Off-Duty EMTs and DUI BAC threshold

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BigPoppaBlueDevil

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So my partner and I were talking yesterday and he said that one provision of our (California) Ambulance Driver License is that if we are off-duty (in our POV) and get pulled over on suspicion of DUI the BAC cut-off is .04 instead of .08. Anyone have experience or knowledge of this? He claims his source of info is a cop. I tried to look it up in the DMV website but found nothing conclusive. Not that I'm drinking and driving, I'd just like to know :)
 
Ask your EMSA then come back with it. Legal info.
 
Unless you have a CDL it's doubtful, though I suppose not impossible.
 
Though I'd never give you legal advice, I've never heard that and would be hesitant to take the word of a friend of a friend from a cop (who are by design very good and getting you to believe they know best).
 
With a CDL I have heard that it is the case, but we don't have ADLs out here
 
…and another thing.

Trying to play brinksmanship with blood alcohol (our more likely urine alcohol) levels is stupid. Don't drink when it will interfere with duty.

I went to a going-away party for our company manager as an invited guest once, and wound up putting on a uniform and doing a call since I barely drink ever.
 
Its probably not a set in stone law, but it should be.

To be honest as a Public service worker you should be held to a higher standard, If you decide you want to consume alcohol for a night out on the town or at a private party that's your choice, but you should take in consideration a plan to get you home safely without the risk of a DUI. I have many times had a night out with friends or my spouse in which I ended up becoming the designated driver to me my career is not worth the risk.
 
If memory serves me correctly It's in the ca ambulance drivers handbook and they are pushing legislation to make it 0.00. Which it should be, as we should be setting an example for others
 
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DrankTheKoolaid said:
If memory serves me correctly It's in the ca ambulance drivers handbook and they are pushing legislation to make it 0.00. Which it should be, as we should be setting an example for others
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huh???? why are you holding ambulance dirvers to a higher standard of duty? why not expant it to include anyone who can be looked up to or seen as someone to emulate? parents, teachers, attorneys, cops, firefighters, politicians, models, entertainers, soldiers, any professional....

oh wait, that's absurd, as it the requirement to hold off duty ems emts to a higher standard than you would any citizen
 
It's not just for "ambulance drivers" it's for anyone with a ambulance endorsement, fire or commercial B, bus driver cert, etcetc
 
DrParasite said:
huh???? why are you holding ambulance dirvers to a higher standard of duty? why not expant it to include anyone who can be looked up to or seen as someone to emulate? parents, teachers, attorneys, cops, firefighters, politicians, models, entertainers, soldiers, any professional....

oh wait, that's absurd, as it the requirement to hold off duty ems emts to a higher standard than you would any citizen
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Only if they are on standby.:cool:

I agree that a 0.00 is a little overboard if you are off-duty, but I also think the current practice of getting :censored::censored::censored::censored:efaced as a consistent social pastime, for a medical professional, is either a sign of stress/mental illness issues, or sheer childishness.

As they say, can't crawl with the pigs one minute then soar with the eagles the next.
 
Drinking to excess is an american past time often associated with weddings, sports, friends coming into town etc. I don't really think anyone has the right to say we are more criminal for drinking responsibly (less than .08) and driving afterwards then anyone else.
 
Drinking and getting behind the wheel is a bad idea for more reasons than I can count, let alone for the reason that a DUI would make the prospect of future / ongoing employment in EMS unlikely.
 
i do not support drinking and driving at all, but how will the police officer know you are an EMT during a field sobriety test unless you tell him?
 
As soon as they run your license it will come back and say what endorsements are attached
 
DrankTheKoolaid said:
As soon as they run your license it will come back and say what endorsements are attached
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In California yes.

In other states like mine where there is no Ambulance Endorsement when I am off duty in my POV you would have no idea what I do for a living. No stickers, plates, pretty lights nothing. the only way you would know what I do for a living is if I was stopped reporting to or from my job.
 
My agency pays for taxis from a bar to a residence.

They figured out it was easier to pay for our cabs than to train new people constantly.

Call the comm center, taxi shows up, free ride home!
 
Your agency will pay for a Cab to get YOU home??

I have to pull teeth to get my uniform allowance :glare:

OTOH if you are out on the town or whatever you may be doing it should be your responsibility as a legal adult to realize that I am too impaired to get behind the wheel. It shouldn't take your employer to have to make that decision for you.
 
unleashedfury said:
Your agency will pay for a Cab to get YOU home??



I have to pull teeth to get my uniform allowance :glare:



OTOH if you are out on the town or whatever you may be doing it should be your responsibility as a legal adult to realize that I am too impaired to get behind the wheel. It shouldn't take your employer to have to make that decision for you.
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Yep.

Heard of them doing it for people on vacation too.

We used to just be able to walk up I any cab from a specific company and just show our badge but people took advantage of that so now we have to call in. I love talking to the dispatchers at 3 am when I'm inebriated. Always go the extra mile to try and make their night a little funnier.

It's cheaper than paying out all sorts of OT to FT medics (especially since we're expensive on OT with the raise we got 6 months ago) while you fork out thousands of dollars to train a new hire employee.

I :censored::censored::censored::censored::censored: a lot but we get treated pretty well. I can't list all the allowances and what not we get off the top of my head.
 
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