Originally Posted by
Eric
As an aside:
"Impairment" probably varies considerably from individual to individual. For example, take a person who is a marginal driver completely sober. Give him a single beer. He may be well within the lawful limit, BAC-wise - but is more a danger to himself and others than a very highly skilled driver with three or four beers in him (and a BAC level above the lawful threshold).
One could also argue, I'd submit, that "impairment" encompasses more than just trace (or even larger) quantities of alcohol in one's system. Again, I would argue that a marginally skilled driver - especially the "fearful" ones who drive 10-15 mph under the posted limit, who can't seem to help wandering across the double yellow, who as a matter of course are unable to "hold the line" in a curve, etc. - is by definition "impaired" - alcohol or no alcohol - if the term has any meaning, that is.
But since we won't do anything about inept drivers, provided they're sober - and must take into account the effects of alcohol on the most marginal drivers out there - we have ever-lower BAC thresholds that now define "drunkeness" (and "impairment") where it probably doesn't exist in at leas half of the cases, if not more of them...
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