DUI Legislation is Important for Travelers!

My favorite movie of all time is "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly."  Eli Wallach plays a nasty character named Tuco (The Ugly) who loves to use the phrase, "There are two kinds of people in this world, my friend!"  Like when he is perched on Clint Eastwood's window sill with a gun in his hand and he says, "Blondie, there are two kinds of people in this world… those who come in by the door (then he crosses himself because Clint had used all of his bullets to dispatch the bandits by the door), and those who come in by the window (he pronounces it, 'Weendow')!"

Well, I'm here to tell you that there are two kinds of people in this world too, those who've had the unfortunate experience to receive a DUI, and those who haven't yet.  Unfortunately, I'm one of the former.  Ten years ago, I had one too many at a local happy hour and while I felt just a bit tipsy, I felt completely aware, awake, and able to drive home.  The policeman didn't see it that way, and when I failed to use a blinker at an intersection he asked me to blow into the breathalyzer tube and the citation was written.  Fortunately for me, that was a long time ago.  I accepted my fate, took full responsibility, paid my penance, and learned a very valuable lesson.  The lesson is, and I'll write it in bold so everybody gets it, being legally drunk is a lot less "drunk" than you think it is!  It's no longer an issue because I simply give up my keys if I have more than one drink.

In those days, the legal limit was .10.  The limit has since dropped below that in most states.  If you travel as much as I do, you might want to be aware of the legal drinking limit in the states in which you travel.  You might also want to discover EXACTLY how much you can drink and stay well below that legal limit.  The amount may surprise you.  For most average sized people, it's less than three beers.

For me, this was an easy problem to solve.  A very wise friend of mine once gave me some valuable advice, he said, "Ken, if you're traveling alone you should avoid drinking in bars.  When you learn sit alone and drink, it can only lead to bigger problems."  He was right and as I travel as a one man show, I don't drink at all. 

I'm not here to tell you to quit drinking though, far from it, I'm just begging you to do your drinking more responsibly.  I believe that if bars and restaurants had breathalyzers on the premises that most DUI situations would be avoided because people would know before they left that, sure enough, they've had one too many.  You can buy a personal pocket sized breathalyzer for less than $100.  Think of it as great insurance for that celebratory after meeting party you're attending with all of your sales or marketing chums.  The last think anyone wants while they're on the road is to have to miss a meeting, cancel an appointment, or to call their spouse a world away and explain that they're in jail and that the city towed your rental car.