FACTOID # 99: Thinking of becoming a teacher? Head to Switzerland. Teaching salaries there start at $US 33,000.
 
 Home   Encyclopedia   Statistics   Countries A-Z   Flags   Maps   Education   Forum   FAQ   About 
 
WHAT'S NEW
RECENT ARTICLES
More Recent Articles »
 

FACTS & STATISTICS    Simple view

  1. Select countries to view: (hold down Control key and click to select several)

     

     

    Compare:

     

     

  1. Select fact or statistic: (* = graphable)

     

     

     

  2. (OPTIONAL) Compare to statistic: (both need to be graphable)

     

     

     

  3. View result as:

     

       
(OR) SEARCH ALL encyclopedia, stats & forums:   

Encyclopedia > Drinking and driving

Driving under the influence, drink-driving, drunk driving, or drinking and driving is the act of operating a motor vehicle after having consumed alcohol (ethanol) or other drugs, to the degree that mental and motor skills are impaired. It is illegal in most jurisdictions. Several anti-drink-driving advertising campaigns have aimed to raise awareness of the legal situation and the dangers of driving while intoxicated. Drink-driving is responsible for a very large number of deaths, injuries, damage and accidents every year. Bottles of cachaça, a Brazilian alcoholic beverage. ... Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol, is a flammable, colorless chemical compound, one of the alcohols that is most often found in alcoholic beverages. ... Many drugs are provided in tablet form. ... The mind is the term most commonly used to describe the higher functions of the human brain, particularly those of which humans are subjectively conscious, such as personality, thought, reason, memory, intelligence and emotion. ... A motor skill is a skill required for proper usage of skeletal muscles. ... The Guinness logo is highly recognisable and is present in all their advertising campaigns. ...


The specific criminal offence may be called, depending on the state, driving while intoxicated (DWI), operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OMVI), driving under the influence [of alcohol or other drugs] (DUI), or drunk in charge [of a vehicle]. Such laws may also apply to boating, or piloting aircraft. Boating is the activity of traveling by boat. ...


Guilt may be established by subjective tests of the driver's impairment, or measurement of his blood alcohol content (BAC). This is expressed in terms of milligrams of alcohol per millilitres of blood, or as a percentage. (10 mg/100 ml = 0.01 g/100 g = 0.01 %). Blood alcohol content (or blood alcohol concentration), often abbreviated BAC, is the concentration of alcohol in blood, measured, by volume, as a percentage. ...

Contents


United States

Main article : Drunk driving (United States)

All states have an illegal per se limit of 0.08%. Some states also include a lesser charge — often known as driving while impaired — at a BAC of around 0.05%. Also, in all states, drivers under the drinking age of 21 have committed a drunk driving offence if they have any alcohol in their blood (set at .00%, .01% or .02% to be meaningful). Drunk driving or drinking and driving is the act of operating a motor vehicle after having consumed alcohol (ethanol) or other drugs, to the degree that mental and motor skills are impaired. ... The term, illegal per se, means that the act is inherently illegal. ... Many nations have a legal drinking age, or the minimum age one must be to drink alcohol. ...


The limit for aircraft pilots and commercial drivers is 0.04%.


Canada

Main article : Impaired driving (Canada)

Driving under the influence is a generic term for a series of offences under the Canadian Criminal Code. The main offences are operating a motor vehicle while the ability to do so is impaired by alcohol or a drug, contrary to section 253(a) of the Criminal Code, and operating a motor vehicle while having a blood-alcohol concentration of greater than 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, contrary to section 253(b) of the Criminal Code. The Canadian Criminal Code (formal title An Act respecting the Criminal Law) is the codification of most of the criminal offences and procedure in Canada. ...


The offences are usually investigated by the police coming across a driver with either an erratic driving pattern or who has been pulled over. The police make a demand that the driver give a sample of his breath into an approved screening device, which will determine the driver's blood-alcohol concentration on a preliminary, non-evidentiary basis. If the police believe on reasonable and probable grounds that the driver is commiting an offence under section 253 of the Criminal Code, the police can demand that the driver go to the police station to give samples of his breath for an approved instrument test, which would be used to prosecute the driver.


The punishments for impaired driving or driving over 80 are:

  • For the first offence: $600 fine, 1-year driving prohibition;
  • For the second offence: 14 days gaol, 2-year driving prohibition;
  • For the third or subsequent offence: 90 days gaol, 3-year driving prohibition.

A fine is money paid as a financial punishment for the commission of minor crimes or as the settlement of a claim. ... The word Gaol can refer to the following: Gaol American/British English jail, can be another word for prison. ...

Europe

Note: "Zero" usually means "below detection limit". Bosnia and Herzegovina (also variously written Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Bosnia-Hercegovina) is a mountainous country in the western Balkans. ...


Australia

Road laws are state based

  • Australian Capital Territory
    • 0.02% for "professional" drivers (taxi, bus, dangerous goods vehicles, heavy vehicles over 4.5 tonnes, Commonwealth vehicles) and learner and P plate drivers
    • 0.05% for experience drivers (that is drivers over 18 years of age who have been driving for more than 3 years and are not classed as "professional" drivers)
  • New South Wales:
    • Zero for Learner and Provisional licences and 0.02 % for Drivers of vehicles of "gross vehicle mass" greater than 13.9 tonnes, vehicles carrying dangerous goods or public vehicles such as a taxi or bus.
    • 0.05% for all other drivers
  • Queensland
    • A Zero limit applies to the drivers of trucks, buses, articulated vehicles, vehicles carrying dangerous goods, pilot vehicles, and taxis. It also applies to all learner drivers and provisional drivers under 25 years of age.
    • 0.05% for other drivers.
  • South Australia
    • Zero limit for learner, provisional, probationary, heavy (greater than 15 tonne) vehicle, taxis, licensed chauffeured vehicles, dangerous goods, and bus licences.
    • 0.05% for all other drivers.
  • Tasmania
    • Zero limit for learner, provisional, truck, bus, and taxi licences.
    • 0.05% for all other drivers.
  • Victoria
    • Zero limit applies for Learner and Probationary licences, as well as any 'professional' drivers - including tram drivers.
    • 0.05% for all other drivers.
  • Western Australia
    • 0.02% for provisional (probationary) licence holders.
    • 0.05% for all other drivers.

In Australia, there are laws that allow for a police officer to stop any driver and perform a random breath test, without needing any reason. Also, in Victoria, for example, if a doctor sees any patient who is 15 years old or older, who comes to him as a result of a road accident, the doctor must test the patient's alcohol content in a way that preserves the chain of evidence, regardless of whether the patient claims to be the driver or any other circumstances. Motto: Pro Rege, Lege et Grege (For the Queen, the Law and the People) Nickname: (none) Other Australian states and territories Capital Canberra Government Administrator Chief Minister Const. ... Motto: Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine) Nickname: First State, Premier State Other Australian states and territories Capital Sydney Government Governor Premier Const. ... A tonne (also called metric ton) is a non-SI unit of mass, accepted for use with SI, defined as: 1 tonne = 103 kg (= 106 g). ... Taxis as seen in New York City A Taxi generally is a form of transport where one pays for conveyance. ... TheBus, established by Mayor Frank Fasi, is Honolulus only public transit system. ... Motto: Audax at Fidelis (Bold but Faithful) Nickname: Sunshine State/Smart State Other Australian states and territories Capital Brisbane Government Governor Premier Const. ... Motto: United for the Common Wealth Nickname: Festival State Other Australian states and territories Capital Adelaide Government Governor Premier Const. ... Motto: Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Nickname: The Apple Isle Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Governor Premier Const. ... Motto: Peace and Prosperity Other Australian states and territories Capital Melbourne Governor HE Mr John Landy Premier Steve Bracks (ALP) Area 237,629 km² (6th)  - Land 227,416 km²  - Water 10,213 km² (4. ... Motto: Cygnis Insignis (Distinguished by its swans) Nickname: Wildflower State Other Australian states and territories Capital Perth Government Governor Premier Const. ...


Americas

Africa

Middle East

Western pacific

The Lao Peoples Democratic Republic is a landlocked country in southeast Asia, bordered by Myanmar (commonly known in the west as Burma) and the Peoples Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. ...

South-East Asia

Philosophical perspectives

An overview of the philosophical approach to DUI, especially with respect to ethical and pedagogical concerns, is James B. Gould's "A Sobering Topic: Discussing Drunk Driving in Introductory Ethics" in 'Teaching Philosophy' 21:4 (December 1998), 339-360. These five broad types of question are called analytical or logical, epistemological, ethical, metaphysical, and aesthetic respectively. ...


Gould's central point is that drink-driving offers an ethical case that, for most people, is clear-cut in the fundamentals, familiar from everyday life, and extraordinarily complicated in the details. In other words, it's ideal for philosophical analysis at the introductory level.


He cites the few articles by academic philosophers that he could find:

  • Douglas N. Husak, "Is Drunk Driving a Serious Offense?" 'Philosophy and Public Affairs' 23 (1994).
  • Bonnie Steinbock, "Drunk Driving." 'Philosophy and Public Affairs' 14 (1985).
  • James D. Stuart, "Deterrence, Desert and Drunk Driving," 'Public Affairs Quarterly' 3 (1989).

  Results from FactBites:
 
Drug of Choice and Driving: Drink Drive Programs in Victorian Prisons (1759 words)
Drink drive programs were more effective for prisoners with a more stable lifestyle, however the greatest potential benefit is with those prisoners who are less stable and are at a greater risk of recidivism.
While describing drink drive offences as relatively minor in terms of overall offences for many prisoners, their significance is more pronounced in terms of release.
Theft of a motor car (47.6%) and drink driving (44.8%) tend to be associated with distinct groups of offenders (see Table 3), and also tend to have an unlicenced or DWD charge associated with them, which accounts for the high incidence of unlicenced or DWD charges.
UK Department for Transport | THINK! Road Safety - Welcome to the THINK! web site (1048 words)
Drinking and driving occurs across a wide range of age groups but particularly among young men aged 17-29 in both casualties and positive breath tests following a collision.
Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison, a minimum 2 year driving ban and a requirement to pass an extended driving test before the offender is able to drive legally again.
The drink drive TV ad was filmed entirely in a pub over two days in early June 2004 using quickly cut camera shots, stunts and state of the art editing.
  More results at FactBites »


 

COMMENTARY     


Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here
Your name
Your comments
Please enter the 5-letter protection code

Want to know more?
Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 


Lesson Plans | Student Area | Student FAQ | Reviews | Press Releases |  Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms.