IDAHO
Idaho's Driver's Manual misleads license applicants, stating that "The combination of drinking and driving accounts for approximately half of all fatal accidents. Alcohol Kills over 25,000 people a year on U.S. highways." 16 Not so.
The actual proportion of alcohol-related accidents is about 38% and the number of fatalities is also overstated by about two-thirds. Even worse, the manual converts alcohol-related into "accounts for." But alcohol-related does not mean caused by alcohol.
For example, when a person who has drunk some alcohol is waiting at a stop light and is rear-ended by a completely sober but careless driver, the resulting accident is considered an alcohol-related crash, although alcohol had nothing at all to do with causing it.
Of course, a single alcohol-caused accident is too many and we need to continue our progress in reducing these needless tragedies. To learn more visit Drinking and Driving.
ILLINOIS
Legislators in Illinois are preparing to consider a new law to lower the maximum legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for driving from .08 down to .06.
Almost one-half of all fatally injured drinking drivers have a BAC of .20 or over. That’s three and one-third times higher than the proposed maximum BAC. Supporters insist that the cut would be only a small step in the right direction. Activists have already begun pushing for reductions down to .04 and .02. 17
INDIANA
It's illegal in Indiana for liquor stores to sell milk or cold soft drinks. They can, however, sell unrefrigerated soft drinks. 18
IOWA
Iowa has it’s share of temperance-oriented laws, of which here is a sample:
•It’s illegal to run a “tab.” 19
•If a law enforcement officer is having a drink in a bar in Iowa and an employee pours water down the drain, the water is legally considered an alcohol beverage intended for unlawful purposes. 20
•It’s no easier after work. An owner or employee of an establishment in Iowa that sells alcohol can't even legally consume a drink there after closing for business. 21
KANSAS
An Attorney General of Kansas issued the legal opinion that drinking on an airliner was forbidden by state law while the plane was in airspace over "dry" Kansas. He said that "Kansas goes all the way up and all the way down," His opinion was widely ridiculed in legal circles 22 but would probably have been hailed by Carrie Nation, who started her hatchet attacks against bars in Kansas.
KENTUCKY
Bourbon takes its name from Bourbon County in Kentucky, where it was first produced in 1789 by a Baptist minister. 23 Nevertheless, a person can be sent to jail for five years for merely sending a bottle of beer, wine or spirits as a gift to a friend in Kentucky. 24 Yes, even if it’s a bottle of bourbon.
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