As the advertising slogan goes: Drink and Drive, you’re a bloody idiot. But then we do allow people to drink, and still get on the road.
Now just think for a minute what a road vehicle is. In terms of a motorbike, it’s a mass of metal and plastic, usually starting around 100kg in weight, that can (legally) do up to 130km/h on Australian roads. A car, same speed, but much bigger, around the tonne or more in weight.
Now go back only a couple of hundred years, and if you had a weapon capable of doing those kind of speeds with that amount of weight, you could do a hell of a lot of damage to your enemy. Yes, the car/bike is a weapon, but because we are so use to them these days, they are not seen as that. Before you get behind the wheel of a car, think about how easy it would be to kill someone with that vehicle. A split second of difference in braking has someone dead. Now what if that person was a member of your family, or you? Got you thinking now?
But I know, cars are so much more safer these days. But there are a lot more cars on the roads these days, travelling at faster speeds, and with a lot more distractions to contend with. Incidents still happen, people still die, and alcohol still plays a big part in many of those incidents.
Which brings us to .05
The limit should be dropped to .02, and here are my reasons why.
While I personally would advocate for a double zero limit, you need to have some leeway for people. Staying alcohol free is easy for cows, we don’t drink, as we save it to you to put the kalua into milk.
What a .02 limit allows is for people to make an innocent mistake. Someone might have been drinking the night before, had a good nights sleep, but there was just a little touch of alcohol still in their system. They have done the right thing by not getting behind the wheel just after drinking, so they deserve a fair go. It could be that someone had some medication that had alcohol in it, so there needs to be that buffer.
A .02 limit lets people know, they will be given a chance, but they can’t make the decision to go and have a few drinks, and make a judgement call on if they are right to drive or not. This way the judgement is made for them, and it is a pretty simple one. “I’m going to drive, so I can’t drink”. After all, how many times have we heard the excuse “I thought I was right to drive”. Well tell that to the coroner.
What about those people who naturally have 0.02 in their blood???
I couldn’t agree with you more… but this is coloured somewhat by a girl who saw her father’s face torn up just before Christmas. Not a nice thing for a 10 year old to see. All caused by a drink driver.
A vehicle is a piece of heavy machinery. It is heavy, full of flammable liquids and requires the operator to respond quickly to changed situations, often at speed, to avoid collison.
I cannot think of ANY heavy machinery that is legally able to be operated with any alcohol in the system. I am pretty sure that is against OH&S laws.
Again, I couldn’t agree more.
@Dale: I don;t know of people who naturally have alcohol in their system, could you provide links please? Would make for interesting reading.
@Susan: I’ll drink to that.
Here’s one link I quickly found:
http://www.alcoholandwork.adf.org.au/browse.asp?ContainerID=alcohol_and_the_law
There is no particular law involving alcohol consumption in the workplace, under the OH&S act apart from special occupations; rail safety and in the mining industry.
Which I must say I am surprised at because I would have thought fork lift drivers, operators of heavy machinery etc would be required, by law, to have a BAC of 0.00 as well.
@Admin
From conversations with Draeger representatives.
Even CASA allow up to 0.02% BAC for people in “Safety Critical” roles.
@Susan
The Victorian OHS Regulations talk about people who are “adversely effected” by alcohol and drugs. This does not necessarily mean 0% BAC.
Though it’s been my experience that mining companies enforce a no alcohol and drugs policy, even in their non-mine site offices.
I’d expect that as a condition of licensing/certification for heavy machinery, there is a 0% BAC requirement. Bessie might be able to comment further.
What about more rigorous enforcement of speed limits, and not just on long weekends? I get tired of people who complain about speed cameras being revenue raisers. If you don’t want a speeding fine, don’t speed. It’s as simple as that. I’ve stopped counting the number of times I’ve been overtaken by impatient drivers because I stubbornly refuse to exceed speed limits.
@Ross: While your point has some validity, it doesn’t carry weight. If you stubbornly refuse to exceed speed limits, how far under them do you constantly drive at?