Drinking and driving
How stupid do you have to be to drink and drive?
No, you’re not going to find any sympathy here if you happen to blow over just because you had an extra drink at dinner and didn’t think you were impaired. You’re going to find only judgment and dismay! And that’s how I hope the rest of society would look upon anyone who gets behind the wheel when they’ve been drinking.
For the record, I don’t drink. Some of my friends and family do and that’s not the issue. The ONLY issue is getting behind the wheel after imbibing.
RIDE programs are underway or about to launch and police will be extra vigilant about dangerous and potentially impaired driving.
I was pulled over, Starsky and Hutch style, a few weeks ago while driving into the radio station very early one morning. I had killed a spider on my dashboard and wobbled a bit on the DVP and someone - rightly - called the police and reported me as impaired. I wasn’t! I had my tray of Tim’s and my briefcase and I was clearly on my way to work. Was it an imposition? A bit. Did I get really annoyed? No, because it’s good to know that they’re out there and they react quickly. And I hadn’t done anything wrong so what’s the problem?
I hope it’s the same for you during the holiday season, that you haven’t done anything wrong and you’re patient with police who are doing their jobs. Sadly, there are still too many fools out there who drink and drive. Fatal crashes involving alchohol are actually up this year over last. Drive safely, won’t you?
November 29th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
I agree with everything you say, Lisa. The thing is, generally intelligent people get into their cars and drive when they’re drunk because they are DRUNK, not because they suddenly turn stupid. Their brain is actually messed up. They do not have the capability of thinking the same way as when they are sober. Perhaps if everyone was given a pocket breathalyzer, the numbers would show them that they are not alright even when they think they are capable of driving home. I do know that ramming drunk-driving victim numbers down people’s throats and lecturing them will not do much good. Of course everyone agrees with all of that when they are sober. They don’t even think about it when they are drunk. And, I believe, there lies the problem. For many people, alcohol makes everything happy, bright and promising. They are not thinking about five minutes down the road. We have to find others way to get people who have had drinks before dinner, wine with their meal, and a good-night Scotch to take responsibility of their actions. I think a pocket breathalyzer could do the trick.
December 1st, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Wobbling on the DVP? You’d better be more careful, regardless of the reason why!