xarfox]

i believe you can still be prosecuted for being under .08, but it would be much harder for them to win the case. let's say you are at .04 and swerving around, they could certainly throw some charges at you. even if they don't stick, you still have to fork over 2 Gs to a lawyer, is it really worth it?

now consider another scenario, lets say you are at .02 or .04 and some other A-hole on the road causes an accident because people on 76 are complete retards. but this person is stone sober, and someone innocent is killed in the crash

how do you think this is going to look in court? oh someone went out drinking, got into an accident, and someone died. they will blame you first

there really is no way to win at drinking and driving, and the penalties are much higher than the actual damage you may cause. i love to drink as much as the next person, but i've learned the hard way that there is no amount that is safe to drink and drive

the whole .08 thing causes more confusion than anything, because people don't know how to estimate it. those with high tolerance could be at .10 and arguably be more capable to drive then a senior citizen at .02. but the law doesnt care about these details, and there is nothing you can do about it

if you still want to play the numbers game i can give you some hard and fast rules. your body can metabolize one drink per hour, and each drink is .02. so if i drink 4 beers in one hour i will be at .08 except .02 will be metabolized off leaving me at .06. you can use this formula to determine when it is safe to drive again, but always be advised, the law will try to F you at any chance it gets. yes the PA court houses need more plasma TVs, and no better way to finance that by collecting ARD fines!

[Jim_bo]

xarfox,

Interesting.... I almost agree with most of your post. However, I believe that a healty young person with a .08BAC could drive MUCH better than many senior citizens on the road. However, alcohol is an accepted evil... old age is not. Don't get me wrong, stupid people get drunk to the point where they clearly are dangerous. However, an arbitrary level of .08 is based far more on politics than it is on safety.

I do have issue with your last paragraph. I think that 4 beers in an hour producing a BAC of .06 may be true of a man who is 8 feet tall and weighs 375 pounds. But for us mere mortals, 4 beers in an hour is very likely to have us well over the limit.

[BigMistakeFl]

and how the hell is anyone to know when they are at .079 vs .082?

Exactly why I think the "legal limit" is unfair. Abolish the per se legal limit, make it 0.00 then we all know where we stand when we have a few and choose to drive. That or make a breathalizyer standard equipment on vehicles.

[FlyingRon]

Originally Posted by BigMistakeFl

Exactly why I think the "legal limit" is unfair. Abolish the per se legal limit, make it 0.00 then we all know where we stand when we have a few and choose to drive. That or make a breathalizyer standard equipment on vehicles.

It's not unfair. If you want to be safe, don't DRINK AND DRIVE. Anything between 0 and 0.08 is gray area. Above that you are presumed intoxicated. If you are stupid enough to believe you can drink whatever you calculate will bring you to 0.0799999999 you're too recklessly stupid to drive.

Move to DC, what you propose is actually the law there. You say you have drunk anything (even one) and you will be arrested for DUI.