Compare legal drink driving levels in the UK with Illinois, USA

[219]

Thanks chaps, I may not feel like a drink when the time comes, but I would rather drive myself than take a taxi. I have a bit of a historical aversion to taxis in my home town. I am so looking forward to a pizza in my hometown! I've booked the flight, an Airbnb near O'Hare for the first night, then Amtrak to my Uni town and Airbnb for a couple of nights there, then Airbnb for a few nights in my home town. Now I just need to book the hire car from Uni town to home town and the last Airbnb for the last night whenI've returned my hire car. I have no friends or family there any more, just looking forward to walking down the streets I walked along when I was a girl and visiting my schools and some of the parks I knew and all that. A bit of a strange road trip,but I dare say it will be my last visit 'home'. (Real home is in Lancashire!)

I'm sure you'll enjoy your trip down memory lane and , chances are , you'll bump into someone you know .

 

[219]

Well said.

My (very limited) experience of driving in the USA showed quite sensible driving standards. It's the driving in American TV and films that's appalling - no seat belts, talking on the phone, squealing the tyres on corners, hitting piles of empty cardboard boxes ...

Squealing on corners can come from driving on crossplies at surprisingly low speeds . AIUI , many American cars still either run them or did up till recently .

 

[219]

Nice to know, although I don't plan to go out of my rural Illinois home area. The biggest problem I've ever experienced there has never been poor driving but watching a tornado coming toward me. However that tends to be May and August, so I hope I'll avoid that. Back in the day, my road was 'cobbled' by bricks. Bet none of that survives now. Made it interesting to learn to cycle hands free.

Now there's an idea ! Can you hire a bicycle to get around your home town ?

You can probably enjoy a couple of beers then cycle back quite legally ?

 

[CabrioDave]

Now there's an idea ! Can you hire a bicycle to get around your home town ?

You can probably enjoy a couple of beers then cycle back quite legally ?

I don't know how it works in the USA, but in the UK Section 30 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 says: “It is an offence for a person to ride a cycle on a road or other public place when unfit to ride through drink or drugs" – that is to say, is under the influence of a drink or a drug to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the cycle.

The police can't, however, demand a breath or urine test, and any (rare?) conviction would not raise points on a driving licence.

As an aside, I know someone who (while fairly plastered) was stopped riding home from the pub on a horse. He was asked by the two car-based patrol officers to "come to the police station", and was still quick enough of wit to dismount and say he shouldn't ride - handing the reins to one of the officers, and getting in the car. There was some scratching of heads ... and he continued on his way!

I did once do someone for careless driving of a wheelbarrow ...

 

[Peter103]

Send us some pics when you're there, missing you already. x

 

[219]

I don't know how it works in the USA, but in the UK Section 30 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 says: “It is an offence for a person to ride a cycle on a road or other public place when unfit to ride through drink or drugs" – that is to say, is under the influence of a drink or a drug to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the cycle.

The police can't, however, demand a breath or urine test, and any (rare?) conviction would not raise points on a driving licence.

As an aside, I know someone who (while fairly plastered) was stopped riding home from the pub on a horse. He was asked by the two car-based patrol officers to "come to the police station", and was still quick enough of wit to dismount and say he shouldn't ride - handing the reins to one of the officers, and getting in the car. There was some scratching of heads ... and he continued on his way!

I did once do someone for careless driving of a wheelbarrow ...

Well , quite , if to the extent that you might be falling off the bike and a danger to others . What I meant is that there isn't a BAC limit for cycling as there is for cars - and it doesn't take a lot to blow over 50mg/100ml these days , whereas I could have a couple of pints in the pub and still cycle home quite legally - as long as I was steady enough .

Re the guy on the horse - it could have been argued the horse was in charge of the drunk and not the other way round

 

[Petrol Pete]

Well said.

My (very limited) experience of driving in the USA showed quite sensible driving standards. It's the driving in American TV and films that's appalling - no seat belts, talking on the phone, squealing the tyres on corners, hitting piles of empty cardboard boxes ...

Ha ! those pesky cardboard boxes , another thing we import from the good old USA. The amount of times Regan and Carter (now there is a coincidence if I ever heard one) smashed into those pesky imports with their Ford while doing a bit of Sweeny was off the scale...er..dude.

Bodie and Doyle had a similar problem with those dangerous imported receptacles as well if memory serves me well.

Ban these dangerous imports, now !

 

[markjay]

You forgot to mention always parking right in front of the building you need to go to, and never locking or unlocking your car....

 

[Stratman]

Don't forget American cars also erupt in a fireball whenever they lightly bump something.

 

[CabrioDave]

Mind you, they can bump hard against other cars several times, fly through the air and land nose down, and then continue without any visible damage!

 

[markjay]

And they have impenetrable armoured doors - if you open the door and crouch behind it with your gun drawn it will protect you from the villains' machine gun fire.

 

[CabrioDave]

And, of course, the magic force field which means that when you're crouching, the bullets never go underneath the door, and through your legs.

 

[lisa110rry]

Have to say some of these recent posts have truly made me laugh out loud! Thank you and by all means keep 'em coming!

Peter, I shall miss you, too, but by the miracle of the Internet, I'll try to keep in touch with pictures of my walk/drive down memory lane.

My home town (Peoria, IL) is a town which was the size of Preston, Lancs when I left it, so cycling is perhaps not an option, although today I got my bicycle out of the garage, pumped the tyres to proper PSI and rode to the local Booths Supermarket, it was lovely, and I wasn't too wobbly.

I don't intend to drink a great deal, just a glass of beer with my pizza at a restaurant that makes proper ChicAgo-style pizza, that I haven't visited since 1994.

Very much looking forward to visiting my primary schools and secondary school and my uni. Might even remember to get transcripts of my results. The ones given me at the time are long gone and only personal visits can get a copy.

Thinking of being 'drunk in charge of a bicycle' , I do remember the only time I was ill after drinking (seared on my memory), I was with friends after seeing Electra at the local very expensive private uni, having 'Firecrackers' (vodka and cranberry juice) and riding home was a bit, to say the least, wobbly! What a long time ago, forty years!

Can't wait!

 

[219]

Mind you, they can bump hard against other cars several times, fly through the air and land nose down, and then continue without any visible damage!

It used to happen here too - amazing the number of times Simon Templar , John Steed or Randall & Hopkirk sent that white Mk II jag over that cliff to explode in flames ... probably also in Z Cars , The Sweeney , The Baron , Gideon's Way , The Persuaders and a few others ...
,

 

[Blkmerc]

Hello folks, I'm going 'home' in June for a walk down memory lane in my Uni town and home town in Illinois in a month or so. Tonight I've been trying to check the legal drink driving level in my home state, but I'm confused. The Illinois level is 0.08%. The U.K. level speaks of microgrammes (35 I think) per hundred milligrammes. What I'm trying to work out is, when I go to my favourite 'proper' pizza restaurant, can I legally have one beer or one glass of wine and not be over the limit. Does anyone absolutely know? I'm certainly not planning a 'session', lol! Is the Illinois level higher or lower than the UK level?

Thanks in advance...

I don't know the if the US level is higher than the U.K. Level but for here in Indiana and our next door neighbor you can normally have 1-2 glasses of beer or wine and be underneath the legal limit


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ampwhu]

me and the wife and some friends had a holiday in Chicago back in 2008 and we went to a very good pizza place just off magnificent mile called Gino's. wow what a great evening that was!

 

[lisa110rry]

I don't know the if the US level is higher than the U.K. Level but for here in Indiana and our next door neighbor you can normally have 1-2 glasses of beer or wine and be underneath the legal limit Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hey! Blkmerc! You live in the Hoosier State, well done you! I'm from Peoria but have lived in the UK for 40 years. Can't wait to go 'home', and I'm staying Airbnb and using Amtrak for part of the journey. I'm glad to know that I can have a glass of beer (hoping the 'next door neighbour' you refer to is Illinois, not Ohio, lol)!

 

[Blkmerc]

Hey! Blkmerc! You live in the Hoosier State, well done you! I'm from Peoria but have lived in the UK for 40 years. Can't wait to go 'home', and I'm staying Airbnb and using Amtrak for part of the journey. I'm glad to know that I can have a glass of beer (hoping the 'next door neighbour' you refer to is Illinois, not Ohio, lol)!

Yup Hoosier all the way and yeah no one really speaks of our neighbors to the east [emoji23][emoji23] have fun back in the states even though it's been raining a lot

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lisa110rry]

Aw thanks blkmerc, and the reference to our neighbours in the east had me smirking!