Warning: Little known "Driving While Impaired" law can put non-drinkers in slammer (Phoenix: attorney, unemployment)

[R_Cowgirl]

Just got this from people who work at the courts. There is a little known law in all the PHX municipalities that if you are "Driving While Impaired To The Slightest Degree" they can stop you, book you, suspend your license, and put you in the slammer. Right now, the standard fee to get out of jail is $700.

OK - you teetotalers are nodding and saying, "Good." Not so fast, Sparky. This is not the .08 alcohol limit for Driving under the Influence.

Driving While Impaired to the Slightest Degree

This charge is codified in A.R.S. 28-1381(A)(1), which states:
It is unlawful for a person to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle in this state under any of the following circumstances:
While under the influence of intoxicating liquor, any drug, a vapor-releasing substance containing a toxic substance or any combination of liquor, drugs or vapor-releasing substances if the person is impaired to the slightest degree.

This law was not used very much in the past unless there was some baddie they wanted off the streets. They added "vapor releasing substance" because it was the law they used for paint sniffers. On the surface, there's a logic to a law like this. But with the economy tanking, they are looking for anything they can to get more money in the coffers.

"Impaired" is in the eyes of the arresting officer and they are taking the last part of the sentence literally.

Recently there have been some extreme interpretations of this law... According to my friends at the court... "impaired to the slightest degree" can mean - among other things: You are tired; you took cough medicine upon waking this morning and are now (completely sober and fine) on your way to a dinner party; you had a few drinks yesterday and it's noon today. You can be arrested if you took meds yesterday and they are still in your system, even if you are fine and having no problem operating a vehicle. Had a friend arrested with .01 blood alcohol from cough medicine.

Scottsdale and Phoenix are the worst - every arrest CAN BE accompanied by a blood test. They have a zero tolerance policy. If there is ANY sign of anything in your blood, or if the cop thinks you were impaired to the slightest degree, you have a long road ahead of you. You may wind up getting out of it -- after you've paid mucho $$$$ to an attorney.

These cities are hurting. At $700 a pop, they're bleeding us dry. Not only that, the impact on restaurants and nightclubs is devastating. Watch for more business failures in our future. Why these people in office don't realize that small businesses are the LIFEBLOOD of our economy is a mystery to me. Keep attacking the businesses, you have more unemployment, less tax money, and more failures.

Time to get out of Dodge. This state is a police state.

[azdr0710]

Originally Posted by R_Cowgirl

This state is a police state.

what's your full story, cowgirl?....

as the famous song says:

"paranoia will destroy ya"

[ArizonaBear]

I believe the law was just changed recently to exclude people being on prescription drugs as under Dr's orders.

[las vegas drunk]

What Rcowgirl is saying unfortunately is true. I was a victim of it myself. I was sitting at a light while a drunk driver over twice the legal limit plowed into the back of my car. I wound up with a DUI myself, and even know I fought it since I passed all the field sobriety tests, and was under the legal limit, I lost in court. In the end, they convicted me on the "impaired to the slightest degree" clause. This was back in 2000. I can now imagine how bad it is now with the Arizona economy in peril.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by ArizonaBear

I believe the law was just changed recently to exclude people being on prescription drugs as under Dr's orders.

That seems weird. You are exempt from the bottle warning not to drive when using this med? You can be half stoned on prescribed opiates and it is OK? Personally, I don't want people who are impaired to the slightest degree around me on the roads and I don't care if the doc prescribed it or the got it from the bartender. "Slightest degree" sounds a lit vague though. How do you prove this in court? A lot of drivers out there are born impaired.

BTW, we were out on the town last night and it didn't look to me like the restaurants and bars were suffering.

[las vegas drunk]

Originally Posted by ArizonaBear

I believe the law was just changed recently to exclude people being on prescription drugs as under Dr's orders.

Even know I no longer live in Arizona, I guarantee this is not true. If you go out and drive after having any Vicodens or Percosets, you ARE getting a DUI for sure.

[R_Cowgirl]

Originally Posted by azdr0710

what's your full story, cowgirl?....

as the famous song says:

"paranoia will destroy ya"

Not paranoia, the truth.
Me? Never been arrested in my life. Never want to be either. Feel it's our job to know what our leaders are up to. Used to be married to a cop, so I understand the workings a little better than most.

and, what's your point?

[R_Cowgirl]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

That seems weird. You are exempt from the bottle warning not to drive when using this med? You can be half stoned on prescribed opiates and it is OK? Personally, I don't want people who are impaired to the slightest degree around me on the roads and I don't care if the doc prescribed it or the got it from the bartender. "Slightest degree" sounds a lit vague though. How do you prove this in court? A lot of drivers out there are born impaired.

BTW, we were out on the town last night and it didn't look to me like the restaurants and bars were suffering.

LOL - good one. And my point exactly... "Slightest Degree" leaves a lot of room for misuse.

Like I said, on the surface, this is a good law that makes sense. No - you should not drive on percocet or any other drug... I posted this so people would be aware of what's going down. The law has generally been used in a conscious and good way. But now there are more arrests for things that make ya go, "Huh?"

As for the restaurants and bars doing ok -- they will for awhile longer, because the drunks will just keep taking chances... that's what alcoholics do. The rest of the population will start thinking twice before going out -- or the bars will be selling a lot of bottles of water. That's what I normally drink when I'm out anyway, and I noticed on Friday that about half the people in the bar were doing that... I guess the bars can make money charging $3 for a bottle they paid 39¢ for, but still, the owner of that bar told me she's feeling the pinch from the economy, and now this ramped up zero tolerance.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by R_Cowgirl

LOL - good one. And my point exactly... "Slightest Degree" leaves a lot of room for misuse.

Like I said, on the surface, this is a good law that makes sense. No - you should not drive on percocet or any other drug... I posted this so people would be aware of what's going down. The law has generally been used in a conscious and good way. But now there are more arrests for things that make ya go, "Huh?"

As for the restaurants and bars doing ok -- they will for awhile longer, because the drunks will just keep taking chances... that's what alcoholics do. The rest of the population will start thinking twice before going out -- or the bars will be selling a lot of bottles of water. That's what I normally drink when I'm out anyway, and I noticed on Friday that about half the people in the bar were doing that... I guess the bars can make money charging $3 for a bottle they paid 39¢ for, but still, the owner of that bar told me she's feeling the pinch from the economy, and now this ramped up zero tolerance.

LVD says above that he got nailed in 2000. So is this anything new? I always thought they could get you under 08 if you were "acting drunk". Alcoholics can drive with pretty high concentrations due to tolerance. No Alkie worth his ice cubes would even notice .08. It's the occasional drinker who is most at risk for being "impaired" after only a drink or two. Best thing these days is don't drink and drive - at all. That's really what they want with these laws. I don't think that is a bad thing.

[las vegas drunk]

I am going to add one more thing before I take a nap. Here in Vegas, we also are also have a severe budget deficit. It has recently been all over the news that they are now making DUI checkpoints all over the city. They have caught tons of them, but we all now the real reason for it. It is not for safety.