Binge Drinkers and Driving Habits

Ed Normand — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:52:00 GMT

According to a study conducted at Northern Kentucky University, in contrast to binge drinkers, moderate social drinkers are much more capable of determining whether or not they are too drunk to drive. Although this seems logical, according to the study, individuals who are considered binge drinkers, which makes up 90% of the population of underage drinkers, and over 50% of drinkers age 21-29, believe they are more capable of driving after a few drinks than their moderate drinking counterparts. In sum, the binge drinkers don’t realize they are driving erratically. This tragically results in more auto accidents caused by drunk drivers.

The implications of this fall in a vast gray area of the law. The Florida legal limit for blood alcohol content (BAC) is 0.08%. This can be achieved by a little over one drink in women under 110 pounds and two drinks in men under 165 pounds in one hour period. The law can only be objective and apply a uniform standard. Therefore, whether or not a driver feels he is capable of driving is irrelevant. Either you meet the legal limit and are driving under the influence or you are not.

This study could be good in informing the public that the more often you drink, the more likely you are to feel comfortable driving. Too many people judge their driving capability on the way they feel; not on how much they drank. One suggestion is to keep portable breathalyzers at establishments that serve alcohol so drivers can test themselves, instead of guessing. This has been tried before however and binge drinkers would use the machine as a game to see how high they can get their blood alcohol level.

Drunk drivers remain a danger to all motorists and are a substantial cause of Orlando auto accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

Text Banning Bill In Florida Legislature

Ed Normand — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:50:22 GMT

A new bill will be reviewed next month in Florida that could ban texting while operating a moving vehicle following a new wave of legislative efforts to curb driving distractions. Not surprisingly, according to the National Safety Council, using a wireless communications device while driving is one of the biggest distractions that affects driving performance. The claim is that driving while texting leads to more Florida automobile accidents.

The bigger question is whether the legislature should step in and ban the use of cell phones while driving. The National Safety Council has called on drivers to stop using cell phones and messaging devices while pushing all 50 states to pass legislation prohibiting this type of use. But do we need laws against it? Among the other distractions listed were drinking and eating; if this bill is passed, who is to say drinking coffee on the way to work won’t be next? Will this provide just another pretext for law enforcement to pull over and search profiled drivers?

These kinds of movements by legislature are indicative of the changing philosophy’s of what exactly constitutes free choice and what we should and should not be told to do by those we elect to represent us. As much as a ban on texting while driving will likely reduce the amount of accidents to an extent, one might also wonder when the line will be drawn. No question that texting while driving is dumb, the issue is do we want even more governmental intrusion into our lives?

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

Orlando Personal Injury Lawyer - Auto-Accident

Binge Drinkers and Driving Habits

Text Banning Bill In Florida Legislature