Yeah that sounds out of line, glad I don't live there. I know lots of people that go out to have a good time and get "fairly sloshed" but don't drink and drive. Where do you draw the line for when someone is drunk. Is it a cetain blood/alcohol content... Is it purely someone's impression of the person who is supposedly drunk? If it's measured by science that's going to vary per person depending on their metabolism and build, alcohol tollerance etc. If it's purely a judgement made by someone (eg. a police officer) how can you fairly draw the line between someone who's under the influence and having a good time and someone that is completely intoxicated? Solution: drink & surf... and just for all the struggling webmasters be sure to have your credit cards handy at all times!
That is appauling. They didn't even search them for car keys.. I wonder what the intention behind this 'sweep' was.. it certainly wasn't anything to do with drink driving. It's very odd.. Pete
If they weren't bothering people or driving home, then why arrest them? News items such as this make you wonder how "FREE" the country actually is.
As I've stated many times before - America is NOT free. We are living in an increasingly opressive and restricted police state. Although conservative/republican nut jobs are responsible for most of it, we as a whole country are just as much to blame for letting this BS continue to happen on a daily basis....
So, where do you go from here? Do you / Can you bring charges against the police officers involved? Is that the best way to fight this particular case?
You get the rest of our lazy country to get off their asses and speak up. If everyone want's a law changed it will get changed. The entire problem is that only 1% of us actually care enough to do anything .... until it happens to us (see mia/gtech as examples "has it happened to you personally")
Are there any Texans here? Will you be watching your back (with escape route planned in advance) the next time you go to a bar, in case it gets "raided" by the cops?
Maybe the next time you have a small party in your private home they can come raid it to and take you to jail for being drunk - i'm sure it's part of counter-terrorism in the patriot act, and if your against anything counter-terrorism, you must be a terrorist!
When, in the history of time, has everyone agreed on any issue? That's your problem right there. The local population needs to form an interest group is they want the law changed (and lobby the right people). You can't blame authorities for carrying out the law. This incident looks like a wake up call for Texans. Who would have thought that Texas, of all places, would have a law like that? I always thought Texas felt a little bit like China. Is it too late to give Texas to Mexico?
Apparently some don't think there should be a line. Others hope the line is drawn before another drunk crashes into a car with a family killing them all.
That was not the case, here, GTech. These guys got busted in the bar before going anywhere, much less getting into a car. There are ways to get drunk drivers BEFORE they do any damage. It happens here all the time, you go to a bar and when you come out, all the roads leading away from the bar have spot checks. It's very effective and only drunk drivers are arrested. If some guy has a designated driver and is not a danger to himself or others, why arrest him for being drunk? It doesn't do anybody any good.
Point taken. After re-reading the story, I agree with your post. Arresting people in a bar for being drunk is (for a lack of a better word) stupid. Arresting people for being drunk and disorderly, I take no exception with. There are many people that use "designated drivers" and/or call taxi cabs to take them home if they can't drive. There are many that don't, and your point about road checks is spot on.
After a few beers you would be hard pushed to 'sober up' under the legal limit unless you're allowing at least 2 hours after your second drink. I was one of the lucky ones who got caught for drink driving - I say lucky because it was the most rediculous thing I had done in life on a regular basis up until the point of getting caught. I have been through a 'Reform' course and the ins and outs are pretty interesting. Most people do it, most unknowingly.. most do it regular without knowing. Plenty from driving the next morning after a night out - if you aren't allowing 9 hours before driving after your last drop of a heavy session, you are probably over the limit when you get in your car the next morning. Thus you are 5-6x more likely to have an accident due to the effect of alcohol in the body. If you're drinking in a bar though - you really shouldn't be thinking about 'sobering up' before driving. You may feel ok, but you will still more then likely be over the legal limit and if stopped.. bang goes your licence (possibly your job if you can't get transport) and your dependants are stuck. My personal rule is.. drinking absolutely nothing when I know I will be driving, and never to drive without allowing at least 10 hours after a heavy drinking session. That means if I stop drinking at 1am - I won't be driving until 11am-12pm the next day - and people NEED to allow this because there is a really high chance you will be over the limit from a heavy piss up the night before.. it isn't worth your licence.. or the fine.. or the hassle. Here's an interesting fact from a heavy drinking session of my own which led to being caught: Stopped drinking at 1:00AM Caught measuring 84 micrograms out of 100 in breath. (The legal limit here is 36) At 11.30AM the next morning I was still registering 25 micrograms out of 100 in breath. Take note of that folks, especially those in the UK. That means if I would of been travelling to work at 8am the next morning after that drinking session, I would of been well over the limit.. and if I'd of had a crash, as the police breathalise you now, I would of been well and truly fucked. It's serious stuff.. give yourself at least 9-10 hours after a heavy night of drinking before stepping in to your car! Pete
Euless, TX cops pulled over a friend of mine for drunken driving because he had had two drinks at a bar, tomato soup only for dinner, and puked that out as soon as he got in his car in the parking lot. The worst part was another friend with him had had only one drink, and they busted him for public intoxication because he wasn't in the car yet, and wasn't even drunk but they could get him for that without a breathalyzer or anything.