Today's bit of useless trivia. Was: NTSB Wants Black Boxes in PassengerVehicles

I don't know whether English law has been changed, but I recall from my
youth that what is called in the US "DUI" or "DWI" was called "being
drunk in charge of a motor vehicle." That phrase "in charge" had
resulted in an interesting court case (before my time, I think):

A man had attended a party and imbibed to excess, leaving his chauffeur
outside with the car, stone cold sober. When it came time to leave, the
party-goer climbed into the back of the car -- and perhaps even fell
asleep -- while the chauffeur, still sober, drove him home.

For some reason (or perhaps none in particular), a police officer
stopped the vehicle, and the owner -- who was not driving -- was charged
with "being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle."

The court upheld the charge, on the grounds that since the chauffeur was
an employee of the owner, the owner was still technically "in charge,"
and since he was indisputably drunk, he was guilty of "being drunk in
charge of a motor vehicle."

(BTW:

1. I don't think I've ever seen anyone wearing a turbine on his head; is
this some new kind of high-speed personal transportation?

2. IMO, anyone driving with an infarction needs urgent medical care, not
a traffic ticket.)

PPC


On 11/20/04 03:20 pm Nomen Nescio tossed the following ingredients into
the ever-growing pot of cybersoup:

> The moment you sit in your car you are entering the police state. You
> don't even have to have the car in motion! You can get cited for drunk
> driving even if the car is parked in your own driveway!
>
> Get used to it. The police don't just come down on people wearing turbines
> on their heads. Ask any teen. The police love to hit them for any minor
> driving infarction, believe you me.