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Vic Smith

On Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:14:02 -0500, wrote:

The problem with field sobriety tests are they are very subjective. It
is really just what the cop says it is and there is absolutely no
baseline for how the person performs sober.
I have some pretty nasty osteoarthritis in the big toe joints of both
feet, Standing on one foot is not easy for me at any time. The older a
person is, the more likely it is they will have a natural problem with
some of the agility tests the cops put you through.

My BIL got pulled over 4 or 5 months ago. Turn signal violation while
coming home from a card game or horseshoes - not sure.
Only had a few beers over a couple hours, but the cops smelled it.
The guy rarely even drinks nowadays.
He didn't want to take a chance on a DUI, so he refused the breath
test. Commercial license or whatever they call it.
He's got a box haul-off business and was still driving most of the
hauls. Clean driving record.
Did the "field sobriety" sobriety test. Had a little trouble with
something because he'd recently had a knee operation.
But the judge dismissed the DUI charge after seeing the police tape.
License suspended for a year for refusing the breath test, but he's
driving his personal pickup after he put a "blow" device in it.
Won't start if it detects alcohol. But they won't allow it in work
tractors. So his son is doing the driving and he works the yard.
Reversed roles.
Wishes he had taken the breathalyzer, because he's since found a
first-time DUI just over the line might have gotten less of a penalty
than a year suspension. Lawyer told him this.
My sis told me this, so I won't swear by any of it, but it makes
sense.
Since they started cracking down on DUI some years ago, I won't
drive within an hour of a beer.
Especially if I was forced to drink a Michelob.
We don't go together well. Chemistry I guess. Gives me beer breath
for hours.

--Vic