Don’t drink, drive over the holidays
Shannon LeClair
Times Reporter
With the holiday season upon us many people are gathering for all kinds of Christmas functions, celebrating the season with food and drinks. It’s a time of year when many may also decide to get behind the wheel of their vehicle, assuming that it’s okay if they’ve only had a few drinks, or if they live close.
On Dec. 7 2011 the Alberta government passed Bill 26, which gives the police more tools to get impaired drivers off of the road if they are over the 0.05 blood alcohol limit which is 50 milligrams per cent or 50mg of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood.
The criminal legal limit is 0.08, which has been a standard for years and is where everything criminal would start.
“There is also a secondary part of that that says if you’re impaired while operating a motor vehicle you can be charged with impaired operation. You do not have to be over 0.08 or 80mg per cent to be charged with impaired operation. Somebody theoretically could be impaired after one drink,” said Cpl. Chris Hrynyk with the Strathmore RCMP.
There are many factors that can lead to a person’s blood alcohol level and so Hrynyk said it would be difficult to speak in specifics and tell anyone what would be deemed a ‘safe’ number of drinks for them to have.
It can depend on body type, whether you’re male or female, experience, food, and metabolism.
“In general our message that we like to get out there is, if you have been drinking have a secondary plan in order to get home,” said Hrynyk.
“Plan ahead, especially in the Christmas season and the holiday season. It’s one of the higher times of year where we see drinking and driving offenses come up, that along with the start of summer, we see it there as well.”
If someone does drink and drive, and they are pulled over the RCMP will look at many factors. If the person is not at the level of a criminal offense (0.08) based on observations and based on testing that could be done, but they have been arrested for impaired operation, then they may be subject to provincial legislation of 0.05.
If the RCMP is able to form reasonable suspicion that somebody has consumed alcohol and driven a motor vehicle, the RCMP can demand a breath sample on an approved screening device formerly known as a roadside device, or commonly known in the public as a Breathalyzer.
The breath sample is taken in the back of a police car or on scene and it may produce various different readings to the RCMP.
It may say the driver is under 0.05, or it may say they are in a warning stage which is over 0.05 but under the criminal mark (0.08), or it may indicate they are completely over the allowable limit to drive, said Hrynyk.
Some people handle their alcohol better than others, we’ve all seen it or have that one friend that gets two drinks in and they’re done for the night. You would assume, if you were a person of higher tolerance, if tested your blood alcohol levels would read lower than the friend. That’s surprisingly not necessarily the case.
“Tolerance is different than your ability to handle alcohol, or than your legal limit, or blood alcohol level. Tolerance just means that your body deals with the effects of alcohol and knows how to compensate differently than somebody else,” said Hrynyk.
For example, if there are two people of roughly the same height and weight one may have had more experience than the other when it comes to alcohol, and because of that person’s tolerance level may be higher. But when it comes to blood alcohol level, they could be very similar depending on body type, metabolism, what they have had to eat and drink, an other various different factors.
Even gender plays a major factor because women and men will absorb alcohol differently based on water in their body, how much water percentage there is and based on fat tissue, said Hrynyk.
“Tolerance and level of alcohol in the body are two very different things,” said Hrynyk.
Even if you have higher tolerance it would still mean that if you were driving you would still be subject to the laws that are out there and potentially blow over and be charged.
“In general one standard drink probably will not put you over a limit on a law but it could mean you’re impaired which does not carry with it a numerical value,” said Hrynyk.
“For example, somebody cannot stay in their lane, they are depicting signs of being intoxicated or drunk then that would be enough to charge criminally, even after one drink.”
So how can you tell what’s a safe level to drink at your Christmas party before getting behind the wheel? You can’t, so it is best not to risk it.
“My suggestion to people is that if they think they shouldn’t be driving at all, then they shouldn’t be driving,” said Hrynyk.
If you don’t know what will happen if you get pulled over in a check stop, then don’t drive. Its not worth your license, your life, or someone else’s life and it’s not worth putting your family through the heartache.