anyone here ever drive drunk? c'mon... admit it! (you morons!)

[zephed]

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thats such bullshit. My friends didnt die because somene was drunk, both of them died becuase someone was drunk and stupid. Appealing to the victim has little emotional power with me because i had spoken with both victims so many times. Drunk driving is scary. Stupid driving is lethal.


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Drunk driving is stupid driving. It doesn't get much stupider than that.

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There are alot of old people who drive much stupider than that. you know the ones who always panic and step on the gas instead of the brake.

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Come on, how often does crap like this happen? Not that often. People drive around drunk and get in accidents every weekend.

[HopeydaFish]

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Come on, how often does crap like this happen? Not that often. People drive around drunk and get in accidents every weekend.

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Besidse, his argument is stupid and childish. Basically, he's saying "Well, because it's dangerous to the public that certain old people are allowed to drive, I should be allowed to put the public in danger too."

[DCJ311]

Driving drunk is a way overstigmatized crime, IMO. Driving stupidly is way understigmatized, however. I'm not justifying driving drunk, I'm just saying that if you do it, you can take good precautionary measures to avoid getting into accidents:

1) Never drive remotely close to another car or vehicle, and use as many untraveled roads as possible on your way back home.

This is the key mistake people make, just as they do in normal driving (tailgating, driving next to cars, etc). If people followed proper following distances at all times there would be NO accidents, period.

2) Follow the speed limit, or go below it if you have to.

3) When approaching or exiting a stop light or stop sign, use more caution than you normally would. Refrain from turning right on a red light unless the coast is absolutely clear.

4) Never drive drunk if you are feeling the least bit tired. Driving while tired is vastly more dangerous than driving drunk!

That is all. If everyone follows these simple rules of the road, we will all be safer.

[Cumulonimbus]

5) Remember that driving drunk can lead to driving belligerantly blacked out. When this occurs, rules 1-4 go out the window. Therefore, don't drink and drive unless you have a plan in the case that you become belligerant.

[Rooster71]

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Yes but never, ever again.

Interesting statistic - In 2004, 42,636 people were killed in traffic crashes in the US. 16,694 (39%) of those victims were killed in alcohol related crashes. Compare this to 1982 when 60% of all fatalities were alcohol related and I guess we're moving in the right direction.

The percentage of alcohol related fatalities to all traffic fatalities hasn't gone up year-over-year since 1991. This is fairly good, but I'd still say that 39% of 2004 fatalities were needless and preventable. Source

My mother was killed by a drunk driver on Oct. 19, 2003 around 3:00 PM. She would have turned 60 on the 20th.

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I taught defensive driving for three years. Part of the class structure was to go around the room and say what driving offense you were cited for (mostly speeding). But every now and then I'd get a student who was required by the court to take defensive driving as part of his/her DWI deal with the court. I was always sickened to see that most of the younger people who were there for DWI would proudly stick out their chest and blurt out "DWI" as if it were something to be proud of.

I also noticed that most of the older 30-35+ people who were previously were convicted of DWI would state that they learned their lesson as a result of the arrest.

I had alot of fun screwing with the minds of these "young studs" who were so proud of their DWI arrests.

[benza13]

Chiming in late to this thread with a now familiar story...drove drunk a bunch when I was in high school and first year of college, right up til the DWI. That nice little expensive lesson certainly set me straight. Thing is, I probably wouldn't have stopped if it wasn't for that, so I am glad it did happen. I didn't learn my lesson those times that I woke up in the morning wondering how I got home (knowing that I drove), that time I broke a headlight and put a nice dent behind it hitting a mailbox (that I barely remember) or any of the other stupid things I did as a teen. Knowing now that my next DWI means a nice visit to jail was enough to stop me. The money that it has cost me was a valuable lesson and probably saved my life. It also helped me cut back on my drinking, another thing that needed to be done. So, I guess I am saying my DWI was a good experience in the end, although those first 7 months with no license and spending time in classes sure were awful, the rest of my life that I am lucky to still have is definitely great.

[man]

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You knew you could kill somebody, though, right? Getting my license taken away sounds pretty sweet compared to killing somebody.

[/ QUOTE ]haha.

I've never driven drunk, but I've ridden in more drunk-driven cars than I care to count. probably twenty times or so. one time there were eleven people in the car, a civic. I was sitting on the driver's arm. on reflecting on this, I think I'm gonna go stop being a moron when I'm drunk and not let others drive. there. I deserve a beer for this.

[Roy Munson]

I have driven drunk hundreds of times. Now I live in a bar intensive neighborhood so I can walk while under the influence. If or when I move to a more suburban setting I will likely revisit my practice of drunken driving.

[tonypaladino]

I've never driven drunk nor sober. I've been in a car with a drunk driver though. I really didn't think she could do much damage crawling through friday night traffic in manhattan.

[Blarg]

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youre failing to include the severe alcoholics that suffer from dt's and cant function normally without a significant amout of alcohol in their system, these are not the people that i was referring to, but they do exist and they certainly drive better after drinking then before

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I'm not sure what dt's is, but if there are people who require a significant amount of alcohol in their system to drive, then frankly they should not, ever, be behind the wheel of anything.

I also have to ask, how on earth did they get a licence in the first place? Show up to the driving test tanked? If I'd tried that, I probably would have been fined a grand and banned from driving for 6 months.

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dt's = detox, alcohol withdrawals, the worst withdrawals you can go through, worse than heroin, can kill you

yeah they probly shouldnt be driving, but i was just making a point that not all people's driving skills are that adversely affected by drinking

one time when i went to get my liscence back(might have been from the dub, dont remember) the lady at the DMV said she smelled alcohol on me and wouldnt let me get it, i went to 2 other DMVs and she had marked it in their system, they were just like, "im sorry but i cant give you your liscence today because of what the lady in carrboro told you" i got it the next day

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Umm...this sounds like the definition of degenerate drunkeness. You needed to get your license back, and you came in drunk to the DMV? At least, you think so, but aren't sure you remember?

And you're saying people's skills aren't all "that" adversely affected by drinking?

It sounds like you've got more than driving skills to worry about. Your skills in plain old thinking and practical living are severely affected by drinking. Seriously.