Drinking and Driving

sharkman · January 1, 2012

I know that generally speaking,it's frowned upon. But with the numbers of arrests every year for drunk driving, it's obvious it still happens. I'm wondering what some of the reasons are and if you've done this why you couldn't arrange for a ride.

Although I've never, I was in a carpool once of about a 1 hour ride. The driver would occasionally stop to pick up beer before he began the drive and pass it around. The time it happened, he was on his 3rd bottle by the time he dropped us off at the park and ride. This was about 2 months after he'd been in a car accident that he was still recovering from. I never rode in that carpool again.

Rick · January 1, 2012

Have I ever...yes once a very long time ago and was very fortunate to not have been involved in a bad situation as a result of it. Not that it makes a difference but it was only a short distance driven.

Learned my lesson that one time when I woke up the next morning and realised what I had done.

I rarely touch alcohol these days and if I do it's never more than 2 beers maximum. I have a zero tolerance limit for those who think they can drive with a couple of beers in them.. Any alcohol in my body and I'm not driving anywhere for a minimum of 12 hours.

eyeball · January 1, 2012

I bought that ticket and took that ride.

My best friend, the glue that held our gang together, died when he drove his truck off the road while drunk. We smartened up the hard way. That was thirty odd years ago and while I've never lost another friend to impaired driving I did lose a couple more over the years to a mix of booze and big waves.

monty16 · January 1, 2012

Some people whine and cry about drinking driving while knowing very well that most people who sit in a pub or bar are going to go out and drive home after having a drink. I say 'a drink' because of the new limit of .05 in B.C. you can't even have one.

So what do we do? Hold bartenders responsible for serving alcohol to patrons who they suspect of being drivers? It would seem this would be a legitimate response to these new laws. Laws that in my opinion at least are being too restrictive of the use of a legal intoxicant.

In B.C. a person who serves alcohol to a guest in their home can be held responsible for that person's behaviour due to alcohol. Considering that the police consider a level of .05 to be intoxicated then a person who is served one bottle of beer in my home could perform outside my home immediately following that drink and I could be held liable. If he/she drives and kills somebody on the road then I could supposedly be sued for millions.

Maybe it's time to stop the hypocrist. If not then it's time to outlaw bars or taverns.

eyeball · January 1, 2012

Maybe it's time to stop the hypocrist. If not then it's time to outlaw bars or taverns.

Prohibition will never work. Bars and Taverns could always provide free rides but they'll probably run afoul of transportation regulations and pissed-off taxi-companies.

I can't wait until Google cars become available in BC. I wonder how much a model with a bar will sell for?

sharkman · January 1, 2012

Some people whine and cry about drinking driving while knowing very well that most people who sit in a pub or bar are going to go out and drive home after having a drink. I say 'a drink' because of the new limit of .05 in B.C. you can't even have one.

So what do we do? Hold bartenders responsible for serving alcohol to patrons who they suspect of being drivers? It would seem this would be a legitimate response to these new laws. Laws that in my opinion at least are being too restrictive of the use of a legal intoxicant.

In B.C. a person who serves alcohol to a guest in their home can be held responsible for that person's behaviour due to alcohol. Considering that the police consider a level of .05 to be intoxicated then a person who is served one bottle of beer in my home could perform outside my home immediately following that drink and I could be held liable. If he/she drives and kills somebody on the road then I could supposedly be sued for millions.

Maybe it's time to stop the hypocrist. If not then it's time to outlaw bars or taverns.

What is hypocrist?

At any rate, it's not that difficult to obey the law. Simply have a designated driver or take a taxi if you are going to drink. How many times have you driven drunk?

Rick · January 1, 2012

At any rate, it's not that difficult to obey the law. Simply have a designated driver or take a taxi if you are going to drink.

Exactly, it's a conscious choice that shouldn't be difficult for people to make.

msj · January 1, 2012

Exactly, it's a conscious choice that shouldn't be difficult for people to make.

Seems so obvious as compared to the "shut them down" mantra of authoritarians.

TimG · January 1, 2012

I'm wondering what some of the reasons are and if you've done this why you couldn't arrange for a ride.

I suspect the majority of people who drink and drive are hard core alcholics. They can't get a 'designated driver' because they are almost always partially drunk or because it would require that they admit to friends and family how much they drink and when. Tougher laws won't reach these people because they are already lost in the addiction. What is needed are additions services backed by the power of law when these people get caught (i.e. you go to treatment, you stay clean or you go to jail...). Edited January 1, 2012 by TimG

sharkman · January 2, 2012

I'm not so sure about that. I think people simply don't plan ahead enough. I had supper with a co-worker recently and he downed five drinks of something with vodka in it and when we walked to our cars, seemed perplexed by his situation. I don't know if he was legally barred from driving at that point, but he just kept knocking them back during supper without forethought. And this was a real nice guy who was otherwise responsible.

BC_chick · January 2, 2012

Five drinks with dinner and you think the guy doesn't have a drinking problem?

msj · January 2, 2012

Five drinks with dinner and you think the guy doesn't have a drinking problem?

Depends on what type of dinner it was and how long it was.

prairiechickin · January 2, 2012

I rarely touch alcohol these days and if I do it's never more than 2 beers maximum. I have a zero tolerance limit for those who think they can drive with a couple of beers in them.. Any alcohol in my body and I'm not driving anywhere for a minimum of 12 hours.

I always laugh when I read sanctimonious stuff like this. You don't drink, good for you. But you think that because you don't drink and therefor have zero tolerance for alcohol, that that standard should apply to everyone else. Two beers barely registers on my radar, and it sure as hell wouldn't keep me from driving.

sharkman · January 2, 2012

I don't drink either, and being a non-drinker means nothing of the sort. But if you drive while legally intoxicated you are putting others at risk. And you're obviously fine with that. I know, I know, it's not your fault, it's those stupid laws, right?

eyeball · January 2, 2012

I always laugh when I read sanctimonious stuff like this. You don't drink, good for you. But you think that because you don't drink and therefor have zero tolerance for alcohol, that that standard should apply to everyone else. Two beers barely registers on my radar, and it sure as hell wouldn't keep me from driving.

I bet it would if your car had a breathalyzer-ignition inter-lock.

If you just slammed them back you'd have to weigh four or five hundred lbs to be that immune.

TimG · January 2, 2012

But if you drive while legally intoxicated you are putting others at risk.

The legal limit is an arbitrary line used because it is easier to get convictions. Many heavy drinkers can be above that line and put no one at risk. Light drinkers would be impaired long before they reached 0.08. IOW - moralizing over an arbitrary line is rather silly. What matters is impaired driving which is a separate offence.

sharkman · January 2, 2012

I partially agree with you, the point is, you can't trust that a heavy drinker is going to stop, therefore there has to be a deterent, too many innocents have died because of this. I don't want to put my life at risk simply because another can't stop himself and wants just a couple more because he can hold his liquor up to a point.

January 2, 2012

Just prohibit alcohol entirely, and problem is solved.

Given the number of fatalities because of it, either by drunk driving or death directly from overdrinking, it's the only sensible thing to do. Right?

eyeball · January 2, 2012

Just prohibit alcohol entirely, and problem is solved.

Given the number of fatalities because of it, either by drunk driving or death directly from overdrinking, it's the only sensible thing to do. Right?

No, the only thing that might make the prohibition of alcohol sensible is if everyone agrees that it should be against the law to recreationally alter one's mind.

If we really believed that we'd punish little kids for making themselves dizzy because it feels funny. Once the little tykes have opened up that gateway it's all downhill. One taste of dizziness and the next thing you know you're playing the choking game.

So how much time should elapse before getting on your tricycle and driving home after getting dizzy?

Edited January 2, 2012 by eyeball

January 2, 2012

prairiechickin, on 02 January 2012 - 03:44 AM, said: I always laugh when I read sanctimonious stuff like this. You don't drink, good for you. But you think that because you don't drink and therefor have zero tolerance for alcohol, that that standard should apply to everyone else. Two beers barely registers on my radar, and it sure as hell wouldn't keep me from driving.
I bet it would if your car had a breathalyzer-ignition inter-lock.

If you just slammed them back you'd have to weigh four or five hundred lbs to be that immune.

Nope. 2 beers slammed by someone weighing 160 pounds would put them below the .05 legal level of intoxication in BC - even if they were to immediately get in the car and drive.

How to calculate your Blood Alcohol Level

eyeball · January 2, 2012

Nope. 2 beers slammed by someone weighing 160 pounds would put them below the .05 legal level of intoxication in BC - even if they were to immediately get in the car and drive.

How to calculate your Blood Alcohol Level

I think prariechicken is talking about Canadian beer not the crap that passes for beer down your way.

January 2, 2012

I think prariechicken is talking about Canadian beer not the crap that passes for beer down your way.

Yeah, about that ..... Canadian beers are not stronger than American beers

msj · January 2, 2012

I think prariechicken is talking about Canadian beer not the crap that passes for beer down your way.

I know you're just kidding (or at least I think you are) but as a guy who has traveled down the Oregon coast on a brew pub crawl I can assure you that the Americans make beer as good and as potent as "we" do.

eyeball · January 2, 2012

I know you're just kidding (or at least I think you are) but as a guy who has traveled down the Oregon coast on a brew pub crawl I can assure you that the Americans make beer as good and as potent as "we" do.

Yes I'm just kidding, but all the same, slamming two bottles of beers, especially on an empty stomach, and getting behind the wheel of a car seems pretty risky. I know I'd be pushing the line if I did and I'm a couple of hundred lbs and often have a couple of beers a day. I'm certainly not an inexperienced drinker.

cybercoma · January 2, 2012

Nope. 2 beers slammed by someone weighing 160 pounds would put them below the .05 legal level of intoxication in BC - even if they were to immediately get in the car and drive.

How to calculate your Blood Alcohol Level

Skipped right over the caveat, which basically says the chart is useless.

Reader Beware! There are many other factors that effect (sic) an individual's blood/alcohol level - they include the person's weight, sex, food intake, activities during the drinking process, and other factors. This chart is just an approximation of your possible blood /alcohol level after drinking!