Originally posted by: DonVito
Originally posted by: halik
meh .12 is like two beers...i doubht he was even impaired
Wrong-o, Dr. Halik. .12 would equate to roughly 7 beers for someone Mel's size, assuming he was drinking for 2 hours. I don't think people have any earthly idea how much it really takes to get a DUI. It doesn't happen from having one or two beers, period, regardless of what the suspect tells the police.
'Course it also depends on when he ate, what type of beer, his metabolism, how often he drinks, etc. I think BAC is a pretty lousy way of determining impairment, but from Gibson's behavior it is obvious he was impaired (being belligerent is the number 1 sign, imo). My problem is that not everyone is impaired at 0.08, in fact, a lot of people are not. And lets not forget the numerous factors that BAC machines require for accurate readings, and those factors are not always met, and sometimes the machines are not even calibrated or properly designed. Alabama had to throw out hundreds out DUIs after it was found that one "accepted" model that the ADFS(Alabama Department of Forensics) allowed was actually a cheap imitator and was notoriously inaccurate. Most departments don't allow for discretion anymore. Even if they pass a field sobriety test, if they blow over a 0.02 on the PAB or show any other signs of impairment you are supposed to ring them up and take them in for a BAC test. And now you can even be charged if you are over 0.04 with a less form of DUI, etc.
With all that being said, it actually sounds like the police did a good job with Gibson. People are going to give the department sh!t for the buried report and their initial "easy" treatment of him, but that happens with regular citizens, too.