What Is Operating Under The Influence?
For many, the reference to operating under the influence is automatically associated with drinking and driving. However, many fail to realize that drugs affect people in the same way alcohol does and that means you can be fined even for just driving after taking prescription medication.
Due to the devastation if an 18 wheeler could cause if in an accident it is mandatory for truckers who hold a CDL license to be required to be tested for drugs and a risk trucking companies don't want to risk.
There are studies which clearly show that 15% of truck drivers who travel interstate have marijuana in their system and another 5% had taken prescription stimulants, whereas 2% had taken cocaine and just 1% had consumed alcohol. These are all OUI crimes.
In order to be considered driving over the legal limit, it is not necessary to be drunk. Although the regular BAC, or the blood alcohol concentration, is legal to 0.08%, for truck drivers it is reduced to 0.04%. This is because they operate larger vehicles and driver longer distances.
There is a misconception that being high on marijuana is safer than alcohol but that just is not the case. Marijuana is said to affect your concentration, perception and reaction time for possibly as long as 24 hours versus a 3-4 hour span for alcohol depending on the amount consumed. Marijuana has been the cause in more than 12% of trucking accidents that were fatal.
Truck drivers work long shifts and sometimes it is hard for them to stay awake. Therefore, they want to get something for it, such as meth or ice. It is very easy for truckers to get hold of those drugs at truck stops. Surveys show that 1 in 5 truckers use those hardcore drugs so they can stay awake.
Truckers are watched very hard and will be pulled over by law enforcement if they are even suspicious that they are intoxicated. Law enforcement will not tolerate it and have tools to test if they are. These are a breathalyzer, a field sobriety test and swab drug test you and search you.
The breathalyzer is a device that the driver blows into to see if they have been drinking and how much. The field sobriety exercises consist of nystagmus, walk and turn, standing on one leg, finger to nose, and the Romberg balance test. The nystagmus test is when the officer buts an object in front of the suspects face and moves it back and forth watching the suspect's eyes. The rest are self-explanatory. The officer can also have chemical test done which consist of blood or urine.
The swab drug test is a swab that they take from the saliva in your mouth. They test and if it comes back hot then that is an OUI.
Therefore, it is not good for anyone to operate under the influence, especially truckers. Drinking or doing any, kind of drugs is not safe when you are going to be behind a wheel. - 21393
Due to the devastation if an 18 wheeler could cause if in an accident it is mandatory for truckers who hold a CDL license to be required to be tested for drugs and a risk trucking companies don't want to risk.
There are studies which clearly show that 15% of truck drivers who travel interstate have marijuana in their system and another 5% had taken prescription stimulants, whereas 2% had taken cocaine and just 1% had consumed alcohol. These are all OUI crimes.
In order to be considered driving over the legal limit, it is not necessary to be drunk. Although the regular BAC, or the blood alcohol concentration, is legal to 0.08%, for truck drivers it is reduced to 0.04%. This is because they operate larger vehicles and driver longer distances.
There is a misconception that being high on marijuana is safer than alcohol but that just is not the case. Marijuana is said to affect your concentration, perception and reaction time for possibly as long as 24 hours versus a 3-4 hour span for alcohol depending on the amount consumed. Marijuana has been the cause in more than 12% of trucking accidents that were fatal.
Truck drivers work long shifts and sometimes it is hard for them to stay awake. Therefore, they want to get something for it, such as meth or ice. It is very easy for truckers to get hold of those drugs at truck stops. Surveys show that 1 in 5 truckers use those hardcore drugs so they can stay awake.
Truckers are watched very hard and will be pulled over by law enforcement if they are even suspicious that they are intoxicated. Law enforcement will not tolerate it and have tools to test if they are. These are a breathalyzer, a field sobriety test and swab drug test you and search you.
The breathalyzer is a device that the driver blows into to see if they have been drinking and how much. The field sobriety exercises consist of nystagmus, walk and turn, standing on one leg, finger to nose, and the Romberg balance test. The nystagmus test is when the officer buts an object in front of the suspects face and moves it back and forth watching the suspect's eyes. The rest are self-explanatory. The officer can also have chemical test done which consist of blood or urine.
The swab drug test is a swab that they take from the saliva in your mouth. They test and if it comes back hot then that is an OUI.
Therefore, it is not good for anyone to operate under the influence, especially truckers. Drinking or doing any, kind of drugs is not safe when you are going to be behind a wheel. - 21393
posted by X - Men @ 2:56 AM
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