Just about every driver is aware of the law in regards to a DUI (Driving Under the Influence), of which, what is considered to be Driving Under the Influence is directly related to the alcohol in a given driver’s bloodstream of which the Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) at or above 0.08% is considered to signify that the driver is under the influence of alcohol and subject therefore to jail, monetary fines, and possible license suspension. This thus indicates that a DUI is a very serious offense, especially considering that most people need an automobile to get to work and to take care of errands and things of that sort. So, to be charged and convicted of a DUI is pretty much devastating to the driver guilty of such.
We live, though, in a day and age in which not only do a multitude of people take prescribed medicine, which could readily impair their driving ability, but we also have a multitude of people who take illicit drugs, which could do the very same thing. The difference, though, between these drugs, licit and illicit, is that, unlike alcohol, there doesn’t seem to be an industry standard as to how to measure such, in order to determine not only possible impairment, but to objectively state that this drug is or is not in a given driver’s bloodstream, and therein lies the rub.
The problem with drivers who have taken licit or illicit drugs that appear to have impaired their driving ability, is currently dealt with differently in different States, so that a State such as Georgia, has something labeled “DUI Less Safe” which relies on an officer’s testimony that because the driver had, for instance, bloodshot eyes, or the smell of marijuana, or failed the field sobriety test that these are considered to be a true indication that their driving was impaired, and therefore the charge of DUI Less Safe is appropriate.
The problem with charging somebody with DUI Less Safe is that, first of all, the physical characteristics of a person’s eyes can vary greatly from person to person, and bloodshot eyes may have absolutely nothing to do with having indulged in licit or illicit drugs. Further to the point, the smell of marijuana just isn’t going to be something that is tangible enough to ring true all of the time. Finally, field sobriety tests aren’t a good or fair way to determine whether a person is or is not impaired, because those tests aren’t conducted in a scientifically objective way.
All of the above signifies that a DUI Less Safe charge should be substantiated only when the evidence of drugs has been determined through a reliable chemical test of the driver’s blood, and in the absence of such, the charge should be seen as speculative. That is to say, those charged with a DUI are charged because their blood alcohol level is at or exceeds a certain level, which is why it must be said that DUI Less Safe charges should be held to the same sort of scientific account, or else it really isn’t fair or just, at all.