Free Republic

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Clearwater man who was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence had a blood alcohol level more than five times the legal limit, according to deputies. According to an affidavit, deputies got a number of 911 calls about Michael Sewell, 42, driving a Nissan erratically in the area of East Lake Road and Eagle Cove Boulevard around 9:50 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10. The deputy who pulled over Sewell noted his breath smelled like alcohol, he was unsteady on his feet and he had glassy and bloodshot eyes. He was unable to perform a field...

Congress is requiring in its $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that automakers install monitoring systems in their cars to stop drivers from operating their vehicles while intoxicated. Monitoring systems to stop drunk drivers would roll out in all new vehicles as early as 2026, according to the new legislation. Some convicted drunk drivers already have to use breathalyzer devices attached to their vehicles' ignition interlock. By blowing into a tube, the system will disable the vehicle if the individual's blood alcohol level is above the legal threshold. The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) program is a public-private partnership partially...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court on Thursday placed new limits on state laws that make it a crime for motorists suspected of drunken driving to refuse alcohol tests. The justices ruled that police must obtain a search warrant before requiring drivers to take blood alcohol tests, but not breath tests, which the court considers less intrusive.

TACOMA, Wash. - A Pierce County woman apparently tied a record for the amount of alcohol in her blood when the Washington State Patrol toxicology lab measured a blood-alcohol content of 0.50 two hours after she was arrested for investigation of drunken driving. Ann Marie Gordon, manager of the lab in Seattle, said the reading — more than six times the legal limit of 0.08 — tied the highest level ever found by technicians at the patrol's lab. A King County driver also registered 0.50 on a blood test in 2000, Gordon said. "It certainly would kill many people," she...

No one wants to see a family of four killed by a drunk driver. But the United States has veered way out of the lines in its DUI laws, and it’s time to rethink them from bumper to bumper.Whether you’re a 220 lb. guzzler with an iron liver or a 120 anorexic who’s just had her first drink, you will be evaluated by the same standard in determining whether you’re capable of driving. The standard in most states is a .08 blood-alcohol content or BAC. But other states have policies in which an even lower BAC can send you to...