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>I don't think there's much variability to people in this instance The BAC limit is like the speed limit. Start rigidly enforcing it or preventing people from

>I don't think there's much variability to people in this instance The BAC limit is like the speed limit. Start rigidly enforcing it or preventing people from violating it and you're gonna find out that a whole lot of people have been violating it left and right (probably most of them unknowingly) and were mostly not causing problems because they were tasteful about the details and generally not going overboard. Society at present does not seem well prepared to handle the debate that necessarily would follow in the wake of that.

giantg2 5y ago
Sure, there's even research showing that the same BAC level effects people differently, like up to 10% of people being able to safely operate a vehicle over .08 (eg their BAC of .1 is comparable to a BAC of .08 in the other 90% of people). But that's not how the laws are made. The laws are made to cover the vast majority and are set at .08. It's not just because they weren't going overboard, but because they simply weren't caught. That can include for speeding, lack of turn signal, etc. So there's no real variability to the people themselves, legally. Many have simply been lucky. The ones who have been violating it unknowingly have been posing a threat to society by not understanding how intoxicated they are, assuming we as a society believe that anything over .08 is dangerous per out laws. Of course there will be debate. But that debate will be about false positives and edge cases. It's not going to be "but I want to continue drunk driving like I already am".
- danaris 5y ago
  As I understand it, there's also a small percentage of people who naturally blow some level of alcohol even when there's none in their bloodstream (due to a genetic condition or something to do with their microbiome—it's been several years since I read about this). Mandating something like this would cause severe issues for people like them, where not only can they not help it, but it's not actually giving an accurate measurement of what it's supposed to be indicating.
  - giantg2 5y ago
    If autobrewery syndrome is producing enough alcohol to be over .08 (unlikely), then they need to seek some medical intervention. That reading would very much be valid though, as that is their BAC. Being able to help it or not doesn't change the fact that they would be over the limit determined to be safe (just like people with uncontrolled seizures can't drive even though they can't help it). Is there some other condition that you're thinking of that somehow renders the BAC result actually invalid? I am not aware of any, so I'm curious. Without this, it doesn't appear that this would be an issue for anyone on the autobrewery basis, and if anything it might help them identify the issue so they can't seek treatment.

giantg2 5y ago

Sure, there's even research showing that the same BAC level effects people differently, like up to 10% of people being able to safely operate a vehicle over .08 (eg their BAC of .1 is comparable to a BAC of .08 in the other 90% of people). But that's not how the laws are made. The laws are made to cover the vast majority and are set at .08. It's not just because they weren't going overboard, but because they simply weren't caught. That can include for speeding, lack of turn signal, etc. So there's no real variability to the people themselves, legally. Many have simply been lucky. The ones who have been violating it unknowingly have been posing a threat to society by not understanding how intoxicated they are, assuming we as a society believe that anything over .08 is dangerous per out laws. Of course there will be debate. But that debate will be about false positives and edge cases. It's not going to be "but I want to continue drunk driving like I already am".

danaris 5y ago
As I understand it, there's also a small percentage of people who naturally blow some level of alcohol even when there's none in their bloodstream (due to a genetic condition or something to do with their microbiome—it's been several years since I read about this). Mandating something like this would cause severe issues for people like them, where not only can they not help it, but it's not actually giving an accurate measurement of what it's supposed to be indicating.
- giantg2 5y ago
  If autobrewery syndrome is producing enough alcohol to be over .08 (unlikely), then they need to seek some medical intervention. That reading would very much be valid though, as that is their BAC. Being able to help it or not doesn't change the fact that they would be over the limit determined to be safe (just like people with uncontrolled seizures can't drive even though they can't help it). Is there some other condition that you're thinking of that somehow renders the BAC result actually invalid? I am not aware of any, so I'm curious. Without this, it doesn't appear that this would be an issue for anyone on the autobrewery basis, and if anything it might help them identify the issue so they can't seek treatment.