Seeing straight: Media, Mounties share drink
by Don Plant
RCMP Breathalyzer (Picture: CBC.com)
No really, officer, I write better when I drink.
Normally, ink-stained wretches like me would hit the pub after working a shift. Today I get to report the news after drinking for a shift at the bar. So forgive me if I repeat myself or tell you my life story.
Kelowna RCMP invited local media rogues to monitor their blood-alcohol content as they consumed up to six drinks on Tuesday. We gathered with members of the local hospitality industry for an informative drink-fest, stopping every hour or so to blow into a roadside screening device.
Boy was I surprised by the results, but more on that later.
The purpose was to clear up some of the misinformation and fear after the B.C. government introduced new drinking regulations Sept. 20. Responsible drinkers are reluctant to drive in case police pull them over for having a blood-alcohol level over .05.
A “warn” may be under the criminal limit of .08, but it can still cost you more than $450 in fees and fines, a three-day driving ban and a three-day vehicle impoundment. It gets way worse if you blow .10 or over, or you receive more than one warning.
Bars and restaurants have lost business as fewer customers spend less time and money on beverages. Many say that‘s the cost of keeping booze-hounds off the road. But level-headed drinkers are staying home when they could be going out and having a good, legal time — as most participants in Tuesday‘s exercise at Doc Willoughby‘s Pub discovered.
Police took alcohol readings as 10 of us guinea pigs drank the alcohol of our choice. Ten men and women, of all different weights and tolerance for booze, got buzzed as we interviewed each other.
I‘m a relatively small guy of 156 pounds. Normally I drink draft beer at the pub. This time I stuck with vodka caesars to limit my trips to the men‘s room. I drank four of them and a vodka soda in about two hours. Five ounces of liquor.
I knocked back the first two drinks in 22 minutes. Fifteen minutes later, my first reading was .015. That‘s 15 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. Not even close to the warn level, which is .050.
Others spiked higher. CHBC‘s Klaudia Ceglarz, at 124 pounds, drank two six-ounce glasses of red wine. She blew a “warn” first try and ended up withdrawing from the assignment. An average-sized woman named Joanne blew a warn after she downed a pint (20 ounces) of Guinness.
Before you draw conclusions about female drinkers, consider Dicky Dack from Kelowna‘s Chamber of Commerce. She‘s about my weight and blew .043 after drinking three glasses of red wine. One glass has more alcohol than an ounce of spirits or a sleeve of beer (14 to 16 oz.), yet she was still legal to drive.
Like me, CTV‘s Kent Molgat guzzled caesars but at a faster pace. His first reading barely registered, so he ordered doubles. After six ounces of vodka, he was still below the warn level. The seventh ounce put him over the wall and police had to drive him home.
Gord Vizzutti of AM-1150 scored the only “fail” of the day. He got a warn after four glasses of red wine and another warn after five. He stopped drinking and blew again 15 minutes later. This time, his blood-alcohol level spiked above .10.
Minutes before that last reading, Vizzutti expected he‘d fail.
“I wouldn‘t want to drive right now. My words are starting to slur, I‘m having a hard time talking to Steve. I feel drunk,” he told me.
I was the only sot who didn‘t need a ride home. I drank five ounces of vodka and blew .033. I could walk in a straight line. RCMP Supt. Bill McKinnon, who has conducted 1,000 roadside tests, watched my eyes as he moved his finger across my field of vision and he passed me.
The last thing I want to do is suggest you can drink more than you think you can and drive out of the parking lot. Everyone is different. I ate soup and a bun just before we started drinking, which probably helped.
I also consumed one-ounce drinks. People who swilled beer and wine got drunker than me. By ordering spirits diluted by soda or juice in a tall glass, I could quaff the equivalent of a beer with less effect.
Tuesday‘s drill gave Deb Guthrie new confidence. As executive director of the Uptown Rutland Business Association, she‘s spoken to three pub managers who‘ve seen a 40-per-cent drop in revenues. Even she doesn‘t go out with her husband like she used to.
Guthrie blew a warn after two glasses of wine but she never ate lunch. She‘s convinced food on the table makes a difference when you drink.
“Everything in moderation is OK,” she said. “The majority of people here were able to have two drinks without even a warning . . . The average person can have a couple of glasses of wine with their meal.”
McKinnon believes the new parameters are reasonable for reasonable people. People who don‘t power-drink or binge should be able to go out and drink responsibly, he said.
“Spread it out. One normal-sized drink an hour and you‘ll be safe. If you doubt you should be driving, don‘t drive. Drink water or pop if you‘re going to wait. Most people lose a drink an hour,” he said.
Source:
http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca
