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comment by briandmyers
briandmyers  ·  3287 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Why Punish Drug Users at All?

This is why we should outlaw impaired driving, of any sort. The effects of an x% blood-alcohol level (for whatever x), on real people's actual impairment, seems to vary quite a bit. If we had a good way of testing impairment, it wouldn't matter what the cause of that impairment was. A driver impaired by fatigue or stress is just as dangerous as one impaired by any chemical. The problem is that it's a difficult thing to test, I guess. Something like the old field-sobriety tests could probably work, though.





OftenBen  ·  3287 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Field sobriety tests are designed to be failed though. They are an evidence builder, by and large.

briandmyers  ·  3287 days ago  ·  link  ·  

The fact that it is so difficult to design reliable FITs (field impairment tests), to me, says a lot about the questionability of sobriety testing in general.

OftenBen  ·  3287 days ago  ·  link  ·  

We don't know what consciousness is, how can we hope to define what an 'altered state of consciousness' is?

briandmyers  ·  3287 days ago  ·  link  ·  

If we can't measure impairment, how can we justify x% as an "impaired" alcohol level ?

OftenBen  ·  3287 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I guess impairment is significantly easier to measure than degree of altered consciousness.

Maybe, idk. Give me a beer.

briandmyers  ·  3287 days ago  ·  link  ·  

The problem with associating impairment with levels of some chemical is that there's always going to be a new chemical on the scene - and people can have wildly differing reactions to a lot of chemicals.

Bring on the self-driving cars!

OftenBen  ·  3287 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    Bring on the self-driving cars!

I'll drink to that.

someguyfromcanada  ·  3287 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I have always thought a "breathalyzer" should be some mechanical device that measures the same skills one needs to capably drive a car. If you can not adequately handle that then you can not drive no matter what the "impairment"; whether it be booze, pot, old age or simply some other cognitive or motor skill issue.

And although I would like to see it happen faster, even google, benz, etc. admit that fully autonomous cars are a long way away.