GPS Tracking Device Beats Radar Gun in Court 702
MojoKid writes "According to a release issued by Rocky Mountain Tracking, an 18-year old man, Shaun Malone, was able to
successfully contest a speeding ticket in court using the data from a GPS device installed in his car. This wasn't just any old make-a-left-turn-100-feet-ahead-onto-Maple-Street GPS; this was a vehicle-tracking GPS device — the kind used by trucking fleets — or in this case, overprotective parents. The device was installed in Malone's car by his parents, and the press release makes no mention if the teenager knew that the device was installed in his vehicle at the time."
perhaps it was insurance motivated (Score:5, Interesting)
His GPS is that accurate? (Score:3, Interesting)
Perhaps he's just hard on the brakes as well as the accelerator.
Re:How he did it (Score:2, Interesting)
You can never trust the client ... (Score:5, Interesting)
It's the same thing as a desktop, web client, or indeed the browser itself - the client can never be trusted.
Are the cops or the courts going to audit every GPS device or line of device code to ensure that 20 mph is *not* being deducted off what is written to the log above a certain speed?
Come to think of it, that's a great idea for OS or FSF - create code for popular GPS devices, and then produce the code for audit when you go to court contesting a ticket, while asking that the cops produce the code off of their device!!
Problem (Score:1, Interesting)
Most GPS units don't take the Z axis into account; if you're going up or down a hill, the GPS will register a slower speed than your speedometer or a radar gun.
Another take (Score:5, Interesting)
Good thing: enabling people to install these devices voluntarily to defend themselves against false claims of speeding or reckless driving.
Bad thing: having the government mandate their installation, and at some later time mandating that the data be uploaded to a central processing facility.
My thoughts...
Good Thing: Everyone thinks the output of electronic devices is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Bad Thing: Everyone thinks the output of electronic devices is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Re:mixed feelings about this (Score:5, Interesting)
It's likely that you already have a monitoring device installed in your vehicle. Cars made in the last decade have increasingly sophisticated recording capabilities that record detailed information about the car's state at the time of an airbag deployment or a seatbelt pretensioning event. Some of the data stored includes the speed, throttle position, brake position, seat belt usage, etc., and it stores a buffer of information for 20 seconds before the crash event and five seconds after. The older Restraint Control Modules simply recorded safety equipment usage, but not operational information. The new recorders are located in the Powertrain Control Module and store a lot more about your vehicle. This information is usually downloaded by an officer on the accident scene, and is admissible as evidence in court.
Of course it's not as bad as your scenario. It's not retrieved unless there's an accident. But it can be retrieved without your approval, so if you had your foot on the gas and had no signs of brakes being applied, it'd sure come out in a courtroom if you lied about your driving.
Re:So... what was wrong with the gun? (Score:5, Interesting)
Likely operator error.
For all their bluster guns are only accurate under very specific circumstances. The dopler effect and software used in the gun assumes certain things when making it's speed "measurement", the first is that the measurement is head on, a cop shooting your speed from greater than a 5 degree angle can alter the measurement dramatically and greater than 15 degrees and you might as well just disregard whatever it reads as the error will exceed 35mph. Second most guns are calibrated for approaching traffic, if shot from behind, they are extremely inaccurate. Third, unless the gun is a laser based measurement system the gun picks out the fastest object in it's line of site and a typical gun has a 15 to 25 degree measurement window such that if there is a car anywhere near you going faster than you then that car is the one that will get measured. Cops are typically trained such that they know these limitations and abide by the requirements, that doesn't mean all do and it doesn't mean cops don't lie or that your age,sex,ethnicity,clothing and what you are driving plays a greater role in whether you get tickets than just about any other factor including how fast you drive. An 18 year old in gang attire driving a sporty car can drive by a cop going 15mph slower than a station wagon with a 45 year old guy in a suit and the 18 year old will get the ticket and the cop won't look twice at the other guy. Such is life.
Re:The most important point of the article (Score:3, Interesting)
It is difficult to tell how accurate run of the mill systems are -- I think they "snap" to the nearest road and I have seen my system think that I was off the road when driving at high altitude. Nevertheless, the ticket claimed he was doing 20mph over the limit and I am very confident that a run of the mill system is far more accurate than that.
Accuracy probably has more to do with traceability to some kind of calibration than real-world accuracy. I would guess that my system is typically accurate to about 20-30 feet.
Re:mixed feelings about this (Score:5, Interesting)
In Quebec vehicle tracking GPS systems have been mandatory for years. It's mostly because the government made a deal with the car insurance people so all cars had to have the device installed as an 'anti theft' measure. It's a good example of how little it takes to force those things on people.
A cool way around... (Score:3, Interesting)
First we can use GPS gear to get our locale.
Instead of using some recorder, we can transmit this on the HAM bands via GPRS, and have it recorded via a local digipeter for a webserver.
We now have hard-ish logs to cook, along with federal laws backing us up, as it is illegal to transmit on a radio that you are not in the vicinity of. And since the data is real-time, you can argue that we have local logs X, and server logs based on my Federal License at Y.
Re:You can never trust the client ... (Score:2, Interesting)
The GPS isn't logging the speed, or if it is it's as secondary, calculated data. I would assume (else I can't imagine this ever got him off) that they used the location data over time points. If you're here at point x at time a, and point y at time b, you were going (y-x)/(b-a) miles per hour.
If you read the article, the expert witness (from the GPS company) states that the device gives instantaneous speeds - not averaged over a distance as you claim.
Re:mixed feelings about this (Score:1, Interesting)
Agreed. While some people fret about modern society approaching the dystopia of 1984 [amazon.com] , I think it's scary that technology has moved to the point where government could easily do even more to hold citizens down. Orwell didn't foresee electronic tracking devices that could follow you wherever you go. In the book, the protagonist got a break from the telescreen for a few hours by walking down to a remote place. Now, even this means of privacy isn't guaranteed.
42,642 people died in 2006 in the USA from vehicle crashes. If requiring a GPS in every vehicle would help reduce this number, and also protect citizens from the occasional police harassment, why not? And for those not fond of the government knowing so much about them, do like I do - ride a bicycle to work! Of course, maybe GPSing bicycles is the future too...
Re:Damn you, technology! (Score:5, Interesting)
Self reporting speed is decades old. Pre-GPS commerical trucks in Japan showed the speed of te vehicle by a series of lights on the top of the truck cab. A cop could pull them over for speeding just by looking at the lights.
Tachographs in Europe record speed in commercial vehicles as well.
Re:So... what was wrong with the gun? (Score:3, Interesting)
Sure, which is why when the 5th Amendment (or the 4th, 6th, or 8th) is inconvenient, the government can just send you outside the US. Problem solved!
(The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals just ruled [nytimes.com] that the President can designate anyone, including US citizens and legal residents, as "enemy combatants" and ship them off to a military base in Cuba [slashdot.org], which is technically outside the United States even though we have complete control over it.)
Re:Heh, heh, heh. (Score:5, Interesting)
They ask to live with me and I could take custody right this minute. I am probably the most strict parent on the planet that isn't abusive (I don't need to hit them or even belittle them for emotional abuse) but I expect and am given an exacting set of behavioral standards when they are with me. I don't disallow play, joking, or even dangerous play. If they want to make noise then they have the entirety of the time when no one is sleeping to do so and they encouraged to do so. If they want to play a practical joke or even give a bit of hassle to each other or to myself and my girlfriend they're allowed and encouraged to so as long as it doesn't become a personal attack. If they want to go out four wheeling or climb a tree then not only are they encouraged (wear a helmet and stay in the back three fields) to do so then I'll even go out there and show them how to wear a set of chaps and use climbing studs on the straight trees.
Heck, if they want to drive my truck or my wife's car and we're either here on the property or on the driveway leading into the last bit of driveway they can certainly do so. They can not only do so but they are going to go only a few miles an hour so they are even going to get to make a choice of freedom and not wear a seatbelt while their sit on our respective laps and drive.
Depending on the store and the motive while there they get a single dollar, a ten dollar bill, a twenty, or a hundred dollar bill. They do their own math and they get only what that provided. (Lately it has been a five dollar bill instead of the single or a ten.) Purchases ARE subject to monitoring but that's what they get, that is all they get, and it isn't an allowance. They aren't "allowed" anything. They WORK, yes WORK, for their food, school, special things, etc... They have helped to carry cords of wood since they were barely able to carry a small 2" stick. They do that because it is their job. It is your job, as a family member, to assist in those things that are done for the benefit of the family. There are no questions, it is what your job is and we all do it. To this day I still go over and even cut my ex-wife's wood down to ensure that it is dried in time to be burned cleanly and safely. With me standing over them (and they wrapped in Kevlar chaps with hearing protection and gloves) they too have actually sat there and helped limb a tree. Respect? Yes. I treat them like humans instead of the nanny state crap you see being done by people who seem to think children are a status symbol.
Finally, I hope, I'm not even DEFENDING my position. I haven't done this before so I don't KNOW if I'm doing it better than anyone else or if I'm failing horrifically. But they are happy. That is most important. After that? They are safe, they are more responsible than any other kids I know, they speak in clear English though they can't spell worth a damn, they are loving, they are kind, they are giving to those in need, and they articulate their needs and differences clearly.
| I wasn't done. I'll make this short, I hope. My mother recently died. (The first of this mon
Re:Another take (Score:3, Interesting)
For this very reason I am working on a GPU tracking unit for my car, which will store the data encrypted on an SD card.
It will warn me about speed cameras, but in the event that one mistakenly flashes me I will have GPS data to prove it. The encryption will prevent abuse by the police in the case of such an event (I live in the UK so it's a real concern...)
Th thing is, it would be trivial to write a program that massages the records to get away with speeding. I don't think there are currently any measures to prove that speed camera data in the UK was not tampered with, but manufacturing an MD5 sum for the GPS log file would be easy enough. That's the thing though - if you rely on technology to try and enforce the law, you have to accept it's limitations too.
Re:18 = still a kid (Score:3, Interesting)
I wager that quite a few parents who would do one would also do another, both conditions describe parent without a strong grip on reality.
In most countries an 18 year old is considered a legal adult who is able to vote, joint the armed forces (that bit is mandatory in some nations), buy and consume alcohol and take responsibility for their own action (I.E. pay their own fines, go to jail). In Australia the only thing you are not permitted to do between the ages of 18 and 21 is have a homosexual relationship, after 21 its fine. I, as an Australian have never understood why the US treats people between 18 and 21 as half an adult.
Re:Speed = Distance/Time (Score:2, Interesting)
The GPS used does not record average speed. It's a simple track recorder which records position x times per second. The average speed is calculated from the trackdata depending on the length of time you want to average over.
This is the way many vehicle trackers work since then there's no need for GIS data, maps, in the GPS itself. You take the track data and you can calculate average speed etc over any section of the road.
An observation: since GPS-trackers are used on many thousands of vehicles this can't possibly be the first time we have GPS versus radar case. But this is a 'good' case since the GPS for once showed data in favour of the vehicle owner/driver. So, I might wrong here but I believe this is used as a cleverly placed advertise for GPS-tracking devices in general and RMT in particular.
Re:Heh, heh, heh. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:hope your kids don't die of alcohol poisoning.. (Score:2, Interesting)
(And this is why they modded my comment and left your comment as babbling idiocy.) Firearms. Let's not debate the value - I live in NORTHERN MAINE and grow and hunt my own food. They are in a combination locked safe and every single one of them can't be fired without removing it and assembling the firearm (bolt removed, etc.) and every single one of them has a trigger lock. *gasp* Yeah, that happens when you grow up and have children. You can let your children cyber with 90 year old men when you have some if you want but I'm gonna stop that from happening as often as I can - that's what parents do. We stop what we can and clean up the rest and love them regardless. Anyhow... Your free lesson, free as in beer and speach... My children aren't allowed toy guns at all. Guns are never toys. If it looks like a gun then it is not a toy. However... They both, ages seven and nine, know how they work and have been out on the range with proper hearing protection and taken lessons in firearm safety. Ten is the limit... At 10 my daughter gets her first BB Gun. (I've picked a nice quality weapon for her.) That is what she gets. She will, if she wants, learn to use it safely or it will not be used. On the other hand, I know, damned well, that my son, the youngest of the two, will be out there convincing her to let him have a shot and I'll end up with a dead bird or two. I'll cook that bird. He will have it served to him. (I won't make him eat it but he will learn that the taking of a life means that you did so for a few reasons and a few reasons only - one of which is to eat.) I am not ignorant, by any means, I know what is going to happen and why it will happen and I have made my choices based on this. I am not perfect but, from the sounds of things, I'm a damned lot better than many/most will ever know and until you have raised perfect children don't bother commenting again? Take the free lesson and apply it to your own moral values. You don't own your children, you have a responsibility to them and for them.
Re:Even a consumer grade (Score:5, Interesting)
one mph over the limit??? That's illegal in some states (CT,NH). Laws in those states clearly say up to 5 mph above speed limit is allowed.
And judges have been known to throw the book at cops who waste their time for one mph.
Seriously, dispute the charge and force a jury to hear it on a Monday morning -:)
The cop would get such a dressing down, you will be smiling.
Re:Heh, heh, heh. (Score:5, Interesting)
Some additional clarification, if you want? My daughter finally learned to climb. She climbed on the couch (I was still with my wife of the time) and stood up on it. She and her uncle who were there wanted to get her down. I told them that I'd rather that not happen and asked that they watch. She fell straight down at an angle that you'd think would break a child's neck (but onto a heavily carpetted floor) and got back up crying. They wanted to run to her and comfort her and, again, I said that I really wished they wouldn't and actually stood between them in the hallway so that they'd have had to push past me. She got back on the couch and sat her ass down and never ever jumped on the couch again. I think I am cautious, not over protective. I don't really STOP them from doing much of anything - I even encourage them to try most anything their hearts desire. I just want to be able to pick up the pieces like I think a good parent should.
Re:Heh, heh, heh. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Heh, heh, heh. (Score:2, Interesting)
Just so you know, I'm 26 years old. I haven't lived under parental authority since I was 17, when I left for college, paying my own way and not receiving more than a birthday card from my family.
With that said, if my family had ever thought of installing something in my body so they'd have GPS tracking of me, not only would I carve it out with a knife just to spite them, but I'd most likely end their existences as well.
It seems to me that in your zeal to protect your children, you're ignoring the fact that they are humans, just the same as you. If you can't work with them to keep them safe - you're an adult, find a way - then frankly, you are failing as a parent.
And this is coming from someone who just recently had his own kid. I love her to death, and I'd die for her in a second, but I'd never compromise her own humanity for safety, even if I couldn't find another way. Yes, this means something terrible could happen to her, but as much as I wish it otherwise, that is one of the chances you take when you even bring someone into this world. She could die of cancer at 12, or be raped at 16, 26, or 86. Believe me; I thought of what a fucked up world we live in, and whether I could, in good conscience, be okay with someone I love more than life itself being subjected to these things.
But then I realized that that goes for everyone, at every time, and that's really just part of life.
She'll play on swing sets, play tag with friends, most likely she'll eat mud pies and play with sticks in the woods (unless, of course, by some weird fluke of life, she isn't interested). She'll come home with cuts, bruises, scrapes, and quite probably some broken bones. All I can do is hope that it isn't too serious. Maybe you're one of those horrible, domineering parents who want to wrap their kids in a bubble and attach that bubble to their hip, but I want my daughter to actually grow up, as a human, not just to physically grow up, but enter the world still as a child.
Of course, you could be a great parent, who recognizes how kids have to experience life, but still not be willing to take the risk of having them on a street corner giving blowjobs for crack. It's hard to tell from your previous comment for certainty.
All I'm saying is being a protective parent is one thing, but there's a fine line to being overprotective, and from what you said, it sounds like you really have no idea what that line is. If you're relying on the law to dictate your actions, vs. knowing what is inherently right and wrong, then you have got some serious parenting issues.
Of course, maybe because of those sorts of things being against the law, you don't participate in any insanity, and you're a great parent. I don't want to knock you without knowing, I'm just saying that by what you said, you're the type of parent that scares the shit out of me, and your kids are the types of kids that I see being the most fucked up members of society.
Re:Even a consumer grade (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Heh, heh, heh. (Score:3, Interesting)
As to other people's comments about the parents in this story, parenting is like everything else in this world, it needs balance. I've seen friends/kids rebel because of oppressive parents and I've seen kids destroy their lives because of parents that wanted to be their kids' "friends." One extreme is my mom's friend whose son could do no wrong and no one could tell her otherwise - until he died from drugs. The other extreme is my friend whose marriage is in shambles since he married a woman simply because his mom hated her.
Just enough rope.. (Score:4, Interesting)
If I gave them a lojacked car
and if my kids are smart, they'd find a way around being tracked, and I'd congratulate them for it. Then I'd tell them I actually had two tracking devices in it (which I wouldn't)
Re:Another potential problem (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Heh, heh, heh. (Score:2, Interesting)
My sons always noticed that I wasn't around after about 5 minutes. Each of them behaved differently though. One noticed and sat down and waited for me to get there (as he had been taught). One went off in search of me. The last, looked around, and couldn't have cared less: he kept on playing.
As for leashes, I just wanted to share their own "mental leash". I can now walk into a store with them and they each keep no more than a maximum distance from me. The 10 year old will go up to about 60 feet before he comes looking for me. The 8 year old will go about 40 on his own. The 5 year old will go about 30 feet. Each brother will go further with the other brothers in tow, up to the oldest brother's distance + 10 feet. Although this is not scientific, it's great for knowing how large of a circle I need to scan to quickly check for my kids' locations. (It also makes my wife think I'm psychic since I know within 5 feet where any kid is at almost any time.)
Why did he get the ticket? (Score:2, Interesting)
A Bicyclists retort (Score:2, Interesting)
GPS "instantaneous" and more accurate than radar? (Score:0, Interesting)
Depending upon how the GPS is implemented it could be pretty misleading about the velocity. Heck, if it averages a sample every minute, you could easily scream above the speed limit, then slow down or sit at a stop light for a moment, and the average between the two sample points would still look "below the speed limit". Radar is practically instantaneous by comparison. It isn't perfect either, but I don't get the expert's comments from the article: "Dr. Heppe also pointed out that the GPS device released instantaneous data, and not data averaged over a distance.""
Are these military grade GPS units or something? Every GPS unit I've ever used samples at a relatively coarse time sampling, and the "instantaneous" velocity is all over the place as you slow down and/or change directions. The software attempts to interpolate something reasonable, but it sometimes isn't. Sample spacing is usually user-configurable with a tradeoff between the number of points stored and the limited memory storage of the unit. Regardless, the information *has* to be averaged over a significant distance or it isn't very accurate given the limited spatial resolution of a few metres.
I did some searching and based on the name of the GPS unit illustrated in the article I found another more detailed article cited on the vendor's page [pressdemocrat.com]. On that page you'll see a proud stepdad showing the map with GPS data apparently used in court (click on the image -- it gets bigger). The points illustrated on that map are city blocks apart.
The map is detailed enough to figure out exactly where it is if you poke around in Google Maps near the places mentioned such as the Lakeville Highway. Apparently the traffic incident occurred along Lakeville Highway (116) [google.ca], on the southeast side of Petaluma, California. With that comparison it's possible to figure out the scale, and determine that there's 500-600m or more between the sample points close to the one that's circled in red (presumably the key one, and the street names match).
Half a kilometre sampling is more accurate than radar??? And the article mentions 30-second time sampling. Give me a break! It's relevant, but I don't see why the GPS results would be automatically more reliable.
Finally, if you look carefully at the map in Google Earth and the one in the article, you'll discover that Lakeville Highway significantly curves immediately before the point circled in red ... whereas the line drawn between the red one and the immediately preceding sample point is a straight line. This could be significant if the software calculating the speed from the GPS coordinates was assuming a straight-line path between the points, whereas, in reality, the path taken was curved and therefore longer in the same amount of time. The speed will be underestimated.
Most likely the court simply rolled over the moment the ticket was contested with any type of evidence to the contrary.
Re:Heh, heh, heh. (Score:2, Interesting)
Besides, if you read what I wrote, I have two perfect and beautiful children. So I gotta be doing something right. (Actually? They're not perfect but they are beautiful only 'cause they got that from my ex wife. They are, actully, really really well behaved and excel scholastically.)
I'm really sorry to break this to you, but this means nothing. I'm not knocking your kids or anything, because they may be really great and may end up turning out to be really great adults, but at 7 and 9 their "state" isn't always indicative of what they will turn out to be.
Case in point...a friend of mine had a very authoritarian and over-protective father, and although he was the great student, well-behaved generally (especially compared to some of the friends he had at the time), that strict lockdown authority left him pretty messed up, and he's been in and out of therapy for years now. And, if you had asked his father, he would have responded pretty much like you do about your kids, at least when they were 7-9 years old (later, maybe not as much).
Again, I'm not saying that this is the way your family is, but it's just something to think about.
who's at fault (Score:3, Interesting)
The real question here is wether the radar gun is ineffective (in which case stop using them). Or did the cop do something naughty (in which case legal action should be taken against him).
Re:Another potential problem (Score:3, Interesting)
Yet another possibility is that the officer had the gun in the wrong mode. Most radar guns & in-car radar have "stationary" and "moving" modes. In moving mode, the gun has to figure out how fast the officer's car is going, and add/subtract that from the speed of the target. Being in the wrong mode could easily cause this error.
I've used some of these, and done exactly this. Had the gun in "moving" mode while I was stationary, and had a "WTF? He can't *possibly* be going that fast!" moment.
Of course, if that's the case, shame on the officer for not double-checking (or worse, trying to "save face").
Re:Heh, heh, heh. (Score:5, Interesting)
Hollywood fracks up a lot of stereotypes.
If you follow them Presidents are brave and willing to fight (Air Force One & Independence Day). Women in Miami are always hot (Every show with a Miami scene, except Golden Girls).
The rely big question in this story though is "will any consequences flow to the cop?"
You see Police do a lot of corrupt things for a lot of different reasons. One of the worst is to clock a car traveling well above the speed limit and then assign that recorded speed to the next car to come along.
This happened to me when I was pulled over for speeding without my radar detector going off. The cops claimed I was doing 71 Kph in a 50Kph zone. They were wrong on both counts.
1. The speed limit on that road is 80Kph
2. I was actually going just shy of 180Kph.
I pointed out item #1. without mentioning item #2 and avoided a ticket. The real trouble is that even if I had taken the ticket and challenged it in court I would be acquitted of the speeding charge but the cop would still be allowed to keep defrauding motorists in this way.
Re:So... what was wrong with the gun? (Score:3, Interesting)
Let's see. For RADAR guns, air temperature difference, proper orientation (You don't try clocking someone from a perpendicular angle to the car) even rain can screw up the signal. If you're making a turn the radar gun will clock you at a higher speed than normal.
I love having a radar technician as a father. Hooray for knowing how radar works (Harpoon missiles, baby!) as you can get out of most any ticket.
Re:So... what was wrong with the gun? (Score:4, Interesting)
Thats why I'm always clocked going OVER the speedlimit when I make a right-hand turn?
I've had to fight this one twice, a radar gun will show it up as an INCREASE unless the angle of reflection is negative to the approaching vehicle (ie the cop is behind you trying to clock you.) I had to demonstrate this with two radar guns and police officers on bikes. I had them keep around 20 mph then clocked them as they turned. readings jumped from +/-2 mph to +10 mph (no decreases at all.)
Re:Heh, heh, heh. (Score:5, Interesting)
So the important part of your post and of the story is this:
1.The radar units used by the police are completely defective and unreliable.
or
2.The police who use them are lying.
I'd be really interested in knowing which it is.
If they are unreliable they need to be done away with as a speed measuring method.
If the police are actually lying that is even more disturbing, because no government employee is hired and charged with the responsibility to lie, cheat and steal in their job description, including the police officers.
They are only supposed to cite us for things we actually did. They are not supposed to fake crimes, though I suspect some of that does go on, I can't imagine why anyone would lie, cheat or steal for an employer. I sure wouldn't.
Re:for a group who makes so much fun of psychology (Score:3, Interesting)
There are plenty of people that can drive a car perfectly well at .08 BAC. It is an arbitrary number. Impairment should be based on physical ability. If you are not weaving, or having any problems driving...if you get pulled over even with an open beer in the car, you should be good to go. Driving impaired does not mean necessarily that you have had some alcohol. There are people out there driving sleepy or on cell phones that are more impared than someone who has had 2-3 beers....
That time I described as a teen...I told the officer what the deal was, that I'd been to a party, had a few drinks, but, realized I'd not eaten...that I was heading home with a load of Taco Bell. He let us go saying to go straight home (I was only a few blocks away)...and we went home, ate and crashed there. No harm, no record...obviously if he knew I was impared beyond driving, etc...he'd have taken me in, but, he used good judgement to see that I wasn't impaired beyond safely driving home. Nowdays...with all the financial incentives...they go after you if they can even pin one beer on you...they are often on 'fishing' expeditions just to make headlines and make $. It isn't all about safety.
That's why, if I'm even close to the 'legal' limit...and I'm pulled over, I really don't say a thing other than hand them my license and reg. If they want to make me do field sobriety tests...I refuse, those do nothing but gather evidence for them. I just will put my hands out for the cuffs, and go with them...refusing any test. Worst you'll get in many states is a suspended license, and you can always get hardship license that will allow you to drive to/from work. It may be a PITA, but, at least it doesn't go on your record as a DWI and ruin your credit and insurance....
With the limits so low, and them trying to get anyone they can, I see nothing wrong with trying to avoid the system, or at the very least NOT helping them gather evidence against me. Get a good lawyer, and you can get out of this usually.