Funny you should say this, but it really is not far off in some instances.atxgun wrote:Ok, I have the solution to this thread. A concern is you will not have "normal" judgment and reflexes after consuming alcohol. So, just make sure you're always drinking to maintain a constant BAC of .12 and that will be the norm for you.
When I was a LEO years ago, I saw many individuals in various states of intoxication. Being able to get a breathalyser reading, it was interesting to see how they were handling their level of BAC.
While I agree that officially you have impairment when you start intaking intoxicants, everyone handles it differently. I have seen folks with a BAC of .15 that had better motor skills that some who was .06. Everyone is different.
One case in particular I remember was an individual we stopped for suspicion of DWI. He did pretty well in the field sobriety test, but we felt he was still intoxicated enough to fail the breathalyser, so we transported him him to the station. When he was tested, it came up .42! The other officer and I looked at each other with surprise and said 'It must be a false reading.' We tested again, .42. Third time .42. Man, this guy shoulda been comatose!!!
We called the Lieutenant in, and he recognized the individual as a seasoned alcoholic. Neither of us had seen him before, and in talking to the Lt. he stated the guys wife usually drove him around. Even when he drove himself he was so used to being intoxicated that he could do a pretty good job of compensating for it and didn't draw attention to his driving. He had done better than a lot I had seen at .10 and we had almost let him go on since he came close to passing the FST!
Bottom line, while I agree that when you intake alcohol, you have some level of impairment, everyone handles it differently and can can compensate at different levels. Is your impairment enough to affect your motor skills and thinking process with 1 or 2 beers over an hour? Possibly, but again, it depends on the individuals capabilities IMO.