Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The National Transportation Safety Board recommends reducing the limit. Some say it would save lives. Others say it's unreasonable.
One drink could be the standard for drunken driving – at least for some people if the National Transporation Safety Board has its way. On Tuesday, the NTSB recommended states lower the blood-alcohol threshold for driving under the influence from 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent. What do you think? Is the proposal reasonable? About 10,000 deaths a year are related to drunken driving. The NTSB says the lower limit would save 500 to 800 lives a year. Officials at the American Beverage Institute called the proposal "ludicrous." It said the average woman could reach the 0.05 percent limit by having one drink. Internationally, only a handful of countries, including Canada, the United States and England, have a BAC limit of .08 while most of the …
Friday, February 1, 2013
This decision by the Pennsylvania State Police could increase arrests of those driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
The Pennsylvania State Police have temporarily suspended the use of Breathlyzers in DUI stops, meaning that DUI arrests may increase in areas patrolled by the PSP by detecting drugs in addition to alcohol, according to CBS3. A Dauphin County Court ruling prompted the decision, where a judge threw out a DUI charge after the reliability of the Breathalyzer test using the Intoxilyzer 5000, which is used throughout Pennsylvania, was questioned. “Anytime we arrest someone for DUI now instead of taking them to get a breath sample, we’re now taking a blood sample and taking that off to the lab to be analyzed,” PSP Spokesman Adam Reed told CBS 3. According to George Geisler of the PA DUI Association, this action will mean safer roads, because …
Friday, January 4, 2013
A Dauphin County judge's ruling has the potential to affect thousands of DUI prosecutions across the state, but South Whitehall Police do not use the Breathlyzers in question.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Former Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Brennan pleads guilty to DUI and simple assault but gets probation for simple assault.
- GOVERNMENT
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Thursday, January 3
A Lehigh County judge sentenced former State Representative Joe Brennan to a mandatory 90 days in prison Thursday after he pleaded guilty to a charge of driving under the influence of alchohol. Judge Maria Dantos also sentenced Brennan to 18 months' probation for simple assault stemming from the same incident when he struck his wife on Aug. 15 at their Fountain Hill home before driving away drunk. His blood-alcohol content measured 0.22 percent. The state's legal limit is 0.08 percent. Brennan, who must also pay a $1,500 fine, will begin serving his sentence Monday in Lehigh County Prison. Assistant District Attorney Stephen VanNatten said Brennan's wife, who did not attend the sentencing, did not want her husband to serve time in prison…
A Dauphin County judge's ruling has the potential to affect thousands of DUI prosecutions across the state, but South Whitehall Police do not use the Breathalyzers in question.
According to a story in the Patriot News a Dauphin County judge’s ruling has the "potential to derail thousands of drunken driving prosecutions and convictions" across Pennsylvania. "Judge Lawrence F. Clark Jr. concluded that Breathalyzer machines used by law enforcement to gauge the intoxication level of drivers cannot be considered accurate beyond a blood-alcohol reading of 0.15 percent." In South Whitehall, however, police do not use the Breathalyzer machines the judge referred to, according to Sgt. Jason Negron. He said South Whitehall does have portable devices in their cars but they are used only to determine if alcohol is present. He said Pennsylvania State Police use the Breathalyzers but South Whitehall officers rely on blood-…
Monday, December 31, 2012
Check out this DUI chart to make sure you stay safe on the road this new year's ever
- PUBLIC SAFETY
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Monday, December 31, 2012
When police pull drivers over for suspected drunken driving, officers ask them to perform field sobriety tests and to take a breath test to measure Blood Alcohol Content. A BAC test measures the percentage of alcohol present in a person's bloodstream. Pennsylvania's legal limit is 0.08. According to the Virginia Tech Alcohol Abuse Prevention website, every 40 minutes, 0.01 percent of alcohol leaves your system. Check out the chart in the media portion of this article to see what your limit is. And remember, how you feel also depends on your alcohol tolerance. Remember: If you choose to drink, make sure you have a designated driver.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
South Whitehall Police report six people were cited for suspicion of driving under the influence. Arrests or citations do not indicate conviction.
- POLICE & FIRE
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Tuesday, November 13, 2012
South Whitehall Police report stopping the following drivers for suspicion of driving under the influence:
Chris Taylor Jr
5:10 pm on Friday, May 17, 2013
the law makes NO sense because you think it has something to do with drunk driving and our safety. Once you realize its all about revenue and nothing more. absolutely nothing more. then it makes perfect sense. more ›