Washington lowering BAC level for DUI?

[Loyal Coug1]

Dropping State BAC limit would change who is considered intoxicated

YAKIMA-- It can get very busy on the weekends at the Bier Den in Yakima.For the server, it can be very stressful trying to serve and look for people who have ha

kimatv.com

OK, this is the most ridiculous thing yet from this socialist state I live in. .05 BAC gets you a DUI? Really? Might as well just shut down every bar in the state.

I'm sure most of us on this board drink. After all we are Cougs. As Klay said recently, win or lose, Cougs booze. That said, I am all for keeping drunks off the road so they won't hurt anyone. But when you read about drunks getting in wrecks and hurting people, how many blow .08? Few or none, they are double that or worse.

So you have 2 beers after work and you will be borderline DUI. WTF.

Oh and in other YakiVegas news today, this 21 year old punk shot and killed 3 people at a Circle K late last night. I think I'm going to move to somewhere safe - North Korea maybe?

 

[ttowncoug]

I tend to agree w/ those that state lowering the limit will have very little impact on drunk driving.

Person 1: Someone that is going to choose to get behind the wheel, hammered. This person is not going make a different chose based on a decrease in the BAC.

Person 2: Some that would have 2 beers, at a restaurant while having dinner. This person is likely to choose to stay home and have a few beers so they aren't risking it.

Person 2 is how is going to hurt the hospitality industry.

Even more concerning, you could be impaired on drugs and they have no enforcement for that. Article over here read that the half-life on fentanyl evades and blood draw test they currently have.

So yes, we are more concerned about busting good folks who have 2 beers rather than the drug addicts, the bad guys, who have made a mess of our society.

 

[cr8zyncalif]

In those countries where 0.05 is the limit, the working assumption has become no more than one drink per 2 hours unless you have huge body mass or an amazing metabolic rate. Even at that relatively slow rate, 3 drinks are likely to push most people over the limit for a long enough period that driving becomes impractical and other means (taxi, Uber, bus, train, walking) becomes attractive. I'm told that low blood alcohol limits actually help neighborhood bars that are within walking distance of large numbers of people. Not so much outside of urban or dense suburban areas. My brother in law in Australia tells me that it was quite a culture shift there, since much of the country is spread out, and driving drunk was considered to be OK by a segment of the population. Current estimates in the US are that about 1/3 of vehicular accidents are alcohol related. Australia is only a bit lower than that at present, but it used to be much higher, so it is working. 30-ish years ago when the Ozzies adopted 0.05 plus random testing the deaths per 100,000 people in alcohol-related crashes was in the ballpark of 24. Now it is about 7. He tells me that some of the bars actually run shuttle services...often in conjunction with their "competitors"...and sell the whole concept as a low stress night out.

 

[chugspig]

The way to beat this is to train your alcohol dehydrogenase and acetylaldehyde reductase enzymes by drinking more at home during the week. 3 drinks per hour for 5 hours every night should allow you to have a few beers at the bar on weekends and not get a dui. A rigid training regimen can overcome that law.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

The way to beat this is to train your alcohol dehydrogenase and acetylaldehyde reductase enzymes by drinking more at home during the week. 3 drinks per hour for 5 hours every night should allow you to have a few beers at the bar on weekends and not get a dui. A rigid training regimen can overcome that law.

Proper planning overcomes all.

 

[COUGinNCW]

I was at a golf tournie a few years ago and one of the old timers was bitching about when they lowered the limit from .12 to .1. I remember when it dropped to .08 from .1 but was it higher then .1 in Washington at one time?

 

[longtimecoug]

I was at a golf tournie a few years ago and one of the old timers was bitching about when they lowered the limit from .12 to .1. I remember when it dropped to .08 from .1 but was it higher then .1 in Washington at one time?

When i first got my license the limit in washington was
.15, mid 70s

 

[whoisyaodaddy]

Just refuse the BAC test. Depending on witnesses and what the cop writes in his report you may even be able to bring a probable cause Rule 3.4 hearing prior to trial. At .05 the cop may smell alcohol on your breath, but I doubt most people are slurring words and you likely can pass a field sobriety test. The irony is that the idiots in Olympia want to lower the DUI standards but make it harder for cops to actually stop citizens for traffic offenses or other reasonable suspicion activities. Likely the cops will just let it go unless a car a radically swerving or travelling at high speeds....and if that is the case the suspect is likely $hitfaced and will be blowing at least a .12 or above. If you are driving with a few beers just remember to go the exact speed limit and everything should be OK. A .05 standard is more $$ in the pockets of defense attorneys. I may have to get back in the game when I retire from my real job.

 

[COUGinNCW]

Just refuse the BAC test. Depending on witnesses and what the cop writes in his report you may even be able to bring a probable cause Rule 3.4 hearing prior to trial. At .05 the cop may smell alcohol on your breath, but I doubt most people are slurring words and you likely can pass a field sobriety test. The irony is that the idiots in Olympia want to lower the DUI standards but make it harder for cops to actually stop citizens for traffic offenses or other reasonable suspicion activities. Likely the cops will just let it go unless a car a radically swerving or travelling at high speeds....and if that is the case the suspect is likely $hitfaced and will be blowing at least a .12 or above. If you are driving with a few beers just remember to go the exact speed limit and everything should be OK. A .05 standard is more $$ in the pockets of defense attorneys. I may have to get back in the game when I retire from my real job.

I used to have a theory if you were going to speed, always have a few beers first. That way if you got pulled over and the cop smelled beer on your breath but knew you weren’t drunk enough for a dui, he’d let you go so there was no record of the stop for liability purposes if I went and got in a wreck.

Too much documentation now to play that game any more.

 

[95coug]

Just refuse the BAC test. Depending on witnesses and what the cop writes in his report you may even be able to bring a probable cause Rule 3.4 hearing prior to trial. At .05 the cop may smell alcohol on your breath, but I doubt most people are slurring words and you likely can pass a field sobriety test. The irony is that the idiots in Olympia want to lower the DUI standards but make it harder for cops to actually stop citizens for traffic offenses or other reasonable suspicion activities. Likely the cops will just let it go unless a car a radically swerving or travelling at high speeds....and if that is the case the suspect is likely $hitfaced and will be blowing at least a .12 or above. If you are driving with a few beers just remember to go the exact speed limit and everything should be OK. A .05 standard is more $$ in the pockets of defense attorneys. I may have to get back in the game when I retire from my real job.

If you get pulled over for DUI, in most cases the cop has already decided you're going to jail. The field sobriety tests and the breath tests are just to reinforce that decision in qualitative and quantitative ways. Now that virtually every cop will have you stumbling and slurring on video and audio, it's harder to argue with.

However...you can refuse both. If the cop asks you to do the tests, you can say no or you can stop at any point. Refusal can be used against you in court - theory being that you refused because you knew you'd fail - but that's better than actually failing. Refusing also forces the cop to decide on the spot whether he's already got enough information to arrest you, rather than giving him the opportunity to collect more.

If he arrests you and then takes you to the station for a breath test, you've got a tougher decision. Under Washington's implied consent rules, you can still refuse, but if you do, you lose your license for a year. Then the cop goes and gets a warrant for a blood draw, which you can't refuse, and now the cop will be good and pissed.

The better solution is just not to drink & drive in the first place. While I - like many here, I'm sure - had my share of drives home in college that I probably shouldn't have made, I'd be fully in favor of zero tolerance, lowering the level to 0.02. It's a bad idea, and I could point you to a few graves of people who would agree if they could.

 

[Loyal Coug1]

The better solution is just not to drink & drive in the first place. While I - like many here, I'm sure - had my share of drives home in college that I probably shouldn't have made, I'd be fully in favor of zero tolerance, lowering the level to 0.02. It's a bad idea, and I could point you to a few graves of people who would agree if they could.

Oh c'mon. .02? That would mean no one could go to a bar unless they walked. And yeah, point me to graves of people who died because someone at .03 killed them in an accident.

 

[95coug]

Oh c'mon. .02? That would mean no one could go to a bar unless they walked. And yeah, point me to graves of people who died because someone at .03 killed them in an accident.

Sorry, nobody has to drive from the bar. There's enough distractions in the car already, there's no need to have alcohol in your system too.

Not saying it's realistic, just saying I wouldn't fight it.

 

[ttowncoug]

If you get pulled over for DUI, in most cases the cop has already decided you're going to jail. The field sobriety tests and the breath tests are just to reinforce that decision in qualitative and quantitative ways. Now that virtually every cop will have you stumbling and slurring on video and audio, it's harder to argue with.

However...you can refuse both. If the cop asks you to do the tests, you can say no or you can stop at any point. Refusal can be used against you in court - theory being that you refused because you knew you'd fail - but that's better than actually failing. Refusing also forces the cop to decide on the spot whether he's already got enough information to arrest you, rather than giving him the opportunity to collect more.

If he arrests you and then takes you to the station for a breath test, you've got a tougher decision. Under Washington's implied consent rules, you can still refuse, but if you do, you lose your license for a year. Then the cop goes and gets a warrant for a blood draw, which you can't refuse, and now the cop will be good and pissed.

The better solution is just not to drink & drive in the first place. While I - like many here, I'm sure - had my share of drives home in college that I probably shouldn't have made, I'd be fully in favor of zero tolerance, lowering the level to 0.02. It's a bad idea, and I could point you to a few graves of people who would agree if they could.

Agreed cops have their minds made up. You can refuse ANY field sobriety test. In fact, attorneys would encourage you to do so. You can state that you are not going to submit to a field test, your attorney has advised you of this, and you can also ask to talk to your attorney at any time. Why? You don't need to have a .08 or in the future at .05 to be charged and convicted with DUI.

 

[Observer11]

God forbid you have two beers but feel free to post up in a tent city next to I90 and deal fentanyl.

Gotta love the lawmakers in the State of Washington. So on point with their priorities.

 

[mikalalas]

Agreed cops have their minds made up. You can refuse ANY field sobriety test. In fact, attorneys would encourage you to do so. You can state that you are not going to submit to a field test, your attorney has advised you of this, and you can also ask to talk to your attorney at any time. Why? You don't need to have a .08 or in the future at .05 to be charged and convicted with DUI.

If you refuse all test including breath test and the field walk the line etc, test, the law says they can arrest you.

While you can legally refuse the breath test, if you refuse it, then you legally have to do the field sobriety walk line test, or some other testing option, if you don't want to be arrested according to law, unless WA law is different then this law standard that's in most states, places.

There are plenty of shows like Cops, North Woods Law, where they follow Cops around LIVE, and where the Cops, shows, have stated to the camera that the law says what I said above.

And there are plenty of televised DUI courts, etc, where the court judge has told the defendant that they couldn't legally refuse all test, and that doing so makes it so that arrested, etc.

And in some Jurisdictions there are a couple, few, some laws that say that if you refuse ALL test, that the law then says your automatically guilty of DUI, even if your not intoxicated, or haven't been drinking, etc, and automatically get arrested, and get convicted in court, etc.

The best thing to do is to find out what the local, state law is, whether can refuse 1 test, or all the test, etc, what the penalties are, if any for refusal, etc.

The law on this is NOT standardized and can differ from jurisdiction to Jurisdiction

 

[CougPatrol]

Looks like it's time to make the full-time switch to edibles, like many young people have.

If pulled over on edibles, consent to a breathalyzer and field sobriety testing but refuse anything further. As of now, there's little they can do to prove impairment, particularly if you don't have any priors. In the unlikely event that it does goto court, you can claim it was CBD.

Sincerely, my estate & personal injury attorney.

 

[How_did_this_happen?]

Just refuse the BAC test. Depending on witnesses and what the cop writes in his report you may even be able to bring a probable cause Rule 3.4 hearing prior to trial. At .05 the cop may smell alcohol on your breath, but I doubt most people are slurring words and you likely can pass a field sobriety test. The irony is that the idiots in Olympia want to lower the DUI standards but make it harder for cops to actually stop citizens for traffic offenses or other reasonable suspicion activities. Likely the cops will just let it go unless a car a radically swerving or travelling at high speeds....and if that is the case the suspect is likely $hitfaced and will be blowing at least a .12 or above. If you are driving with a few beers just remember to go the exact speed limit and everything should be OK. A .05 standard is more $$ in the pockets of defense attorneys. I may have to get back in the game when I retire from my real job.

If you drive the exact speed limit they may pull you over for a "suspicious activity."

 

[kougkurt]

Looks like it's time to make the full-time switch to edibles, like many young people have.

If pulled over on edibles, consent to a breathalyzer and field sobriety testing but refuse anything further. As of now, there's little they can do to prove impairment, particularly if you don't have any priors. In the unlikely event that it does goto court, you can claim it was CBD.

Sincerely, my estate & personal injury attorney.

Yeah, but waiting for those little bastards to kick in…….

 

[chugspig]

Yeah, but waiting for those little bastards to kick in…….

Switch to tinctures sublingual

 

[roses04]

Just refuse the BAC test. Depending on witnesses and what the cop writes in his report you may even be able to bring a probable cause Rule 3.4 hearing prior to trial. At .05 the cop may smell alcohol on your breath, but I doubt most people are slurring words and you likely can pass a field sobriety test. The irony is that the idiots in Olympia want to lower the DUI standards but make it harder for cops to actually stop citizens for traffic offenses or other reasonable suspicion activities. Likely the cops will just let it go unless a car a radically swerving or travelling at high speeds....and if that is the case the suspect is likely $hitfaced and will be blowing at least a .12 or above. If you are driving with a few beers just remember to go the exact speed limit and everything should be OK. A .05 standard is more $$ in the pockets of defense attorneys. I may have to get back in the game when I retire from my real job.

Exactly, the irony, if a cop tries to pull you over keep driving, they are not allowed to chase you.

 

[wazzucougs96]

Dropping State BAC limit would change who is considered intoxicated

YAKIMA-- It can get very busy on the weekends at the Bier Den in Yakima.For the server, it can be very stressful trying to serve and look for people who have ha

kimatv.com

OK, this is the most ridiculous thing yet from this socialist state I live in. .05 BAC gets you a DUI? Really? Might as well just shut down every bar in the state.

I'm sure most of us on this board drink. After all we are Cougs. As Klay said recently, win or lose, Cougs booze. That said, I am all for keeping drunks off the road so they won't hurt anyone. But when you read about drunks getting in wrecks and hurting people, how many blow .08? Few or none, they are double that or worse.

So you have 2 beers after work and you will be borderline DUI. WTF.

Oh and in other YakiVegas news today, this 21 year old punk shot and killed 3 people at a Circle K late last night. I think I'm going to move to somewhere safe - North Korea maybe?

FWIW you can get arrested at any BAC if the cop feels that you are impaired

 

[wazzucougs96]

God forbid you have two beers but feel free to post up in a tent city next to I90 and deal fentanyl.

Gotta love the lawmakers in the State of Washington. So on point with their priorities.

People using fentanyl are choosing to kill themselves. Drunk drivers are killing people who aren't choosing to kill themselves.

Hope this helps.

 

[ttowncoug]

Exactly, the irony, if a cop tries to pull you over keep driving, they are not allowed to chase you.

Unless they think you are impaired...

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

I tend to agree w/ those that state lowering the limit will have very little impact on drunk driving.

Person 1: Someone that is going to choose to get behind the wheel, hammered. This person is not going make a different chose based on a decrease in the BAC.

Person 2: Some that would have 2 beers, at a restaurant while having dinner. This person is likely to choose to stay home and have a few beers so they aren't risking it.

Person 2 is how is going to hurt the hospitality industry.

Even more concerning, you could be impaired on drugs and they have no enforcement for that. Article over here read that the half-life on fentanyl evades and blood draw test they currently have.

So yes, we are more concerned about busting good folks who have 2 beers rather than the drug addicts, the bad guys, who have made a mess of our society.

Of course it won't, this is simply another cash grab by his royal highness and the royal court.

DUI laws in the US have always only been about the cash, not deterrence or prevention.

fwiw, most of Europe already have the BAC at 0.05% for DUI.

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

Just refuse the BAC test. Depending on witnesses and what the cop writes in his report you may even be able to bring a probable cause Rule 3.4 hearing prior to trial. At .05 the cop may smell alcohol on your breath, but I doubt most people are slurring words and you likely can pass a field sobriety test. The irony is that the idiots in Olympia want to lower the DUI standards but make it harder for cops to actually stop citizens for traffic offenses or other reasonable suspicion activities. Likely the cops will just let it go unless a car a radically swerving or travelling at high speeds....and if that is the case the suspect is likely $hitfaced and will be blowing at least a .12 or above. If you are driving with a few beers just remember to go the exact speed limit and everything should be OK. A .05 standard is more $$ in the pockets of defense attorneys. I may have to get back in the game when I retire from my real job.

If you refuse, you automatically lose your license for 1 year. Its non-negotiable and you can't overturn it in court, as the DOL operates separately from the courts and can do whatever they want, regardless of if you get your DUI charge thrown out.

 

[chipdouglas]

I have a police-issue breathalyzer and was fairly surprised to learn how intoxicated I felt at .05 or above. It's the law in Utah and I think some other places. Personally I wouldn't drive above .05 just because of how ripped I feel, but if I were still in my 20s I probably would just because the decisionmaking is poorer.

With that said, in the PNW, where Oregon legalized hard drugs and WA is all about safe hard drug use and expanding access to life-destroying chemicals, it seems hard to believe this is about being "responsible" - seems, more cynically, about revenue perhaps. Additionally, I don't know that the people between .05 and .08 are the ones we need to worry about. Kind of like the "gun free zone" signs on the movie theater in Aurora CO; it implicitly only applies to those who live inside the law.

 

[95coug]

FWIW you can get arrested at any BAC if the cop feels that you are impaired

Radio moves faster than you can drive. They'll get you.

Besides, the whole prohibition on chases is being reconsidered now, and will probably get modified.

 

[Loyal Coug1]

I have a police-issue breathalyzer and was fairly surprised to learn how intoxicated I felt at .05 or above. It's the law in Utah and I think some other places. Personally I wouldn't drive above .05 just because of how ripped I feel, but if I were still in my 20s I probably would just because the decisionmaking is poorer.

What a lightweight.
Sincerely, Cougar Nation

 

[CougEd]

Looks like it's time to make the full-time switch to edibles, like many young people have.

If pulled over on edibles, consent to a breathalyzer and field sobriety testing but refuse anything further. As of now, there's little they can do to prove impairment, particularly if you don't have any priors. In the unlikely event that it does goto court, you can claim it was CBD.

Sincerely, my estate & personal injury attorney.

If I may quote Lloyd Brooks in the movie Airplane...looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue....

 

[ttowncoug]

If you refuse, you automatically lose your license for 1 year. Its non-negotiable and you can't overturn it in court, as the DOL operates separately from the courts and can do whatever they want, regardless of if you get your DUI charge thrown out.

Difference: You can refuse field sobriety test, including the handheld breathalyzer. The field test is for the officer to determine if there is probable cause to arrest you for DUI. If the cop asks "have you drank anything tonight?" and you say "yes,"...probable cause. Even if you pass the field sobriety test, and the field BAC, they can arrest you for probable cause.

Once arrested, you cannot refuse the test at the police station and if you do, you lose your license.

 

[cr8zyncalif]

If I may quote Lloyd Brooks in the movie Airplane...looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue....

Lloyd Bridges.....?

 

[justinbgocougs]

It's all $$$. Greedy politicians looking for ways to make up for lack of income tax.

 

[Observer11]

It's all $$$. Greedy politicians looking for ways to make up for lack of income tax.

Or a shiny object so the real problems in the state aren't addressed.

 

[CougEd]

Lloyd Bridges.....?

Correct … auto correct

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

Or a shiny object so the real problems in the state aren't addressed.

It can be both.

 

[chipdouglas]

What a lightweight.
Sincerely, Cougar Nation

It's for the best. I used to rip 8-10 shots before we went out to start drinking on Colorado. Once got kicked out of what is now Stubblefields while walking up the stairs to leave. Did the Coug thing when I was younger; now I can't sleep on 3 beers. If I could still rip, my organs would have failed by now so it's salutary.

 

[95coug]

It's for the best. I used to rip 8-10 shots before we went out to start drinking on Colorado. Once got kicked out of what is now Stubblefields while walking up the stairs to leave. Did the Coug thing when I was younger; now I can't sleep on 3 beers. If I could still rip, my organs would have failed by now so it's salutary.

Those were the days. We used to do shots of 151 before leaving the dorm (often on the way to the Greenhouse). Today if I even sniff the cap I get heartburn.

 

[chipdouglas]

Those were the days. We used to do shots of 151 before leaving the dorm (often on the way to the Greenhouse). Today if I even sniff the cap I get heartburn.

I legitimately miss it even though I'd be underground if I could still drink like that. I had a night in Vegas recently where I went a little too hard; passed out at 10 and no jive woke up around midnight and couldn't get back to sleep until sunup, just hits different when you're not 20. Everybody's different but my organs have entered the "orthopedic shoes and readers" stage of drinking.

 

[firecoug]

The SFST battery is geared toward .08, I don’t know how they’re going to scientifically prove .05 to .079 with a scientific test. Washington law already allows DUI at any BAC if the driver is impaired (read: poor driving plus drug and/or alcohol use). The roadside tests are optional based on voluntary consent. The main BAC is implied consent as mentioned. Everything can be challenged. This is nothing but a feelgood diversion of attention away from the State’s many, many failures.

 

[95coug]

I legitimately miss it even though I'd be underground if I could still drink like that. I had a night in Vegas recently where I went a little too hard; passed out at 10 and no jive woke up around midnight and couldn't get back to sleep until sunup, just hits different when you're not 20. Everybody's different but my organs have entered the "orthopedic shoes and readers" stage of drinking.

Part of it is the quality of what I choose to drink now. I haven’t touched a Keystone or Coors light in decades. Beer that has a taste also has more alcohol and is more filling…and makes it much harder to power through that sleepy feeling that comes with the 3rd one.