Utah Will the new laws in Utah impact your ski travel?

[surfsnowgirl]

My dad was an alcoholic so I've always been mindful about my consumption of alcohol. Fortunately my guy isn't a big drinker so i always have a designated driver if/when i ever need one.

I always try to eat omething when I'm drinking if its been a while since I've consumed food. I'm also not a lightweight so that likely "helps" me.

That said I'm very aware how 1 bad decision can wreck the evening so I'm always careful.

I do wonder of the whole Utah .05 thing just might be focusing on the wrong thing to a degree as you can be hammered on foot or be distracted driving without alcohol being a factor as others have mentioned.

 

[Jenny]

Anyone else remember the WKRP episode with the drunk driving simulation? Love that episode!

 

[Chris Walker]

Anyone else remember the WKRP episode with the drunk driving simulation? Love that episode!

Didn't Dr. Johnny Fever drive better drunk? Ha, probably wouldn't be allowed on TV today.

Anyway, this new law will not affect my travel plans at all. I couldn't afford to go there before the law and I still can't.

 

[Jenny]

Didn't Dr. Johnny Fever drive better drunk? Ha, probably wouldn't be allowed on TV today.

Anyway, this new law will not affect my travel plans at all. I couldn't afford to go there before the law and I still can't.

Yep, his reactions were better the more he drank. Even after he saw the pig.

 

[Jim Kenney]

. . .

 

[scott43]

Yep, his reactions were better the more he drank. Even after he saw the pig.

"With god as my witness I thought turkeys could fly.."

 

[Tricia]

. . .

Actually, he blew a 0.0
In this case it was prescription drugs.
Just goes to show, when a prescription drug package says, "do not drive or operate heavy machinery" they mean it.
The things happening in Tiger's world are a whole different thread topic.

 

[Jenny]

"With god as my witness I thought turkeys could fly.."

Another classic!

 

[Nancy Hummel]

I love the Aspen/Snowmass area's free and convenient bus system. There is rarely a need to drive after après or dinner out. A good reminder to happy hour at home or take the bus.

 

[Frankly]

Strict drinking laws also attract people like me, who prefer not getting killed or maimed by drunks.

I do have a friend who lost their license due to multiple DUIs and without getting political, the system is so messed up I don't see how anyone recovers. If anything the criminal justice system seems to make people into worse offenders, not better.

 

[SBrown]

I love the Aspen/Snowmass area's free and convenient bus system. There is rarely a need to drive after après or dinner out. A good reminder to happy hour at home or take the bus.

My kids even learned how to use it all the way to Carbondale (not totally free) during X Games; I was impressed. Which also reminds me, because they are accustomed to Uber, UberSKI launched in a few places last year, but I never heard anything about it. Has anyone here used it?

 

[scott43]

so I've always been mindful about my consumption of alcohol.

So was I until I had my first kid!!

 

[scott43]

the system is so messed up I don't see how anyone recovers. If anything the criminal justice system seems to make people into worse offenders, not better.

Gee, ya think??

 

[bbinder]

So was I until I had my first kid!!

Ha!

 

[quant]

"With god as my witness I thought turkeys could fly.."

 

[Philpug]

My kids even learned how to use it all the way to Carbondale (not totally free) during X Games; I was impressed.

Impressed that the buses went all the way to Carbondale or that your kids learned to us them?

 

[Tricia]

My kids even learned how to use it all the way to Carbondale (not totally free) during X Games; I was impressed. Which also reminds me, because they are accustomed to Uber, UberSKI launched in a few places last year, but I never heard anything about it. Has anyone here used it?

I haven't used it, but I saw a car with UberSki on it when we were staying in Colorado last month. It was loaded with passengers and skis heading up toward Arapahoe Basin.
That's one way to cut down on parking.

 

[David Chaus]

To address the OP: No. Utah's new laws will not change a thing about my travel plans.

I rarely drink, and when I do, it's usually a Malbec (for sentimental reasons since I spend a good part of my childhood in Argentina).

As someone who often treats clients with alcohol issues, usually the number of DUI's is dwarfed by the number of times they could have gotten a DUI, as they have been driving impaired frequently and could have easily done grave harm to themselves and others. The system didn't make them worse, they were already messed up and likely in denial about it. To complain about "the system" of legal consequences minimizes their own choices that led them there. More importantly this ignores the genetic, social and envirormental factors that result in self-medicating. Drinking to the point of impairment doesn't happen in a vacuum; there is always social and emotional context. I view alcohol and drug use as a medical and public health issue rather than a moral failing. It is not just a matter of "private choice" since there are always others impacted by an individual who abuses alcohol or other drugs.

That said, impaired driving can also include diabetics whose blood sugar levels are too low or too high, which can result in impaired perception and erratic driving.

And now I descend from my soapbox. Carry on, and make your plans to travel to Utah.

 

[François Pugh]

I've finally figured out the reason for the 0.05 legislation. It seems most people have difficulty judging their impairment level at 0.08. Hence the legislators have put in 0.05 to prevent folks from thinking they are Okay when they are really beyond 0.08. I am not a fan. I want to be able to go out for a steak or roast beef dinner and have two glasses of wine with it.

 

[nay]

But seriously, these things are a little frustrating considering that the vast majority of fatal accidents are caused by drivers with 0.15% and up, not those who didn't wait an extra 10 minutes after that second beer. I'm fine with zero tolerance if that's what it takes, and I don't know if UT has passed other measures that go after the habitual drunk (very drunk) driver, because that's where the main issues are, but I am not a fan of window dressing. When the states all lowered to 0.08%, it did not change the fatality rate one bit. Hardly anyone has fatal crashes under 0.08% already. Spend the time and money going after the scary ones, not the social drinkers. /soapbox

This. Colorado's new texting law is $300 fine and 4 points. I don't think that is enough.

Small percentages of so called impairment are far different than distraction. And giving people licenses without teaching them how to drive and culling out people who can't.

The primary issue is treating driving as a right. We aren't going to resolve this in BAC laws, but rather overall traffic efficiency and safety with computer driven vehicles. Computers don't drive after that fourth drink, they don't rubberneck, text, search for music, or anything else distracted or impaired.

Unless of course they misread a situation.