California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Bennett, 2 Cal.Rptr.2d 8, 54 Cal.3d 1032, 819 P.2d 849 (Cal. 1991):
Defendant fails to grasp, however, that a driver's level of intoxication is an integral aspect of the "driving conduct." A high level of intoxication sets the stage for tragedy long before the driver turns the ignition key. "There is a very commonly understood risk which attends every motor vehicle driver who is intoxicated. [Citation.] One who wilfully consumes alcoholic beverages to the point of intoxication, knowing that he thereafter must operate a motor vehicle, thereby combining sharply impaired physical and mental faculties with a vehicle capable of great force and speed, reasonably may be held to exhibit a conscious disregard of the safety of others. The effect may be lethal...." (Taylor v. Superior Court (1979) 24 Cal.3d 890, 896-897, 157 Cal.Rptr. 693, 598 P.2d 854.)
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