new driving law

heyimbren · August 2010

as of August 1, Ontario now has a new driving law.
any driver under the age of 21 must have a BAC of 0, and there's zero tolerance for anyone above 0. so that's an automatic 24 hour suspension, as well as a possible further 30 day supsension and fine.

for those of you who may not be aware, Ontario has a drinking age of 19. i have mixed feelings on this. thoughts? i'm curious to see what others have to say.

KD+BC · August 2010

Hmmm. I'm torn. Part of me thinks that it's a good idea. Let young people learn how to drive before they decide they are sober enough to get behind the wheel or not. I think that drunk driving is so preventable. Either drink and don't plan on driving or don't drink and drive yourself home.

On the other hand, if the legal drinking age is 19, why should 19 - 21 year olds have different rules?

I don't know. The more I think about it and the more I type my answer the more I kind of agree with the law. If you are 19-21 and want to drink, fine. Just don't drive. After 21 hopefully you can make better choices than before 21.

I'll be interested to see what others think.

katanne9 · August 2010

I think it's a good idea. Too many tragedies happen with young drunk drivers. It's not that difficult to have a DD.

Hazel_B · August 2010

Being from Ontario, I don't see how it makes much sense. We have graduated licences anyways with restrictions on blood alcohol levels, isn't that good enough?

Although I do agree with this law more than the one they had considered about not allowing a teen driver more than one teen passenger. I can't remember the details, but it was absolutely ridiculous for those that live in rural areas and have no public transit option.

* Edit: Should I have seen this somewhere? I was unaware of this new law. I'm really sick of the current government poorly annoucing changes in laws, there have been too many recently.

jemmini6 · August 2010

That's been a law in AZ for a while, although the drinking age of course is 21. We are one of the toughest in the country I believe on DUI laws. If you are under 21 and blow anything, it's an automatic DUI (which has a mandatory jail sentence in tent city) and an MIC (minor in consumption charge).

It does seem wierd though to have that law for 21 even when the drinking age is only 19. I think once you are legal to drink, the same laws should apply to everyone

PaigeMcC · August 2010

I think it's a good idea. People under 19 shouldn't have any alcohol in their system at all, anyways. I also think that putting a restriction like this on people under 21 will help teach young drivers the importance of sober driving.

I really don't think it has anything to do with the drinking age - I think it has to do with the importance of educating today's youth about the dangers of drinking and driving. It has to do having consequences for your behavior. I hope it teaches people to be more responsible and develop habits so that when the time comes, and they are over 21, they will not drink anything before getting behind the wheel of a car.

noelle24 · August 2010

People should not be drinking and driving at all anyway. Younger people are more prone to make stupid decisions (although we all know adults can be idiots too).

If you aren't drinking and driving, then why would this law matter?

jemmini6 · August 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_new-driving-law?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:aece7e5d-d431-42de-a7fc-2327c13ea7dfPost:1e88ca81-16fc-427e-85e1-60f87b339ef2">Re: new driving law</a>:
[QUOTE]People should not be drinking and driving at all anyway. Younger people are more prone to make stupid decisions (although we all know adults can be idiots too). If you aren't drinking and driving, then why would this law matter?
Posted by noelle24[/QUOTE]
i'm not advocating drinking and driving in any way, but there is this restaurant i've been to that has a complimentary wine pairing with their entrees. Its only like a 2oz sample of their wine, and then you can order a full glass with your meal if you like it. I would be very irritated that if i were legally able to drink, that i could get in trouble for blowing a .005 because i had essentially, a sip of wine. other than that, if I know I am going to be driving, I don't drink anything.

breezerb · August 2010

I think it's a great idea... plus generally at the age of 21, drivers will have had their license for 5 years (if they got it when they were 16) and will have more experience and awareness when driving. If you look at statistics regarding drinking and driving involving youth under 21 it speaks for itself.

I don't think any law restricting drinking and driving is a bad idea.

GreenPepperBurger · August 2010

The logic that goes behind the drinking ages literally makes my blood boil. I'm not just saying that because I can't legally drink in the US yet. If you can vote for the president, buy lottery tickets (but ironically, can't gamble in a casino) and die for your country at 18, you should be entitled to some beer.

However, I do agree with zero-tolerance laws.

heyimbren · August 2010

my thoughts are basically the same as yours. honestly, i'd love to have a breathalyzer with me, or even installed in my car as an added prevention. i have no problem with that idea. DUI can be so easily prevented.

however, what i don't like is that i do think something like this should potentially be applied to everyone. or at least taken into consideration. i see far too many people in their 40s who have been charged with DUI. tragedies still happen with older drunk drivers as well.

also, Hazel - i only just heard about this law Saturday night. and it came into effect as of August 1. normally, i like to think i'm very politically aware but this one just happened to catch me off guard as well, which is interesting because i'm over 19, yet under 21 so it does affect me. but not really, because if i'm out and drinking, i have someone else drive me.

hetshup · August 2010

That's silly. If you are old enough to drink, you are old enough to make those decisions. You should be able to responsiblty consume without the man on your back. I do approve of zero tolerence as well.

Acrosthec · August 2010

I'm torn on zero tolerance laws. If FI and I go out to dinner, and I offer to drive because he wants to drink, I'm probably still going to have a glass of wine with dinner. The chances of me having 0 BAC, even after 1 glass of wine and a plate of food, is low, just because my body doesn't absorb alcohol very quickly. But am I too "drunk" to drive at .01 BAC? Probably not.

I've always hated the drinking and driving age requirements in the states. People always say that it's good because people learn how to drive before they have the option of drinking, but 1) we all know that most people will drink underage, so this isn't necessarily true, and 2) it doesn't really matter if they know how to drive SOBER, they aren't going to know how to drink, and won't be able to easily recognize the signs of intoxication in order to know to NOT drive.

I've always been a fan of lowering the drinking age to 16 and raising the driving age, so that people can learn the consequences of alcohol and what it does to their body before they're allowed to get behind the wheel. But my logic is not the popular choice, and I'm well aware of that.

Hazel_B · August 2010

Acro - I also have always thought people should learn about drinking before they learn about driving. Coming from a rural area, we drank at a young age and we drove at a young age. The vast majority of those I went to school with had DDs without even thinking about it, whether we were of age to drink (19 here) or not. It was never even something we thought about, although I'm not sure if that came from being exposed young to both.

Heyimbren - I heard today on that radio that it is 21 and under, not just under 21. No one had any complaints whatsoever on the radio about it. Although they did state that some is doing a court challenge because it is unconstitutional, atleast that is their argument.

oceana919 · August 2010

Personally, I'm not a fan of zero tolerance laws. Considering that taking Nyquil can technically give you a miniscule BAC, I don't think it's logical to have a zero tolerance policy on alcohol.

I can understand having a much lower BAC limit for underage drivers - say, ages 16-20 for USA, or 16-19 in Canada. But if the government feels you are old enough to legally drink, you should held to the same legal standards as others in that legal bracket. If they want to hold under 21s to a lower BAC standard, then they need to raise the drinking age.

ps. They sell condoms, temporary tattoos and DumDums in bar bathrooms - why can't they have a portable breathalizer with sani-guards on them? I would test myself before I drove home in a heartbeat. Either that, or come up with some sort of disposable test that tells you your BAC. That would earn someone millions right there.

KD+BC · August 2010

I agree with Acro and Oceana, zero tolerance is just unreasonable. Breathalyzers aren't 100% effective.

My uncle is a probation officer and owns a breathalyzer. When I was 16 we had a family party and he was using it to encourage my cousin's friends to stay the night rather than drive home. All of my cousin's friends were blowing higher BACs than the legal limit, one blew a .25. My cousin looked at me and said, "Katie did you drink anything?" I hadn't so my uncle had me blow into it to prove that the breathalyzer was working. I blew a .12. They just don't always work right.

Acrosthec · August 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_new-driving-law?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:136Discussion:aece7e5d-d431-42de-a7fc-2327c13ea7dfPost:e597696b-950a-41eb-847a-6b31f271faf0">Re: new driving law</a>:
[QUOTE]I agree with Acro and Oceana, zero tolerance is just unreasonable. Breathalyzers aren't 100% effective. My uncle is a probation officer and owns a breathalyzer. When I was 16 we had a family party and he was using it to encourage my cousin's friends to stay the night rather than drive home. All of my cousin's friends were blowing higher BACs than the legal limit, one blew a .25. My cousin looked at me and said, "Katie did you drink anything?" I hadn't so my uncle had me blow into it to prove that the breathalyzer was working. I blew a .12. They just don't always work right.
Posted by KD+BC[/QUOTE]

I had a friend in HS that I regularly attended night Youth Group at church with. His parents ran the defensive driving school, and had installed a breathalyzer starter onto his car to see how it worked so they could market it for their class, etc. I had steak and potatoes for dinner, and the steak had been marinated in wine. I tried to start his car and failed, miserably. I didn't have any alcohol at all until I turned 21 (rare I know), so I'm convinced I failed because of the wine marinade.

heyimbren · August 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_new-driving-law?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:136Discussion:aece7e5d-d431-42de-a7fc-2327c13ea7dfPost:668b1bf6-a438-49df-a631-324f0c85a62e">Re: new driving law</a>:
[QUOTE]Acro - I also have always thought people should learn about drinking before they learn about driving. Coming from a rural area, we drank at a young age and we drove at a young age. The vast majority of those I went to school with had DDs without even thinking about it, whether we were of age to drink (19 here) or not. It was never even something we thought about, although I'm not sure if that came from being exposed young to both. Heyimbren - I heard today on that radio that it is 21 and under, not just under 21. No one had any complaints whatsoever on the radio about it. Although they did state that some is doing a court challenge because it is unconstitutional, atleast that is their argument.
Posted by Hazel_B[/QUOTE]

Hazel, you're right I misread the article I read earlier. My BF now has to wait 5 months before being able to have a beer at dinner again :P

I heard about the court challenge now as well. The guy actually goes to my school apparently. It'll be interesting how it turns out.

I think Oceana explained my feelings best. We already have these laws in place for a reason.

I actually do really wish that there was a more accurate way to test BAC. I've always been interested in that, personally.

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