On & Offline

Musings and Maunderings

G*O*D
Turb [free book]
DrugTest
Advice To Young Poets

lighght

Mailto:: rur42 at yahoo.com

 
DoolieWatch :: Vermont Trooper Travis Kline arrested venerable PBS TV commentator Bill Moyers for driving under the influence on 7-27-02.
A roadside breath test showed Moyers' blood-alcohol content to be .10. The legal limit is .08. A follow-up test at the barracks about 1 1/2 hours later showed Moyers' blood-alcohol content had dropped to .079 - within the legal limit. But police calculate how much alcohol would have left the driver's system in the time after the arrest and take that into account, Kline said.
 Moyers admitted drinking, but denied that he was impaired. In a faxed statement to the Bennington Banner, Moyers told the
Banner he had left a friend's birthday party around 10 p.m., just before his arrest Saturday. He admitted to the arresting officer he had drunk a glass of champagne and "a small amount of wine" at the party. . . "Not only was I observing the speed limit," Moyers wrote, "but my companions - my wife and two friends - testified they had detected no signs of any problem with my driving, and that I appeared to be in full control of my faculties, as indeed I was. I intend to contest the charges."

The usual amount consumed by individuals arrested for driving under the influence is "two beers."  As in, "Officer, I only had two beers." (Or a "couple of beers".)

Quick Vermont Doolie Fact:: Vermont law states that it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle if your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) exceeds .08%. Vermont observes a "per se" law: BAC at or above .08% is per se illegal. [States which enforce a "per se" DUI law maintain that is illegal to operate a vehicle if you exceed the requisite BAC legal limit. Evidence of a person's BAC at or above the prescribed limit is illegal. In other words, there need be no finding of impairment.]

In other words, DUII/DWI is not "drunk driving."

Moyers at 68 should know that. He is after all the host of a PBS series, Moyers
on Addiction: Close to Home.The trooper did not recognize Moyers. "We don't judge people. ... It doesn't matter if you're a movie star or a next-door neighbor. People make mistakes. It's human, I guess."

Advicefrom Bill Moyers ::
Dear Family Member,
Millions of Americans struggle with addiction to chemical substances. Something they take, drink, or smoke becomes the master of their minds and the tyrant of their lives. Many struggle in secret, ashamed or afraid to ask for help. The consequences are devastating.My new PBS series--Moyers on Addition: Close to Home--explores the science, treatment, prevention, and politics of addiction. This guide offers practical advice on ways you can help your family understand and confront addiction. It also offers suggestions for intervening with family members--spouse, siblings, parents--who already have serious problems with alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs.

Hardly a family in America--including my own--has been spared some experience with addiction. The good news is that steps you take can make a big difference to you and your loved ones.
Bill Moyers

Legal Complications ::  DUI,of course, is a crime in Vermont.  First Offense—maximum fine of $750.00 or maximum imprisonment of two years or both, 23 V.S.A. §1210(b ("But I'm not a criminal."  Umm, yes you are.  Let's not split hairs.)

• License suspension: If the offense is a first offense, the license will automatically go under suspension for at least 90 days on the 11^th day after the motorist receives a document called “Notice of Intention to Suspend,” unless the motorist fills out the notice, sends it to the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, and requests a civil suspension hearing. 


• Civil license suspension: While one’s license is under suspension, an alcohol screening, an alcohol and driving education program and an alcohol therapy program may be required. These programs must be taken at the person’s own expense. If one does not complete the programs described above within the prescribed suspension period, the suspension remains in effect until successful completion. In addition, license reinstatement will not occur until one files proof of insurance and continues to do so for the next three consecutive years.

"How do I know for sure that it's addiction or alcoholism?":: [From the Family Guide Accompanying the Moyers PBS series]
It's difficult, but the rule of thumb is this: It's addiction or alcoholism if the person has had negative consequences resulting from his or her substance abuse--yet continues to use anyway.

• Strained relationships
  
• Legal problems
  
• Money problems
  
• Accidents or DWIs related to substance use
  
• Health problems
  
• School/work problems
  
• Depression/suicide attempts

In any intervention, it's important to approach your loved one when he/she is not high or drunk (and when you are not acutely upset). Um, Bill, we'd like a word with you.

Words that come back to bite you in the ass department
"You don't know who in the family is susceptible," said Bill Moyers. "If you're the son or daughter of an alcoholic, your chances of becoming one yourself is four times greater than another person. Genetics is clearly a factor in much of the picture, but it's not the only factor."

As it turns out, Bill Moyers is the grandson of an alcoholic, but he did not know that. He knew his mother was adamantly opposed to drinking, but not until she was in her eighties did she and her sisters talk openly about their father.


posted by degustibus at 11:32 PM