Let me make It clear that I dont support drink driving!!!
However It has been proposed to drop the legal limit from 0.05 to 0.02.
I cant help but wondering what will this actually achieve.
If this comes into legislation then say goodbye to a coupla beers after work , or sharing a bottle of wine over a nice meal out , or even a couple of beers on a sunday arvo at a nice pub if your planning on driving home.
This could hurt the food and beverage industry. On the other hand it might drop the price of pints. 
There is already a shortage of cabs in Perth
If they make it 0.02 then they might aswell make the limit 0.00000
IMO if you cant handle a vehicle at 0.05 then you dont deserve to drink.!!!!!
What do you guys think?
K
i recon it should be 00.000000 if u get in a car or else get a designated driver or a taxi...
So Thommo, you can't have a sip of mouthwash, cough medicine or anything like that which contains alcohol, and then drive?
If many people think its ok to have one or two beers then some people will think its ok to have three or four beers. By making the limit (closer to) zero then it sends a clear message that really no beers is ok.
Whether or not you or I might be able handle a car after 1 or 2 beers is kind of irrelevent, there will be some people who wont be able to drive as well...like say those people who cant drive properly in the first place. Plenty of them about !
Comes down to statistics....if x% of people drink y% less then there will be z% less serious accidents. Fact.
Of course you could reduce accident rates in other ways, but that costs more money.
which is why it has already been proven that anything above 0.05 is when ur driving ability starts to deteriorate???
Just reckon some people wouldn't be very safe after even one beer, but general perception is that one or two is ok. These people probably dont realise they are crap drivers.
There are also plenty of people who are not particularly crap drivers, but they are not really good drivers either. For example, how many people that you see on the road actually know how to control a spin?
This has only happened to me once on the road, hit an unseen patch of diesel, I wasn't speeding, hadn't been drinking, but fortuantely I knew exactly what to do...a mispent youth playing with gearbox karts and bigger toys definitely saved me !
The reality is most people have never experienced geting even close to the limit of control, until its too late.
And then we say its OK to have 1 or 2 beers as well.....
If everyone had perfect vision, excellent reaction times, good road awareness, great car handling control...then maybe it would be OK to allow 1 or 2 beers over lunch. Think I'd still stick to coke though 
They are conditioning us for it over here in the east as well.
I do not believe road safety is the real agenda.
Is the current blood alcohol level causing problems, ie many accidents and incidents involving drivers who consumed alcohol but were under the 0.05 limit? If so then the laws need to be reviewed. If not leave the level where it is.
Surely the data would be around as police measuring a driver's blood alcohol level after motor vehicle incidents seems to be a matter of proceedure.
Show the information to support such a move in the interest of public safety. If its not or can't be shown then we have another example of revenue raising and reducing our civil liberties.
Actually does anyone know what % of ALL road accidents are caused by alcohol
In the US its about 7%, so 93% are caused by cars driven by sober drivers.
By those figures sober drivers are the problem!!! Hic! who's got the keys?
I think the point of lowering the limit is to reduce the level at which most reasonable people would think they are ok to drive, but are probably not, so as to remove any doubt they are driving at a dangerous blood alcohol level. Not because driving at 0.05% is dangerous.
It is not the limit that matters, it is those that exceed the limit.
A change from 0.05 to 0.02 is not going to stop those that drink drive (say, >0.1) from driving.
OPPOSED!
I'd prefer to drive with someone at .05 who was watching what they are doing, than with someone sending (or even reading) a text message.
0.02 Pffft
I'd like to se a re-testing for licence evry say.. 10 yrs instead of dropping the limit.
Frankly - sober drivers with fek all knowledge of the road rules (which change semi-regularly) need to be tested to see if they are still capable. It also provides an opportunity to re-educate drivers.
10 yrs would be too much hassle I reckon. As long as I don't have to bloody push-pull turning corners!
I'd support the drop. In fact I'd go further and say alcohol should be criminalised and marijuana should be legalised instead. Alcohol seems to be a prime driver of all sorts of social problems. Stoned people are far less likely to cause problems than pissed people I reckon.
Maybe airline pilots should be allowed a couple of beers before they take off. It seems so unfair that they are not allowed to, 1 or 2 doesn't really make that much difference does it? :)
The 0.02% limit only makes sense if it comes with a message that even a single drink will put you over the limit. That is, the limit is actually zero with a 0.02% tolerance.
That way they can avoid penalising somebody who might have some cough mixture or mouthwash or liqueur chocolate, or had a couple of glasses with dinner the night before.
It will not be possible to choose to have a drink and be certain that you are under a 0.02% limit. Women and smaller men will very likely be over the .02% limit after one drink.
It's already virtually impossible to pace your drinking so that you can have a night out, and a couple of drinks, and stay under 0.05%.
I don't mind it. I would much rather have a few drinks at home than go through all the drama of drinking when out.
Great topic, When I was young and yes stupid ( like most were back then ) it .08 and everyone would drink drive and get away with it 
No RBT's and lower numbers of police offices. Once they dropped it to .05, just about everyone I knew stopped drink driving 
Truck drivers and P platers are on .00 in QLD ,sometimes I have one drink and it gives me that floating feeling
So for me if I've had one drink I wont drive.
mac
No RBT's and lower numbers of police offices. Once they dropped it to .05, just about everyone I knew stopped drink driving
I can have about 3-4 beers over about 2-3 hrs & it barely registers on the breatho (yes, I have tried it!). That's my limit, by concious choice before driving...I could probably push it to 5 beers, and maybe stay under 0.05...but honestly, I would choose not to drive before then. I also know a few people that I wouldn't get in car with after they've had 1 drink!
Personally, I believe most accidents are caused by lethargy/fatigue...add to that the mix of a few drinks & a few distractions (phone, Ipod, screaming wife), you've got yourself an accident waiting to happen!
They should leave it at 0.05 IMHO.
When I was younger I used to drive/ride to sober up... I tell u there's nothing like an adrenalin shot caused by blue flashing lights to sober you up.
Hell, I still get flash backs every time I see a cop car.
PS: I'm now a responsible driver/rider who doesn't drink at all and drive... and I think I'm lucky I got to this stage.
Yeah I know, ever since they started locking the cockpit doors. There's a party and all sorts of other things going on inside, not many people know this! Especially now as all computer controlled, really the pilots are just there to reboot the system when it crashes. So who cares if they have a beer or two.
Time to raise my popularity once again
After having a head on collision with a drink driver in 1985 and living in constant pain ever since makes my opinion very simple.
Zero tolerance
Fines should be a minimum of $5000 for the first offense
I would also like to see the system which was brought in by NY city (I think) where someone who was caught DUI had their car confiscated (Didn't matter if it was theirs or not) if they contested charge in court and won they got their car back, else it was auctioned.
I have an appointment for 8.30 tomorow morning with my back cracker
I've been hit by a car on my motorbike too. Not drunk just a stoopid ignorant fool who had no right to be on the road. After his brakes failed and T-boning me (right knee has been very rusty for the 15 or so yrs since) the idiot actually said to me "Awww.. spose I might have to get my brakes fixed now." No amount of sobriety is gonna make a nong like that drive safe!!
Back on topic though. Yep - I admit after two shandies (well standard drinks anyway) I feel a tad light headed for 30 mins or so before (relative) normalcy returns. Under the current limit is still enough to feel affected for a some people.
It would be bloody hard to stay on the good side of the law even 20hrs after a boozy night with the new suggested limit though. So you do the righty and leave your car, get a taxi home but can't retrieve it for say 24 hrs? In the meantime you've clocked up $100 in parking fines. Doesn't make it easy to do the righty does it?
I think 0.08 was too high but 0.05 is acceptable.
The nanny state approacheth
It's OK for the pollies, they don't drive. I think all new laws should be put to an internet vote.
Grrrr 
They might take away the alcohol (reduce the limit to .0%
They will NEVER take the IDIOTS off the road
How would they fix this one eh?
