So once again last weekend in spite of a more than a dozen arrests for alcohol related offenses -- all of them UMass student related -- only one Driving Under the Influence arrest.
And you can tell William J. Sullivan, age 22, also a UMass students, is a rookie since he allowed the Portable Breath Test, which he flunked.
That statistic can't be right for DC. I'm really glad this young man was a "rookie" in the DUI field. Let's hope he can learn and never make the same mistake. If he flies right, can he get this charge expunged?
ReplyDeleteAll elementary schools closed due to weather-related building issues? What's the deal with that?
ReplyDeleteBetter safe than sorry.
ReplyDeleteHe will never get a job at his Alma Mater. Umass won't hire anyone with a criminal record. Even a DUI.
ReplyDeleteLarry, "Alcohol Impaired" is defined all the way down to .01% which is so low that most medical professionals consider it to have NO effect on the person.
ReplyDeleteThese are bogus statistics, which mean nothing because (a) you don't know which ones are actually DWI and (b) of those, which ones the operator actually caused. For example, if a couple tons of tree fall on you, it doesn't really matter if you were drunk or not because the cause of the accident was a tree falling out of the sky.
Remember OUI/DWI is .08% -- and even then, it legally is defined as "excessive blood alcohol level" as "drunk" arguably is .1% or higher.
A ballpark figure from the days of "scoop & run" back in the 1980's -- largely accurate, notable by its exceptions:
.01% = Arrested
.02% = Falling-Down Drunk
.03% = Passed-Out Unconscious
.04% = Dead
Now there was the woman arrested with a .33 reading who had hit a pole on North Pleasant Street, but the arresting officer told me he had shipped her to the hospital under the principle of CYA and I can't say I blame him.
And it is "influence" of anything, not just alcohol, and the drugs are back worse than they were in the 1970's -- easier to get and cheaper than beer. (Boston Globe reports bag of Heroin cheaper than 6 pack of beer.
I'd love to see a statistically accurate analysis of the tox scans of the AFD's "ETOH" runs -- I'm wondering how many of those are (a) both alcohol and drugs as well as how many are (b) drugs washed down with a small amount of alcohol.
Methadone is a big problem in parts of this country -- in some places cops are now looking for IT and not alcohol as they know who the dangerous drivers are -- except that the government protects Methadone while paying for an attack on alcohol.
The problem with playing games with the statistics is kinda like McCarthyism -- at a certain point you destroy your credibility and then there is a backlash which creates a more dangerous situation than what you started with.
And drugs are a problem in Amherst....
"All elementary schools closed due to weather-related building issues? What's the deal with that?"
ReplyDeleteNewly waxed floors were slippery because of the heat.
I love drinking and driving. There's a special feeling of operating a car when you're just a little too drunk. It's like you're manning this magic carpet, the soft way the wheel turns, how everything seems like it's in slow motion. The country roads around here are perfect for having a few beers and drifting around town, especially with Led Zepplin blaring on the stereo.
ReplyDeleteLarry if you are caught for a DUI don't you want to take the Portable Breath Test at the scene because that one is not admissible in court I think. If you fail that one then lawyers say refuse to take the admissible breath test using the one at the station which would be admissible. I was on jury duty last year for an OUI and didn't get picked but I sat and watched the trial and I seem to remember this being talked about.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the laws are pretty screwed up. You can can refuse the PBT without penalty but refusing the one back at the station gets you a suspended license.
ReplyDeleteOf course, if you win in court because you did not take the one back at the station then your lawyer instantly gets your license reinstated.
@anon his oui will most likely be dismissed after a cwof and he will have no record due to MA CORI laws except for jobs with children under 18 and the elderly, and even then he can get it sealed. If sealed only cops would be able to find his disposition. So stop peddling misinformation.
ReplyDelete