Drunk Driving is both a serious health hazard and dangerous action. In the United States, alcohol is estimated to play a role in 39 percent of vehicle-related deaths and to cost $51 billion annually. However, this estimate probably includes statistics for wrecks caused when it was the mere passenger who was intoxicated and not the driver. Also, recently it has been reported that alcohol contributes to nearly 30 percent of all Canadian traffic fatalities and 44 percent of traffic fatalities in the United States. The specific criminal offense may be called, depending on the jurisdiction, 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), driving under the combined influence of alcohol and/or other drugs, driving under the influence per se or drunk in charge of a vehicle. Many of these laws apply also to boating, piloting aircraft, riding a horse or conducting a horse-drawn vehicle, or cycling. I have even seen it applied to skateboards! George Smith, a London taxi driver, was the first person to be convicted of drunk driving, on 9 September 1897. He was fined 20 shillings. Historically, guilt for DUI charges were established by observed driving symptoms, such as weaving; administering field sobriety tests, such as a walking a straight line heel-to-toe or standing on one leg for 30 seconds; and the arresting officer's subjective opinion of impairment. The US Department of Transportation explains the Field Sobriety Test as, "a battery of three tests administered and evaluated in a standardized manner to obtain validated indicators of impairment and establish probable cause for arrest. In 1936, Norway had the world's first per se law which made it an offense to drive with more than a specified amount of alcohol in the body. This objective chemical test has gradually supplemented the earlier purely subjective tests. Limits for chemical tests are specific for blood alcohol concentration or concentration of alcohol in breath. In Kansas, it is a per se violation if you are tested to at .08 or greater BAC. If you are under the age of 21, you can have your license taken away if your BAC is over .02%. The validity of the testing equipment/methods and mathematical relationships for the measurement of breath and blood alcohol have been criticized. Sometimes a result can be suppressed or thrown out as unreliable. Sometimes a test result can be thrown out due to a lack of certification. Sometimes the test results can be thrown out because the equipment and protocols established by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment were not followed properly.
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