Folks,
This may be somewhat tangential to this list's bike focus but I'm always amazed
at how it seems so difficult to enact effective controls for OWI here and don't
know how to start talk about a potential solution to the problem. Last July I
was in Brazil when they did a federal-level change that they called "tolerancia
zero." I swear that almost overnight things changed and the news reports
brought data about drastic reductions in accidents. I didn't see a lot of
people wringing their hands over "rights" lost or the use of blitz road-checks.
In fact, most everybody thinks it is pretty cool. Taxi cab drivers love it as
their business has boomed.
I've had my close calls with OWI drivers. It scares me when I'm on a bike, when
I'm in a car and when I'm on foot.
Oh - I'm not against drinking.
Here a blurb on Brazil's "Zero Tolerance:"
Zero Tolerance for Drinking and Driving in Brazil
Monday July 21, 2008
Brazil has a new zero tolerance law for drinking and driving, valid all over
the national territory. The law, which came into effect last June 19, has
spurred the debate about the dangers of driving under the influence. Studies
which informed Law 11.705, commonly referred to as Lei Seca, or Dry Law,
conclude that there is no risk-free limit for blood alcohol content (BAC) in
drivers.
The previous BAC to configure a DUI in Brazil was .06. The Dry Law goes beyond
tackling drunk driving to crack down on impaired driving.
However, a great number of Brazilians feel that there is still more to be done.
According to a national survey about alcohol consumption in Brazil, the
heaviest drinkers in the country are people between 18 and 24 years of age. The
legal drinking age in Brazil is 18, but the consumption of alcohol is growing
among younger people, aided by a lax enforcement of laws against the sale of
alcoholic beverages to minors.
From:
http://alcoholism.about.com/b/2008/07/22/brazil-adopts-zero-tolerance-dui-policy.htm
See larger article with some stats on drop in accidental death rate drop at
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43317
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