Driving Under The Influence

by minimus 22 Replies latest jw friends

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  Jankyn

  I used to be a cop. (No kidding! Really!)

  In my experience, after 10 pm, every third car on the road has an impaired driver (now, this was in a fairly small town--about 50,000--so I'd expect the ratio to be higher in a bigger town. More folks just going out for milk, you know). And on weekends--Friday, Saturday, Sunday--generally one out of two cars had an impaired driver.

  Pull someone over for anything--seat belt, failure to use a turn signal, missing tail-light--and odds were, you'd be smelling booze and pulling them out of the vehicle to take a sobriety test. Catching drunk drivers was like shooting fish in a barrel.

  What's worse, rare was the fellow who'd admit to being impaired. The worst part of drinking and driving is that people who are the most dangerous--those in the .05 to .10 range--don't think they're impaired. But their reaction time, vision and judgment have all declined significantly.

  If you drink, DON'T DRIVE. Period. Take a cab. Call a friend. Sleep over. Don't get behind the wheel.
• 

  WTWizard

  I definitely agree that drinking and driving is extremely dangerous and irresponsible. If you drink, it's your business. If you drink and drive, then it's my business and that of everyone else on the road. And if you drink and drive, you are more likely to mess up on other things like failing to use turn signals, stopping at a stop sign, going way too fast or too slow, or driving in the wrong lane. (That's why more people that are stopped on other infractions are drunk).

  And it gets worse. Too many accidents where innocent people, including pedestrians and bicyclists, are killed or seriously injured are because of someone getting behind that wheel after drinking too much. And I don't care who you are: If Paris Hilton could go to jail for it, then so can you. And that could have been worse if there had been an accident and she got killed or seriously injured. Many people are left paralyzed from the waist, or even the neck, down. Others spend many months and years in the hospital or rehab to heal up after a drunk driving accident. It wrecks your car, and causes your insurance premiums to go way up (even worse than gas prices!).

  It is true that more people drink and drive before or during major holidays, and the next one is a ways off. However, summer is beer time and birthdays often include beer and other drinks including alcohol. And during the holidays, there are often more patrols out looking just for drunk drivers. Labor Day is the next one coming up, followed by Thanksgiving and Christmas time. Remember, it only takes one drunk driver to cause a major killing on the highway. So, spam or not,

  DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE!
• 

  minimus

  Jankyn, those numbers are amazing!
• 

  JH

  Often I drove under the influece of the HOLY SPIRIT while i was in the field service...
• 

  SnakesInTheTower

  havent heard that figure, but it would not surprise me.

  I posted a few days back about almost getting hit by a drunk driver head on. http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/9/138460/1.ashx

  Only good reflexes got me to the side of the road and avoided death. people behind me got clipped. SUV behind them flipped and the 57 year old female passenger died. I watched the whole thing in my rear view mirror while sitting on the side of the road. Never thought I would see in real life someone die.

  I used to drink occasionally when eating out...1, maybe 2 beers (or 1 glass of wine) tops over a 2-3 hour period .... and would drive home...now I only drink at home unless I am riding with someone I know is not drinking. Why chance it?

  SnakesInTheTower (of the "wishing drunk drivers who kill get a needle in their arm" Sheep Class)

  PS....Harsh, maybe, but it would sure send a message to everyone thinking of drinking and driving and prevent needless future death, eh? Ask me about my thoughts on punishing pedophiles...probably would not be allowed to post it here
• 

  golf2

  How about air-line pilots doing the same thing?
  
  
  Golf
• 

  minimus

  Pilots shouldn't drink and fly!
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  xjwms

  Seems like a big number

  I'd rather do my drinking at home. I heard what happens to you upon arrest. I just have one with a dinner. Go home and finish.

  .
• 

  minimus

  You know, I don't think that number can be correct.
• 

  looking_glass

  Driving while impaired on other things is probably just as bad. I won't drink at all if I am driving, just to be on the safe side. If you are licensed or you have a board or commission that oversees you, you are in serious doo-doo if you get a ticket for DUI or DWI, so not worth losing a career over. I believe the stats about the numbers going up after 10 p.m. are spot on. We have a number of our guys who head to the board room at 7 and start drinking while allegedly working and then they head home. Keep in mind most of those guys are driving in from the burbs, so they are commuting back home.