Okay. Different rules in NSW.

I suspect that there is still some latitude allowed for low-end offences. You should be able to have 2 glasses of wine over 2 hours and still be under the limit (even for a woman). To be 0.067 she either miscounted or she had very large glasses.

Glasses of wine are dangerous. A standard drink is 100ml but many wine glasses would comfortably hold 3 times that. Say they were at a BYO...I bet a lot of people pour 150ml of wine and call it 1 drink.

That may explain why there are more drink drivers in Australia. In the UK they would not be drunk after exactly the same drink

That's part of the problem. I think some wine glasses can be 250ml

This is one for you maybe. I remember looking at some of the stats a few years ago comparing the number of people caught v the number of tests (NSW v UK). Obviously NSW has a carpet bomb approach to breathalysing while UK's is more target. The thing that surprised me was that the number of failures (per capita) was approximately the same.

Also the New Worlds wines tend to have a higher ABV content. In Europe many of the wines have an ABV of around 12% by volume. However here it is not unusual to see wine around 14% or sometimes more.

Just checked the 4 bottles in my house, 3 Australian first:
9.5
11.5
13
11 (Made in France)

Whose got a 14% + ? and what is it ?

I did some stats a few years ago... hmmm a few years

This does indicate that not as many drivers are drunk, as some may seem to think.

Some more recent figures:
6th April 2010 - MORE than 99.5 per cent of drivers tested in a holiday roadside blitz safely passed random breath tests during the Easter weekend.
Of 2,664 random breath tests conducted between last Thursday and yesterday, only 13 drink-drivers were detected.

March 15, 2010 - NSW police conducted 42,281 random breath tests, in a 3 day Blitz. Assistant NSW Police Commissioner, Alan Clarke, said of particular concern was the 231 offenders charged with drink-driving offences and 57 people found to be disqualified drivers.

And if she had killed someone at 0.6 whatever then country rules or no country rules it would have probably been a different outcome...

Why the heck is it important to list the man's sexual orientation here. Would you say the "heterosexual ex-roads minister"? Hmmmmm

There was a case a while back where the driver was just over the .05 limit and ran over a girl on a bike that appeared from nowhere. He was let off as there were lots of witnesses who said it was the girls fault and that he wouldn't have been able to stop.

At the time people were saying this would never happen in Britain but missed the point that he would have been let off in Britain as he would have been legally sober.

Of course they would - many of the people who would say that are British expats of the sensationalist tabloid ilk. The law may be an ass but at least there is a method in the madness(!)

Reference a notion above that only speed is a factor as far as I am aware, dangerous driving is dangerous driving and the cops here won't pull you over just for going too fast. More tabloid tendencies..

confirmed my asumptions again last night. went for a drive to bondi.

god some drivers here are shocking lol.

it certainly sharpens the reflexes though

Penfolds - different grapes and vintage ranging from 14 to 14.5
Shiraz (cleanskin WA) 14
Gietzen Sav Blanc 13
Wolfgang - Chardonnary 13.5
and on but all around the 13 and upwards mark.

Does anyone know what the rules are here for police drivers with regards to speeding - do they have to have their flashing emergency lights on? It's just that I've several times seen police vehicles speeding, weaving, tail-gating etc, never with any lights/siren going. Doesn't set a very good example.