TEST OF DRUNKENNESS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19067, 12 January 1924, Page 7

TEST OF DRUNKENNESS

NO UNIFORM STANDARD. LONDON, December 30. A uniform modical and legal standard of what constitutes drunkenness is one of the chief needs of the moment, according to the British Medical Journal, which discusses the tendency of magistrates toward greater severity in dealing with motorists charged with driving a ear while drunk. _ “The grading of different stages of intoxication is a matter of extreme difficulty,” says the journal, ‘‘because different, functions of the brain are attacked in different order in different individuals, and even in the same individual the apparent effects of drunkenness vary greatly according to surroundings. “It. is. difficult to devise a fair test of drunkenness based on the performance of skilled movement, because a tost depends largely upon the degree of practice the individual has had. The writing test would to more difficult for a manual labourer than a clerk, while a skilled musician may be able to play when ho is too drunk to stand. “The question whether a man’s brain is so clouded with alcohol that he is unfit to drive a car, must, he decided by common sense. Scientific test can give little help.” The Journal concludes that the medical profession would welcome the appointment of experts to examine all eases of drunkenness in specific areas, with a view of arrivin.fr at a uniform standard.