May 2009 - Posts

• “Close Enough for Government Work”

  With more than a little federal coercion, all states have now passed laws lowering the blood-alcohol level to .08%. And most people suspected of violating the law are given breath tests to determine the level of alcohol in their blood. The breathalyzer will take a small sample of the suspect’s breath and estimate how much alcohol is in it [...] Posted May 22 2009, 01:03 PM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog

• High Breathalyzer Readings….from Dieting

  I’ve written in the past about how most so-called "breathalyzers" do not measure alcohol:  they actually measure the presence of the methyl group in chemical compounds.  One of those compounds is ethyl alcohol (aka ethanol), and the machine simply assumes that the detected compound is ethyl alcohol.  Problem:  there are thousands of compounds containing the methyl group — [...] Posted May 19 2009, 05:18 PM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog

• Investigative Reporter Exposes DUI Attorney Practices

  The May 2009 issue of California Lawyer magazine, circulated to all attorneys in the state, has just been published — featuring the cover article "The DUI Defense Bar".  Investigative reporter Tom McNichol takes a hard (and long-overdue) look at the good, the bad and the ugly among drunk driving laws and lawyers.  A small sample: …DUI defense lawyers, [...] Posted May 15 2009, 04:06 PM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog

• MADD Chief’s Nomination Withdrawn

  As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, Chuck Hurley, the CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, was nominated by President Obama to head the National Highway Traffic Administration.  See Ex-CEO of MADD to Set Vehicle Safety Standards.  And, along with other MADD objectives, part of Hurley’s agenda inevitably would be to require ignition interlock devices as standard [...] Posted May 13 2009, 09:50 AM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog

• “The Politics of Modern Prohibition”

  Recently, it seems that there has been an increasing willingness of the media willing to reject political correctness and MADD’s hysteria, instead adopting a more objective and reasoned approach to the question of traffic safety… Our View:  The Politics of Modern Prohibition Colorado Springs, CO.  May 4 –Do not drink and drive. Do not drink and drive, do not drink and drive, [...] Posted May 08 2009, 11:21 AM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog

• Legislator Immunity From DUI Challenged

  A few weeks ago, based upon a tip from a reader I posted about an item in the Denver Police Department Operation Manual which essentially instructed officers not to arrest state legislators for drunk driving.  See Legislators Vote Themselves Exempt From DUI Arrrest. 205.07.  Violations by Colorado Legislators. (4)  In the absence of felony violations, should an officer have reason [...] Posted May 06 2009, 09:50 AM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog

• State Supreme Court Orders Breathalyzer Secrets Exposed

  If you are arrested for drunk driving, you’ll probably be charged with two crimes.  The first is DUI – "driving "under the influence" (sometimes called DWI – "driving while impaired").  If the reading from a breath test is .o8% or higher, the laws of most states rebuttably presume you to be guilty of the crime.   The second [...] Posted May 04 2009, 05:56 PM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog

• Drunk Riding

  In today’s stop-the-world-I-want-to-get-off department: Cowboy Ticketed for ‘Riding Under the Influence’ Arvada, CO.  May 1  –  A man in a cowboy hat who rode a horse through a Denver suburb has been cited for riding an animal under the influence… Police say deciding what to do with the horse was a "tricky call" because "you can tow a [...] Posted May 02 2009, 06:11 AM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog