Last spring, a multitude of bills passed through the Maryland state legislature and were signed into law, April 10
They covered a multitude of topics, ranging from liquor licenses to Baltimore neighborhood renovation. All were signed into law by Governor Parris N. Glendening, as well as Thomas Miller, president of the Maryland State Senate, and Casper Taylor, Speaker of the House of Delegates.
Multiple bills addressed a topic of interest: drunk driving. One that caught a great deal of attention was House bill No. 3, which lowered the legal blood/alcohol limit while driving to .08 percent. The lower limit makes it easier for people to be convicted of drunk driving, but it also comes on the heels of another alcohol/motor vehicle-related bill. House bill No. 338 takes another stab at drunk drivers by repealing the prohibition against an inference of guilt when a driver refuses to submit to a breathalizer or a blood test.
While this might not be a huge concern for many Hopkins students, since most tend to stumble around on foot or take Yellow cabs while inebriated, it is noteworthy for younger generations of drivers. There are many a times when I've heard of friends jumping behind the wheel on the claim that they know their tolerance and it is therefore okay for them to drive home after a party. There are also older adults, my parents being two of them, who will drive home after a dinner party and a few glasses of wine. While this is a different situation, the lower limit poses some interesting questions, such as: How much alcohol does it take for a person's body to reach that .08 level?
From a Website located at http://www.drunkdrivingdefense.com, there is a chart that crosses body weight with the number of drinks consumed in order to get the relative blood alcohol level. For example, a person who weighs 150 pounds and consumes four drinks has a blood alcohol level of .100. However, time elapsed must be taken into account, so for every hour over which the drinks were consumed, subtract .015 percent from the level. Consider now that the average college-aged female probably weighs about 130 pounds. If that student consumed five drinks in four hours - a drink being one ounce of 100 proof liquor, a five ounce glass of wine, or one 12-ounce beer - her blood alcohol level would be exactly .08 percent.
Think about that. There is a good chance that the average college female may think she was alright to get in a car and go home. What if that 130 pound woman were forty years old as opposed to twenty? There have been many a times when I've gone out with the 'rents to a dinner party or some other such thing and had them drive me home. In the state of Maryland, if we were pulled over, we would be breaking the law. If we happened to get in a accident and kill someone, the law says that the penalty is a jail term for not more than three years and/or a fine of $5,000.
House bill No. 3 also says that there are certain defenses that cannot be used. For instance, a driver claiming to have taken medication without knowing the side-affects would not count as a viable argument. The felony still stands. Even though it may seem okay to get in the car and drive home, even if home is just a couple blocks from the party, the best option is to walk off the Beast - or call a cab if you don't want to get mugged. The car will be there in the morning.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.