Given field sobriety test and then let go. How common is this?

0.05 limit? Wow they are not messing around, nor should they I guess. Count yourself lucky.

Everyone who gets pulled over and asked about drinking had "only 2 drinks" and is "only 2 blocks from home." What a coincidence that is.

You lucked out big time. 2 drinks in 3 hours could easily put you over 0.08 as measured by a breathalyzer. That's if they're 2 official drinks (e.g. 2 12-oz light beers; 1 12-oz light beer and 1 shot; 1 16-oz amber ale; etc.). If they're 2 22-oz IPAs then you might've been double or triple the limit as measured by a breathalyzer. The reason I keep qualifying with "as measured by a breathalyzer" is because breathalyzers are not an accurate measure of BAC. They will read an innacurately high number if you're stressed or dehydrated. If you drink lots of water right before blowing then you will lower the reading.

In any event, never talk to the police -- not a single word.

0.08 here wrote:

0.05 limit? Wow they are not messing around, nor should they I guess. Count yourself lucky.

MADD has been pushing to lower the limit to 0.05. They've also been pushing to have ignition interlock devices in every car. They're behind the Draconian laws we have now.

And don't give me that B.S. about "European countries have far more strict DUI laws." I don't need to debunk that claim again.

I had almost the exact same thing happened to me about six years ago also in a college town. A cop pulled me over for an expired tag on my license plate and then proceeded to say something to the effect of " I detect the strong odor of alcohol ". I confirmed that Id had one drink about one hour before. He ran me through the whole gamut of the field sobriety tests for what seemed like 10 minutes. I thought I did pretty well, but then ( for some stupid reason I'm not sure of now ) I did a breathalyzer. He claimed he could not tell me the result, but I was clearly below our states 0.08 by the embarrassed look on his face. He didn't even give me a ticket for the tags

My buddy and I were driving once at 2 am in a small town w/ some "stuff" in the car, under my seat, and he kept going over the center line so this cop behind us pulls us over, asks us where we're headed, doesn't even bother to ask if we've been drinking, and lets us go. It was really strange b/c we were freaking out.

jamin wrote:

0.08 here wrote:

0.05 limit? Wow they are not messing around, nor should they I guess. Count yourself lucky.

MADD has been pushing to lower the limit to 0.05. They've also been pushing to have ignition interlock devices in every car. They're behind the Draconian laws we have now.

And don't give me that B.S. about "European countries have far more strict DUI laws." I don't need to debunk that claim again.

Just curious, what's your stance on gun control?

I've had 2 field sobriety tests given to me within a 6 month time frame. Was let go each time. Would have failed the breathalyzer if I didn't talk them out of it

jamin wrote:

0.08 here wrote:

0.05 limit? Wow they are not messing around, nor should they I guess. Count yourself lucky.

MADD has been pushing to lower the limit to 0.05. They've also been pushing to have ignition interlock devices in every car. They're behind the Draconian laws we have now.

And don't give me that B.S. about "European countries have far more strict DUI laws." I don't need to debunk that claim again.

Jamin makes sense. We need our laws to protect those who selfishly put others at risk.

jamin wrote:

0.08 here wrote:

0.05 limit? Wow they are not messing around, nor should they I guess. Count yourself lucky.

MADD has been pushing to lower the limit to 0.05. They've also been pushing to have ignition interlock devices in every car. They're behind the Draconian laws we have now.

And don't give me that B.S. about "European countries have far more strict DUI laws." I don't need to debunk that claim again.

DUI much lately?

jamin wrote:

[

In any event, never talk to the police -- not a single word.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc

This x1000

jamin wrote:

0.08 here wrote:

0.05 limit? Wow they are not messing around, nor should they I guess. Count yourself lucky.

MADD has been pushing to lower the limit to 0.05. They've also been pushing to have ignition interlock devices in every car. They're behind the Draconian laws we have now.

And don't give me that B.S. about "European countries have far more strict DUI laws." I don't need to debunk that claim again.

No sarcasm, but could you? I usually avoid posts by you, but saw this. I'm under the impression that most European countries do not allow for any alcohol to be in the system. Are you saying that most countries are not like this, or that other factors make the collective enforcement less strict?

It's fairly common. If you are completely sober it is easy to smell the odor of alcohol upon someones breath. If you have the windows up the odor can linger in your car from your respiration, especially if you have the heater on. As someone mentioned every driver admits to having "a few." It is also common to have the car stink like a brewery from the passengers but have a sober DD. There are a lot of misconceptions about DUI enforcement. When done correctly, the arrest is based on your performance of the sobriety tests and the breathalyzer only confirms the presence of alcohol. That being said I have only ever seen a breathalyzer help people. I had a lady one time with absolutely horrible fields. She blew in the machine and was a 0.02.I believe the legal limit nationwide is 0.08.

POST IT!!

I had this happen at my college town right off the interstate by the exit for my college. They performed periodic random stops once or twice a month. I was given a field sobriety test, which I easily passed. I'd had no drinks that night and was coming back from a movie or something. The officer didn't ask though, after the test he waved me on and said have a good night.

Isn't the rule of thumb 1 drink an hour and you're totally safe?

imacop wrote:

There are a lot of misconceptions about DUI enforcement.

I believe the legal limit nationwide is 0.08.

Some states carry lesser charges and/or can give you a dui for a bac as low as .05 if you appear to be driving irregularly. I believe the best thing to do is have a designated driver even if you don't think you're drunk, but have had any drinks whatsoever.

One of my lawyer friends got a client charged with DUI off when he (the lawyer) had the arresting officer perform the field sobriety test in the courtroom himself. The officer failed the test.

Happened to me twice in six months and both times blew a .08....that was back in my way dumber days. It is definitely not worth the risk on so many levels, even borderline drunk driving.

Way back (the early 80's) when I was a very young, very stupid man I got pulled over in the downtown area of a big city in California. I had been drinking heavily and was absolutely wasted. The guy had me do the walk test and recite the alphabet. I did OK on those but there's no fricking way the cop didn't know I was hammered. He gave me my license back and said "Go home. Oh and grow up, son". I still can't believe he let me drive away from that thing as I so drunk I couldn't even see straight.