>You may feel fine to drive after a couple of beers, and most of the time that's probably true. But alcohol affects both reaction time and judgment in any quantity. It's only a matter of degree. There are somewhat arbitrary measures of how much is "too much to drive" (which vary by state) but no amount of alcohol is going to do your driving any good. Who can say when that slight impairment will make the difference in being able to react quickly enough? I am not being preachy, because I did it many times, but it's best to recognize that there's a difference between two beers and no beers.
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>Oh, I understand what you mean. When I was 15, a high school classmate/friend of mine was killed by a drunk driver. So my views were shaped before I ever got behind a wheel.
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>Actually, I'm accustomed to the reverse reaction (people think I'm a wimp for only having a max of two).
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>I need to qualify that I drink a max of two with a full meal if I'm going to be driving. Sometimes I only have one with dinner, as many restaurants charge as much as 5 bucks for anything other than garbage beer. [Alan, does a bottle of Guinness count as something that one person can lift? ;) ]
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>For a lunch or with little or no food, I won't have more than one.
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>I know it's the easiest thing in the world to say this, but I know my body and reactions well enough that I could probably do three with a full meal, but would never want to risk it, so 2 is my max if I'm going to be driving. I can honestly say I've never gone beyond that.
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>Kevin

I know what you mean. I'm sure I could have two drinks or three early in the evening and still have no problem driving later on, but like you, I'm simply not prepared to do that. I have my one, and by the time I'm ready to go, I'm sure it's well out of my system.

On the subject of drunk drivers, I become a regular neo-con. First offence, take away their car and sell it. Take away their license for a year. Second offense is jail time, the car gets sold, and no more driver's license.

And this assumes simple DUI. If they kill somebody, even on a first offense, it's murder, plain and simple.