Tuff night or lucky im not sure

[Gargoyle]

Ok first off I'm still rather upset.... Its been a helluva long week worked 5 - 10 hour shifts , And I'm House & dog sitting for my Ex-girlfriend, I didn't get to go back to Delaware to be with my daughter this year Oh boo hoo .. Ok so not the best holiday week but I'm sure it could have been worse ( 1/2 full 1/2 full the glass is 1/2 full ) So I am tired as all get out this week & have'nt been sleeping well bla bla bla... But last night was a real Kick in my ass..
Worked from 7:00 am -5:00 pm .. went & took care of the Dogs...
Ok its Friday night Time for a little ME time right ?
Ok I Know Drinking & Driving are bad & I try to keep it to a drink an hour if im gonna drive.. So Friday night Loooooooong week I went out & had a great time with a few friends In Renton. About 12:00 or so I start to head home ( We where in AWE at the amount of cops out hunting ) so I was paying close attention to everything........ then..... cruse set at 68... Radio cranked.....heading up I-5 traffic is medium & then it happens the Blue & Reds fill the inside of my car & I look back & go Oh man he going to nail somebody.. So i signal & get right to let him bye & he pulls to ( Oh you gotta be ****ten me ) .. turn down the radio & hear the PA ( PLEASE PULL OVER TO THE SIDE )
NOW IT BEGINS .. Cop comes up asks for lic & reg. ok here you go.. what the problem ?????
You where doing 68 in a 60.. Ya ok if you say so but so was EVERY-ONE else..
Have you been drinking tonight sir ?? Well ya i had about 4 beers over about a 5 hour period but I'm not drunk I am just verry tired..
Would you mind steping out & doing some tests ? Well i really dont want to as I had my ankle shaterd 4 years ago & I know I cant do the step tests..
Well I will take that into considerqation but if you dont do the test's I will have to run you in.... Ok I don't want to but I will.. Pass the ABC's Pass the finger to finger counting Pass the head back nose touch.. But shake when i do the step tests & the standing on 1 leg....
A second trooper gets there & I get put in cuffs ( there searching my car as i sit in the cop car ) the officer comes back & I say whats the problem with my car ? ( I have nothing to hide but didnt consent to a search )
Well we have to Inventory the car so the tow drivers cant steal anything ( OH GREAT ) Please make sure they flat bed or dolly it its AWD... ( **** )(****)(****)..
So off to the station we go ( OH merry freaken christmass ) I am exausted & Really dont belive I am over the .08 that Washingtoin calls the limit, but here we go..
Now the Officer was verry pleasant but This is not fun time for me So while I stay civil & respectfull (inside im fummen) So We start the Breath test ( gotta do 2 long steady blows ) As we are waitng for the print out I ask him when I pass this test that you are rather certain I wont will I still have to pay for the Tow & Impound ( YA FOR SURE YOU BETCHA )
Well I blew a .079 & a .078 So Im under Im off right ??? Well ya for now but the state may still try to get me for NEG 1 ??? Wont know for a few months.. The cop gave me a ride home Now he is being super nice but so what I still gotta go get my car.
I could go on & on about all we talked about but he gave me a ton of info to beat the Neg driving if the state trys to pursue it.
So I go to get my SVX outa the pund ( $ 282 it was towed less than 5 miles & was there for like 2 hours ) OUCH !!!!!
So I guess I should just be thankfull that I didn't get a DUI but still What a Night !!!! Maybe in a day or 2 I will have calmed down but Jeeeezzz ..... $ 282 & I didnt get back to the dogs till like 3:00 am..
Ok rant over for now... Lesson ?? dont drink & drive not even a little cause even if you are under the limit it can cost you BIG time !!!

[NikFu S.]

like they say in the commercial.

drive hammered, get nailed. corny but true. not even i would attempt such a thing.

[Seraph]

IF you are under the legal limit, can you charge the state for your time + towing/storing fee? I'd charge them at my regular rate 150/hour at 3-4 hour so, that' 600 bucks plus towing of another 300 so in theory, the state should owe you 900 bucks plus any legal fees if they should incure (get a lawyer).

[ensteele]

Sorry to hear of the bum time. I am surprised that they have to take you to the station to do a breath test. They have such small testers now, I would think they could do it there. I have considered getting one myself just to have in case someone decides to drive after a couple to make sure they are legal, or at a limit that I grab their keys.

[Seraph]

Originally posted by ensteele
Sorry to hear of the bum time. I am surprised that they have to take you to the station to do a breath test. They have such small testers now, I would think they could do it there. I have considered getting one myself just to have in case someone decides to drive after a couple to make sure they are legal, or at a limit that I grab their keys.

We should have a system in the car that whenever a driver gets in a car, the car will not start if it is above a legal limit.

[NikFu S.]

i prefer trust and competence.

[ensteele]

Those are installed in cars where the driver has been convicted of a DWI in this state. You have to be tested before it will start.

As far as "i prefer trust and competence." the ones you really need to watch out for are the ones who have been convicted 3+ times.

[NikFu S.]

now that is a concievable alternative. i like that.

[Seraph]

Originally posted by ensteele
the ones you really need to watch out for are the ones who have been convicted 3+ times.

Agreed

[CigarJohnny]

Allen, it's fortunate they didn't test you on site. Had they done so you would likely have been over the legal limit. That 10 - 20 minute ride to the station and time to test you gave you some deep breathing time to process some alcohol through your lungs. Did they ever have just cause to pull you over or did they simply select you at random while driving like they do at those unconstitutional, guilty until proven innocent, check point road blocks?

If they pulled you over without cause then I would think you would be able to sue for reembursement of towing and impound fees. I was just now talking with a guy from work here and he brought up a good point. The reason they hauled your butt into the station was due to your disability with your ankle. You even made them aware of it ahead of time. Wait a minute...*sniff*...*sniff*...do you smell that? I smell...*sniff*...a lawsuit cookin'.

Good luck to you.

I'll start this with a disclaimer that I work under rules in Virginia, they may not apply elsewhere. We have the same .08 % BAC standard and roadside tests as described. We are required to offer a roadside breath test but it is optional and the miniature units we use to not meet the calibration standards to be used as evidence. If I'm offering that test I've already decided to make an arrest. The breath test at our police dept is done on a fairly complex machine that can detect the various and sundry ways people try to beat the test with (penny in the mouth, quick swig of listerine, etc). Before the test is condected there is a 20 minute waiting period to ensure there is no residual alcohol in the mouth and that none is coughed or burped up. Two breath samples are taken ane the machine only displays the lowest of the two and only the first two digits of the sample are used (no rounding up the .0799 to .08). As to the post that started this thread; a tow bill and a few hours with a cop may have been a lucky break. A .08% would have resulted in a 30 jail sentence here, and cost you your license for a year. I'll give you this much though, calling 68 in a 60 zone probable cause for a stop is pretty poor. I dont even think of making stops for less than 15 over if speed is the only reason. I hunt drunk drivers with a passion but if I were looking at someone who was just skirting the limit I have an option to call a cab or a friend to come pick them up. That driver gets home safe and I'm still free to go after someone else before they turn a pedstiran into a hood ornament.

[NapaBavarian]

Sounds like guilty untill proven innocent to me, you got to pay almost $300 and they can't charge you with a crime? Gotta love this legal system... I'd be glad they didn't test me on site, thin I'd fight like hell to get my money back on the tow. I've only had one ticket and it was BS, my only regret is that I didn't fight harder to get it cleared... I was pulled over for "squeeling my tires", ignorant cop didn't know squealing is a sound, sunroof was open so I would have heard it... Anyway, it was a borrowed car with crapy tires in the rain and I didn't realize it spun the inside tire every time I went arround a turn, cost me some serious $$$ in insurance since she nailed me for a misdomenor

[Seraph]

I hate drunk drivers too. Why? I don't know. I have never been involved in a drunk driver related accident. But I think DUI is not responsiable and endangers everyone on the road.

With that said, I've in the past called in on drunk drivers before and had a couple of them arrested. IL was one to start the .08 policy. My thinking is that I'll add one more driver to the statistics before he/she adds more people on the road.

Another one that troubles me is doubling the speed limit in small towns. Most of the small towns in IL are rated 35. Most people do 40-45 some 50. I myself do around 45-50. Yes I can do over 100 but that's insane. I have seen people going over 80 in these areas. What sucks is that most of these small towns have only two or three cruisers and often times they are too late by the time they get to the right road.

[Uncamitzi]

Are you a member of AAA or another auto club that has towing benifits? In many cases (as long as no charges were leveled you may be able to be reinbursed for the tow.

[Gargoyle]

Ok after some thinking I have decided that I'm going to call the tow bill a lucky break. I was not drunk & I was under the limit . BUT--- I allso knew a couple of things -- 1 -- It was a long week & I had not had near enough sleep -- 2 -- Tis the seson to Hunt for DUI drivers ( and rightfully so ) -- 3 -- allthough I had had about 4 beers over about a 4 hour period I had just finished my last one & should have waited a bit before getting in my car. I Make it a habit of calling cabs & taking Keys all the time in the casino..agian I was far from drunk but still..

It could have been A HELLUVA lot worse than a $ 282 tow bill.. I could have been out $2500 minimum for a lawer & the loss of license & the Jacked up Insurance for the next 3-5 years And everything else that goes along with a DUI ( I have never had one but many many many of my co-workers have ) Allso it is a great wake up call .002 more ( a sip perhaps ) And it would have been a lot more than a ruff night..

Thanks for all the input And Sorry I was an idiot