A warning for motorists over the holidays

One of our friends from last night just called. She was stopped near Ixtlahuacan for speeding, and asked to blow into a breathalyzer. Fortunately this did not happen last night, however considering our level of consumption, she was still a tad concerned.

Y'all can thank me later.

Ever think of NOT drinking and driving. I have no sympathy for those who do. Watched a HS buddy languish in a nursing home for 2 years before he died, thanks to someone who just HAD to drink and drive.

fat chance wrote:Ever think of NOT drinking and driving. I have no sympathy for those who do. Watched a HS buddy languish in a nursing home for 2 years before he died, thanks to someone who just HAD to drink and drive.

Hey there newbie. Gotta agree with you, drinking and driving doesn't mix. Of course I don't drink, but moderation is OK. I have absolutely no use for drunks, whether it be social or alcoholics.

fat chance wrote:Ever think of NOT drinking and driving. I have no sympathy for those who do. Watched a HS buddy languish in a nursing home for 2 years before he died, thanks to someone who just HAD to drink and drive.

I am in no way advocating drinking and driving. In fact last night her husband was the designated driver, and he drank coffee only for the final 3 hours of the evening.

However, since we have no idea of the level of tolerance here in Mexico, it would pay to be wary. For instance, let's say you had 2 cocktails over a three hour period, would that put you into jeopardy? I'm sure most of us would be quite capable of negotiating the highway after that. In Canada, you'd be in a heap of trouble.

Just saying.

While there is no question that DWI laws serve a real purpose BUT there is a great deal of leeway with just how the NOB cops deal with the designated "legal limit". Like most States, NM observes a .08 legal limit. If a person is measured at .08 or above, it is pretty much of a slam dunk but the grey area appears to be the range between .05 to .079. When one measures in that range, they cannot get you for DWI but can convict you for being impaired with a lesser conviction but still a royal PITA!

If we are any example, when people blame reduced traffic in restaurants on harsher DWI enforcement, it would definitely be the case. If we go out to lunch or dinner, one of us commits to having zero to drink. If we decide to go out for a treat special dinner, then we get a hotel/motel room where we can walk or take a short taxi ride to the restaurant.

What is the legal limit in Mexico? I think they publish intoxication rate differently in Mexico, than in the states. My friend got stopped last week for DUI, ......it cost him a fifth of tequilla....and he got a free ride home JMWY.....LMAO

Jim:

The "legal limit" in Mexico is probably like their other traffic laws/regs - a recommendation open for interpretation by whatever police department is enforcing. I remember back about a year ago when I posted something about them using breathalyzers and the Dawg made a number of comments about this never happening. His point was that it was just another opportunity to collect mordida and he was no doubt right. However, as NM proved strict enforcement does work and more power to Mexico to recognize the problem and at the very least start to do something about enforcement!

Check your insurance policy, as most for US plated cars in Mexico will not cover an accident if the driver has been drinking. Even just the cop smelling alcohol on the driver's breath is enough to negate your insurance. Doesn't seem to matter if you have a negative blood alcohol test 6 hours later--cop writes his report or Cruz Roja report smelling alcohol--you are toast!

Drinking limits in Oregon are .00. If a law enforcement person THINKS you are
impaired you are stuck with DUI even if you blow .00. We had some bad anti
drinking cops who arrested people for being sober and it stuck. They had to
have the state legistlature pardon them for not doing anything wrong. For
you folks who are complaining about someone drinking and driving the same
law could get you a DUI for taking a cold pill the night before and who of us
hasn't taken a cold pill and driven. Laws are black and white, the world is
very gray in my humble experience.

Z

Zedinmexico wrote:Drinking limits in Oregon are .00. If a law enforcement person THINKS you are
impaired you are stuck with DUI even if you blow .00. We had some bad anti
drinking cops who arrested people for being sober and it stuck. They had to
have the state legistlature pardon them for not doing anything wrong. For
you folks who are complaining about someone drinking and driving the same
law could get you a DUI for taking a cold pill the night before and who of us
hasn't taken a cold pill and driven. Laws are black and white, the world is
very gray in my humble experience.

Z

Not true...Oregon's limit is 0.08, the most common limit in the majority of US states.

Oregon (like most states) has a 0.00 limit for drivers under the age of 21.

Oregon, again like most states, does allow charges to be filed against adults regardless of the breathelizer score, if the officer suspects the driver is impaired due to the influence of other substances, such as illegal or legal drugs, as these substances will not register on the breathalizer. The officer has to show cause....usually it's following a driver who is weaving, driving too fast or too slow, demonstrating bad response times.

Allegedly according to one website the legal limit in Mexico is .08.
Here's a handy dandy chart with approximations of the effects of standard sized drinks on different body sizes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_alcohol_content


Note, subtract .01 for every 40 minutes after drinking.


I might add this doesn't look real good for someone my size. Larger males can drink almost double without hitting the limit.

Soooo, either find a teetotaler friend, or take a cab.

fat chance wrote:

Zedinmexico wrote:Drinking limits in Oregon are .00. If a law enforcement person THINKS you are
impaired you are stuck with DUI even if you blow .00. We had some bad anti
drinking cops who arrested people for being sober and it stuck. They had to
have the state legistlature pardon them for not doing anything wrong. For
you folks who are complaining about someone drinking and driving the same
law could get you a DUI for taking a cold pill the night before and who of us
hasn't taken a cold pill and driven. Laws are black and white, the world is
very gray in my humble experience.

Z

Not true...Oregon's limit is 0.08, the most common limit in the majority of US states.

Oregon (like most states) has a 0.00 limit for drivers under the age of 21.

Oregon, again like most states, does allow charges to be filed against adults regardless of the breathelizer score, if the officer suspects the driver is impaired due to the influence of other substances, such as illegal or legal drugs, as these substances will not register on the breathalizer. The officer has to show cause....usually it's following a driver who is weaving, driving too fast or too slow, demonstrating bad response times.

Sorry but you are wrong. An officer in Oregon can arrest you at any time for any impairement. You can blow .00 and still have a DUI. Only the state
legislature can remove a DUI from your record even if you are completly innocent. They don't have to prove squat. We had an anti drinking mormon
cop in Corvallis Oregon who was famous for arresting people for DUI when they were completly sober. You were arrested for being out late at night
for example. It took the State Legislature to remove the DUI that this bad cop gave to people. You might be reading me the supposid law above but
the way it works in Oregon is very different. I know three people given DUI who were completly sober and the other cops ignored this bad cop doing
his evil work. He and the behavior of his fellow city officers ruined many peoples relationship with the police. This has nothing to do with impairment
from other drugs than booze. It got so bad I stopped driving after 6pm and they tried to arrest me for limping when I walked saying I was drunk until
they found out I could afford a lawyer than they got very polite. In Oregon you can be arrested at any time just on the word of the officer with no
evidence and it happens and will happen in the future. Corvallis is proof of that and once nailed you are guilty until proved innocent which is impossible
to do because they don't base it on the .08 number but some magical knowledge that they teach cops which I was told by a medical researcher is
not very reliable but law enforcement doesn't care if they are accurate.

Z

Z

Mexico: 0.08%

Foreigners with recent (in the past 10 years) drunk-driving criminal convictions are generally refused entry at the border. Mexico's Immigration Act section 36 considers any foreign drinking and driving outstanding charge or conviction as an Indictable offense (similar to a felony).
[edit]

Oregon, again like most states, does allow charges to be filed against adults regardless of the breathelizer score,

Sorry but you are wrong. An officer in Oregon can arrest you at any time for any impairement. You can blow .00 and still have a DUIZ

Z

When I said "regardless of breathalizer score" I meant down to 0.00, so we are in agreement on that.

Sorry for the hassle by a rogue cop...bad news. My oldest son (when in high school) managed to p*** off a bad cop and we had to move to another zip code!

What a joke for the state cops at Lakeside and beyond to pretend they give a damn about drunken driving around here. This is the usual bad joke the state cops play around here from time-to-time to make in look like they are actually dong something. They could give tests on the carretera from San Juan Coasala to Ajijic any Sunday and fill up their jails in a couple of hours but then local drunks and their families might just get piseed off so why not set things up over the hill in Ixtlahuacan and arrest people on their way to Guadalajara. What a joke and tommrrow the cops will be gone that the same drunks will be back in force. They are only fooling Newbies.

hound dog wrote:What a joke for the state cops at Lakeside and beyond to pretend they give a damn about drunken driving around here. This is the usual bad joke the state cops play around here from time-to-time to make in look like they are actually dong something. They could give tests on the carretera from San Juan Coasala to Ajijic any Sunday and fill up their jails in a couple of hours but then local drunks and their families might just get piseed off so why not set things up over the hill in Ixtlahuacan and arrest people on their way to Guadalajara. What a joke and tommrrow the cops will be gone that the same drunks will be back in force. They are only fooling Newbies.

You sure about that Dawg? This is the first time I've ever heard of a breathalyzer test anywhere in Mexico. BTW there was an announcement in El Informador that breathalyzers would be used over the holidays.

Absolutely bang on regarding the carretera.

raqueteer:

Actually, the first announcement about the use of breathalyzers came well over a year ago. Here is a link to an article from September, 2010: http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&twu=1&u=http://www.informador.com.mx/jalisco/2010/234091/6/multas-elevadas-por-conducir-alcoholizados-inhiben-a-conductores.htm&usg=ALkJrhj1BPaZEm64Z2i10OUrJ5ls-Lu1mQ
I got much the same reaction from the Dawg back then and we all received today. If nothing else he is consistent!

CheenaGringo wrote:raqueteer:

Actually, the first announcement about the use of breathalyzers came well over a year ago. Here is a link to an article from September, 2010: http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&twu=1&u=http://www.informador.com.mx/jalisco/2010/234091/6/multas-elevadas-por-conducir-alcoholizados-inhiben-a-conductores.htm&usg=ALkJrhj1BPaZEm64Z2i10OUrJ5ls-Lu1mQ
I got much the same reaction from the Dawg back then and we all received today. If nothing else he is consistent!

Ooooop's, good thing I didn't get caught this year, not that I'd take the wheel if I felt drunk, but that chart from wiki, sealed my fate. It's beginning to look a lot like Canada from where I'm sitting. Zero tolerance. At least taxis are cheap here, unlike Toronto where a 10 minute taxi ride will set you back 50 bucks.

The big difference is that in Canada you won't likely "buy" your way out of it for a few hundred bucks.......

New Mexico used to be a "buy your way out State" but then they got really serious. We moved here in April, 2004 and on Memorial Day weekend, we received an eye opener when the Chief Justice of the District Court was busted trying to skirt his way around a checkpoint: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1145285/posts
Since then we have seen State Police, Sheriffs/Albuquerque Police, Firefighters, Prominent Lawyers, State Legislators and all sorts of impotent persons not only arrested but also convicted.

Now CG where is your proof that all of these people were "impotent?" If so, at least they couldn't breed!

My favorite was when they finally caught up to Manny Aragon. Remember that one?

My post had nothing to do with personalities or political affiliation! It was about applying the law equally without consideration to external labels.

You'll get no argument from me on that. I think it will be a cold day in hell before that happens in Mexico, unfortunately.

The article which follows pretty much confirms what the Dawg had to say about the enforcement of DWI laws. With 2,354 tests conducted in December and only 17 positive tests, it seems to me that this is a very low percentage:
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&twu=1&u=http://www.informador.com.mx/jalisco/2011/347791/6/sancionan-a-17-personas-por-dar-positivo-en-alcoholimetro.htm&usg=ALkJrhiWwa9tf9IgtoeNsJrChcABXRt4Zw

CheenaGringo wrote:The article which follows pretty much confirms what the Dawg had to say about the enforcement of DWI laws. With 2,354 tests conducted in December and only 17 positive tests, it seems to me that this is a very low percentage:
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&twu=1&u=http://www.informador.com.mx/jalisco/2011/347791/6/sancionan-a-17-personas-por-dar-positivo-en-alcoholimetro.htm&usg=ALkJrhiWwa9tf9IgtoeNsJrChcABXRt4Zw

It sounds like the cops had a very merry Christmas, No?