Legendary broadcaster Al Michaels arrested for DUI

[PatsWickedPissah]

getting OT, but I'm skeptical of some of this -- depends on what you mean by "interacting," but I don't think talking on a cell is worse than driving drunk. (Looking down at your phone, dialing, certainly texting, etc. -- I agree -- there's no safe way to look down at your phone and text.)

Yes, you've clarified the comment

 

[Frezo]

Drunk driving, driving beyond your quick reaction limits, is irresponsible. Just wish everyone realized that interacting with hand held cellphones, especially texting is worse than at the limit .08 driving. Also, I'm worried that my exotic digital map and control system display is set too low below the dashboard (far from heads up) that it presents serious distraction.

That is so true. Even talking on the cell phone with a head worn hands free device is dangerous. If anyone needs proof, just try talking on the phone while you're engrossed in a movie. We always hear people say, "I'm good at multitasking." No you're not. Nobody is. Our brains don't multitask. They attention switch. Anybody interested please read this and stay safe.

http://www.fnal.gov/pub/traffic_safety/files/NSC White Paper - Distracted Driving 3-10.pdf

 

[chicowalker]

That is so true. Even talking on the cell phone with a head worn hands free device is dangerous. If anyone needs proof, just try talking on the phone while you're engrossed in a movie. We always hear people say, "I'm good at multitasking." No you're not. Nobody is. Our brains don't multitask. They attention switch. Anybody interested please read this and stay safe.

http://www.fnal.gov/pub/traffic_safety/files/NSC White Paper - Distracted Driving 3-10.pdf

This all depends on what kind of conversation you're talking about. A serious conversation involving thought, intent listening, etc. is demanding. A breezy conversation is what people have all the time when driving.

It also depends on what your priority is when driving - if you put the call first that's dangerous. If you put driving first, ahead of the conversation, that's different.

Don't get me wrong - I think it's good to bring attention to the potential risks of doing other things when driving. But I think something like texting needs to be in a class by itself. And the conversation about cell use should always include other forms of distraction that tend to be ignored -- talking with passengers, screwing with the radio, yelling at the kids, etc.

(btw, I don't use my phone much when driving and try to end phone conversations when I realize the other person is driving -- not so much because it's inherently dangerous but because, if I'm bothering to have a call with the person, I don't want either of us to be distracted -- and you're right, people do not multitask well)

 

[Tunescribe]

My guess is that at .08 and even higher, you can drive OK, especially if there aren't a lot of cars on the road.

BUT that's just in terms of maneuvering your car to where you're going. I also think that if anything even vaguely unexpected occurs, you're going to be useless, and either react late, overreact or, most likely, both.

And that, of course, is only if you're actively trying to drive safely. There's also a decent chance that because you're drunk you won't be thinking at all and will be flying down the road. And at that point you'll be a menace to everybody, including yourself.

Back in my days as a newspaper reporter, I participated in a state police-sponsored drunk-driving exercise. The goal was to demonstrate in a safe environment how various levels of inebriation affect your reaction time, etc. They set up a traffic-cone obstacle course in a parking lot. Each participant would drink, blow into the breathalyzer for a reading, then get behind the wheel of a car with a state cop in the passenger's seat. The cop would give you commands to which you had to respond immediately -- "Turn right!" "Go left!" etc. I drank a six-pack of light beer and peaked at .08 (the legal threshold was .09).

Like PatJew claims, I'm sure I would've been fine driving alone under normal circumstances. But, several crushed traffic cones testified to my compromised reaction time. In other words, you can be impaired at UNDER the legal limit and not believe it until something out of the ordinary happens. By then it's too late.

I'm not sure what the law says about being involved in an accident and blowing at just slightly under the legal limit. I think alcohol level would somehow enter into the charges. That would be good to know.