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Drink Driving - Going to AA?

2

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,618 ✭✭✭Ideo


    OP i read your whole original post titled 'Advice Needed - May Be Going to Prison ' and tbh i felt somewhat sympathetic towards yourself. having read this post however and especially your original statement in which you more or less said you're considering AA to excape conviction you have definitely crushed that sympathy. while i am not here to judge, i feel that your first offence was quite serious and while the was drink involved you were given a sentence to punish you for that crime. the punishment showed you the consequences of your actions and for most this would straighten you out. having committed the second offence however you clearly haven't appreciated your time in prison and the cause of that jail term.

    'I just want to be doing something like that when I have to go to court so that it looks that I am trying to change things?' - you clearly havent changed and have no intention of changing by the sounds of things so you fully deserve the sentence coming to you. in my opinion AA will do you no good, nor will giving money to charity or your time for that matter. if you go to prison again, and on a more personal note i think you deserve to be sent to prison, i hope you will further consider the consequences of your actions. you clearly havent learned your lesson in the first place. and furthermore if i were you i would consider going to AA not to escape conviction but to help you overcome your alcohol problem. two serious offences which were both alcohol related should highlight the fact that you do indeed have an alcohol problem. good day


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 39 kindle


    FuzzyLogic wrote:
    Yep, you do deserve some jail time for this.
    Otherwise you will end up doing something similar again.

    In fairness with a drink driving conviction on a provisional license its unlikely that the OP is going to be behind the wheel for a while...12 month ban, 5 year endorsement and unaffordable insurance (for at least 6 years is not for life)......

    OP AA is not something you do to stop you going to jail...think you need to rethink your priorites.esp around drink...


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,943 ✭✭✭BeardyGit


    Shane,

    Anyone who thinks you're going to learn anything other than how to be more deceitful from these experiences is sadly mistaken.

    You beat someone up while drunk before, badly enough to end up locked up for it. Like many others here in P.I. I followed your thread with interest and hoped you'd come out the other side of the experience as a better person. It's shocking to now find you'd learned NOTHING from the experience - certainly not how to respect innocent members of the public. If you had done so, you would never have got behind the wheel of a car after having even a swift half.

    I'm sorry to say this Shane but I hope you get sent down again - You're a timewaster, a liar and a criminal and I'd hope for no less than jail time for you and anyone else caught drinking and driving....

    Gil


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,023 ✭✭✭hairyfairy00


    I think the judge should send you to visit an Intensive Care Unit and see some people who have been critically injured by drunk drivers or even to visit a morgue.....
    Maybe then you could realise that your actions are stupid and selfish, it's time you grew up.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 118 ✭✭ats


    Will you cop on. Do you think everyone who is caught drink driving should go to jail? 374 people were caught in the first week of December, 396 the week before that Should all these people be in jail? I am not excusing the crime but going to jail is not the correct punishment for this.


    in a word Yes. so what a slap on teh wrist and a fine and a few penilty points will solve it? like fuk it will. the fact that sentences are lenient or theer are loop holes are excatly why we have almost 800 people in 2 weeks DUI, i wonder how many of those are reoffenders? the way i see it no one forced them to get behind the wheel it was premeditated. they went the pub in the car, they bought a pint. no one held them at gun point and said "take the car, right now have 10 pints" or what ever they had. premeditation is teh difference between murder and manslaughter. so lets assume that a person DUI kills someone do you thing they should go down for DUI causing death or murder? teh way i see it murder. there was nothing accidental about them being behind teh wheel, it didn't just happen they decided to go out in teh car, they dedcided to drink they decided to drive all premeditated. leave teh car at hoem if ya want to drink simple as.

    any vehicle has the potential to cause serious harm when the driver is sober, but when they decide to drive coz "sure i'm only going down the road" well tell that to the family whos son/daughter/father/mother etc has been seriosuly injured or killed by these idiots. publicly flog them thats what I say. yeah i know i may be a bit harsh here but i've lost loved ones to people like this.

    and as for using the good people at the AA to get you out of court, hopefully the judge will look at his record. sure thats like claiming to have cleptomania when caught burglarising someones house,.

    heres how i hope it goes down.

    Judge: Ok one conviction for alcohiol related violence. did you seek help from eth AA after this incident?

    Shane: no your honour i didn't but I am now.

    judge: right so only after facing a second conviction will you seek help. eh right feck off with ya, Guard dont forget to loose the key after ya lock him up

    shane you deserve everything that you get IMO, the more people like you get caught and banged up the better. Cant believe you had the audacity to even consider using the people of eth AA or any charity to keep you out of teh prison cell you so rightfully deserve. why not face up to what you've done like a man instead of wasting AAs resources that could go toward helping someone that genuinly wants/needs help coz drink is ruining their lives and not coz they want a lighter sentance.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 51 ✭✭dublinshane


    Thanks for some of the helpful posts. Last time I posted on here I got some decent advise so I thought I would post here again. I knew i would get some flak but I'm used to that after the last time.

    Will you cop on. Do you think everyone who is caught drink driving should go to jail? 374 people were caught in the first week of December, 396 the week before that (http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/1207/drinkdriving.html). Should all these people be in jail? I am not excusing the crime but going to jail is not the correct punishment for this.


    I didn't realise that that many people were caught - there's alot of people in the same situation as me so. Having looked at some other links you'd be amazed at the number of people who have been caught for this - ex leader of a political party, a weather presenter etc.

    I sort of agree with some of you in that I do feel like a bit of a fraud in going to AA. Since all that happened about 2 years ago I really have sorted myself out drinkwise and really don't drink that much. That's why it feels strange thinking about going but I am a normal person who would do whatever it takes to not end up back in prison - it seems even worse now with all that has happened over the past months. Wouldn't everybody in this situation do the same? I will go anyway just after Christmas - read the links on it.

    I've always tended to do some things on the spur of the moment and this is another one of those things. I'm not stupid and know I shouldn't have done it but loads do. I wasn't much over the limit anyway - I only ended up driving because my mate had alot more than me.

    I know I'm going to get a ban and restrictions, a fine and as somebody said I don't know what any insurance will be in the future - this type of thing will cost me alot. I know that with a record I'll get a worse punishment than most and maybe the worst. The weird thing is that only a few months ago this would never had happened - before the random testing began. I just got caught up in that and the result is much worse than me.

    Just to say as well that I've read what people have said about people being hurt by people who are drunk when driving and I do feel really sorry for them. It makes me think alot more when the stuff is aimed at me rather than just in general. I wasn't drunk when driving but was over the limit and I shouldn't have been. I know that.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,943 ✭✭✭BeardyGit


    Thanks for some of the helpful posts. Last time I posted on here I got some decent advise so I thought I would post here again. I knew i would get some flak but I'm used to that after the last time.

    Don't discount all your critics in life. Many are the type of people you should strive to become - Decent law abiding citizens who want only the best things for each other.
    I didn't realise that that many people were caught - there's alot of people in the same situation as me so. Having looked at some other links you'd be amazed at the number of people who have been caught for this - ex leader of a political party, a weather presenter etc.

    So what? I'm not in the least bit surprised. All around this nation of ours we'll find assholes with no respect for the law and less respect for my safety. The fact they are found in various professions means nothing. So what's your point?
    I sort of agree with some of you in that I do feel like a bit of a fraud in going to AA. Since all that happened about 2 years ago I really have sorted myself out drinkwise and really don't drink that much. That's why it feels strange thinking about going but I am a normal person who would do whatever it takes to not end up back in prison - it seems even worse now with all that has happened over the past months. Wouldn't everybody in this situation do the same? I will go anyway just after Christmas - read the links on it.

    Yeah, you are a fraud. And a liar. Like a rat caught in a flooding sewer, you'll do anything to get away from the trouble you're in....
    I've always tended to do some things on the spur of the moment and this is another one of those things. I'm not stupid and know I shouldn't have done it but loads do. I wasn't much over the limit anyway - I only ended up driving because my mate had alot more than me.

    There it is again - The 'loads do it' bullsh1t excuse. I'm not surprised you use it.... Any way out, eh?
    I know I'm going to get a ban and restrictions, a fine and as somebody said I don't know what any insurance will be in the future - this type of thing will cost me alot. I know that with a record I'll get a worse punishment than most and maybe the worst. The weird thing is that only a few months ago this would never had happened - before the random testing began. I just got caught up in that and the result is much worse than me.

    Yeah - The great thing is that it's not a few months back. The great thing is that scumbags who drink and drive will start to pay a price. Lies and excuses aside, I hope each and every one of them pays a hefty price.
    Just to say as well that I've read what people have said about people being hurt by people who are drunk when driving and I do feel really sorry for them. It makes me think alot more when the stuff is aimed at me rather than just in general. I wasn't drunk when driving but was over the limit and I shouldn't have been. I know that.

    Excuses. Nothing but bullsh1t to make people feel sorry for poor oul' Shane. Sure isn't he a good lad at heart after all.....

    Shane - You're full of it - Spewing out the rubbish you think people need to hear so they'll cut you some slack and help you feel good about yourself.

    You know what you've done and you wouldn't have thought twice about doing it again if you hadn't been caught. Well, I'm glad you were and I hope you pay the price.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 118 ✭✭ats



    I sort of agree with some of you in that I do feel like a bit of a fraud in going to AA. Since all that happened about 2 years ago I really have sorted myself out drink wise and really don't drink that much. That's why it feels strange thinking about going but I am a normal person who would do whatever it takes to not end up back in prison - it seems even worse now with all that has happened over the past months. Wouldn't everybody in this situation do the same? I will go anyway just after Christmas .

    How can you possibly say you sorted your self out drink wise you just got caught DUI.
    If you where that committed to sorting your self out and not using the AA as a smoke screen in the courts you would go before the holidays.

    I've always tended to do some things on the spur of the moment and this is another one of those things. I'm not stupid and know I shouldn't have done it but loads do. I wasn't much over the limit anyway - I only ended up driving because my mate had a lot more than me..

    oh well that makes it all right then doesn’t it! Here’s a novel idea get, a cab, or walk. Given your username then access to a taxi, bus, night link or even walking home while leaving the car in the car park would have been an option. Pity ya didn’t think of those. Was it too cold for ya or something?

    The weird thing is that only a few months ago this would never had happened - before the random testing began. I just got caught up in that and the result is much worse than me..

    Whys that coz they wouldn’t have been out testing or you wouldn’t have been stupid enough to have been DUI? I have a funny feeling it’s a case of the former and not the latter here.

    It makes me think alot more when the stuff is aimed at me rather than just in general. I wasn't drunk when driving but was over the limit and I shouldn't have been. I know that.

    Define drunk? It’s a real pity you didn’t think before you stuck the keys in the ignition. The fact remains you where under the influence and should not have gotten behind the wheel of a car. Ya better learn how to duck coz I hope they throw the book at ya.

    And I’ll come down off the pulpit now.

    I personally hate anyone that tried to give an excuse for being behind the while with any alcohol in their system. I have lost a loved one coz of an idiot like that, hence my harsh tone. And they said exactly the same as you “I wasn’t drunk, I only had one or two”


    Shane I hope to God you learn a valuable lesson. You’ve already been banged up once man, that in itself is going to hinder your life in relation to future employment. Now you face a second possible conviction.

    My advice go to the first AA meeting you can before the holidays even if its over the other side of the city, it will in my opinion show you in a better light. Look at it from a judge’s point of view. You wait til after the New Year to enter the program. This can mean 2 things. 1) you wanted to party over the holidays or 2) there was no meetings close to you that you could attend. With your previous conviction the judge may lean toward the first option and see your AA enrollment as the smoke screen it is intended to be.

    But if you actually contacted AA today and maybe even enrolled in a program today, or at least can show you where actively trying to enter a program by having contacted your local AA branch, and them maybe offer to help out with the Simon Community or some other charity over the holidays instead of spending it in the pub or possibly being DUI again that may actually look good for you because it shows actual remorse, it shows you are active in sorting yourself out.

    Use this as an opportunity to sort your life out. As other said having an Alcohol problem does not mean you spend every minute in a bottle that is an extreme version. I myself faced what I considered an alcohol problem 10 years ago. At the tender age of 20 I went to a pub, drank more than of a liter of JD, about 10 pints and a couple of shots of schnapps and while drunk was not to the point of blacking out or not remembering what I had done. The opposite in fact I had a clear recollection of the night, at the time I considered myself to be fairly sober though in hind sight was as pissed as a fart. The next day I vowed to stop drinking. About 4 months later I suffered with trembling and shaking all over. I went to the local hospital in France where I lived and they found nothing wrong until a full blood work up was done including liver function and thyroid gland tests. Turns out at 20 I had the liver of someone in their early 40s. the shakes? I was going through cold turkey. To this day I don’t drink and I’m in my mid 30s because the amount of alcohol I consumed that night scared the life out of me (not to mention my bank balance).


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9,314 ✭✭✭Talliesin


    The best thing about banging your head against a wall is that it feels better when you stop.

    Unfortunately:
    1. You are invested in not admitting that you are banging your head against the wall. "Oh, another one of those flying walls. I got hit by one of those just a minute ago. I have such bad luck".
    2. One of us could suffer a fatal head injury due to your stupidity. Indeed, maybe you should take up literally headbutting walls instead.

    It's always good to do the "which is more likely".

    Is it more likely that:
    1. Being "a little" over the limit really is a bad thing, considering that a fraction of the limit seriously impairs your ability to drive.
    2. Your being caught doing something stupid twice is due to you having a problem.
    3. You should seek help in dealing with your problem.
    4. It doesn't matter a damn what other idiots share your idiocy. Come on, if weather presenter is the best you can do as an example of someone respected you're stretching things pretty far.
    Or:
    1. You are the one person on this planet who isn't fooling themselves when they say they are capable of driving at or around the alcohol limit.
    2. You've had really bad luck.

    Unfortunately you may be so far invested in lying to yourself about this that you can't see that the second is as likely to prove true as that drunk-ass politician you mentioned being done for drunk driving was to keep every election promise.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 132 ✭✭Bill Andrex


    I remember the first incident you posted about fairly well so I am not going to criticise you here.

    In my opinion for some people alcohol just doesn't suit them. It doesn't mean they are alcoholics but for some it does seem to effect their normal personality & behavior negatively from my own experience.

    I would suggest that you should perhaps try avoiding alcohol and going to AA could be quite a positive step. Certainly I think if I was in your boots that I would at least go along to a couple of sessions to try and find out more about them & there is a good chance that you will be able to get some good help and support.

    I hope you manage to get your life sorted and back on track & I am sure the Irish Courts system will deal with you fair and honestly.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,881 ✭✭✭Mighty_Mouse


    If ever there was a case for having an IQ test for a driving licence.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 166,006 ✭✭✭✭LegacyUser


    'It absolutely sickens me lately to hear AA being used as a resource for PR (see Lindsay Lohan and other "celebs") and now this fella using it as a means to get out of a suitable punishment for the crime committed.

    You're not a bit of fraud for going to AA in this capacity. You ARE a fraud.

    YOU ARE USING AND ABUSING a fellowship that millions of people worldwide, rely on to keep them alive. You've some neck on you.

    Go and try and identify as a previous poster suggested. But you're an awful little bollix, so you are. I hope you are spared the misery of an alcoholic existence, it's absolute torture. To belittle and make light of AA in this manner absolutely disgusts me.'


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 43,044 ✭✭✭✭Nevyn


    Personal while I do think that going to AA should be for the right reasons and not getting brownie points else where. I would not be quick to condem someoen who starts going there for those reasons.

    It could be the only reason they would ever go and if there is a chance it will help them take stock and get the help they need in thier lifes so be it.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,374 ✭✭✭Gone West


    kindle wrote:
    In fairness with a drink driving conviction on a provisional license its unlikely that the OP is going to be behind the wheel for a while...12 month ban, 5 year endorsement and unaffordable insurance (for at least 6 years is not for life)......

    OP AA is not something you do to stop you going to jail...think you need to rethink your priorites.esp around drink...
    Will you cop on. Do you think everyone who is caught drink driving should go to jail? 374 people were caught in the first week of December, 396 the week before that (http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/1207/drinkdriving.html). Should all these people be in jail? I am not excusing the crime but going to jail is not the correct punishment for this.
    In fairness read the full story.
    The OP has a previous suspended sentance for drink related violence.
    This means that his sentance will be imposed if he is up in front of a judge for anything really until his suspended sentance is up.
    It is very likely that he will get at least some jail for this.
    I don't think that the good plebians of boards.ie/PI should be giving him tips on how to get off light. What would you think if someone in your family was killed by a drunk driver? Or beat up on the street by some drunk person?
    The laws are there for good reason. If you don't like it, you can petition the oireachtas to change it, or you can leave.

    Yes, going to AA is a good idea. But it is obvious that the OP doesn't even remotely consider himself worthy of it. The only reason he would go is for a nice public facade, brownie points, and the shiney PR of it all. Like others on this thread, it disgusts me.
    What about the counsellors in AA who are giving up their free time to help people. They think they are helping people who want to be helped, people who go because they know they have a problem.
    Not people who are going for brownie points.

    I hope I'm not going off topic here. I just really believe that the only support posters should be giving dublinshane is emotional/counselling advice etc.
    Not legal freebies on how to avoid the slammer.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 14,239 ✭✭✭✭fits


    Goodness do any of the posters on this thread realise just how easy it is to be caught while barely over the limit??? A lot of self righteous talk going on here. I just love it when people equate 81mg with murder while 79mg (or being stoned, on prescription drugs, tired etc.) is cool!

    Dublin Shane, I'm glad and believe you when you say you've sorted yourself out. Dont know anything about AA, and it seems your motives would be less than honourable in going but perhaps you should be extra-extra careful when it comes to alcohol in the future. It mighnt be a bad thing to examine your relationship with the booze a bit.

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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 78,787 ✭✭✭✭Victor


    fits wrote:
    while 79mg (or being stoned, on prescription drugs, tired etc.) is cool!
    Actually the tide is turning against all these things. However, alcohol is still the leading killer.

    http://www.rsa.ie/NEWS/News/Link_Between_Alcohol_and_Road_Deaths.html


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 14,239 ✭✭✭✭fits


    Victor wrote:
    Actually the tide is turning against all these things. However, alcohol is still the leading killer.

    I dont deny it... People just seem to love getting into a mad frenzy over it.

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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 43,044 ✭✭✭✭Nevyn


    Personally I would have a zero present tolerance.
    If you now you are going to drink and then do not drive.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,807 ✭✭✭chump


    Why is everyone being so critical of shane.

    It could just be bad luck that in the only two incidences where he was drunk and broke the law and put lives in danger, he happened to get caught.

    Unfortunate for him.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 78,787 ✭✭✭✭Victor


    chump wrote:
    It could just be bad luck that in the only two incidences where he was drunk and broke the law and put lives in danger, he happened to get caught.
    On balance, I suspect this isn't the case. There simply aren't enoung gardai to do that.

    In addition with 400 deaths and 5,000+ injuries per year, people are intolerent of inappropriate drunken behavior.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,943 ✭✭✭BeardyGit


    fits wrote:
    Goodness do any of the posters on this thread realise just how easy it is to be caught while barely over the limit??? A lot of self righteous talk going on here. I just love it when people equate 81mg with murder while 79mg (or being stoned, on prescription drugs, tired etc.) is cool!

    He's on a provisional license. 0mg is the acceptable limit.


  • Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 21,504 Mod ✭✭✭✭Agent Smith


    Victor wrote:
    but if you feel like insulting someone, at least do it under your own name.
    i will...


    Your a ****ing moran. you've gone to mountjoy over a drink related incedent. you claimed to clean up your act, Then you go out a drive under the infulance? I Hope you go to jail. you got off lightly the last time with the suspended time, and you've just spat in the face of the judge who sentanced you the last time.You want to abuse an orginisation that helps people give up an addiction that could kill them, an addiction that can destroy familys, just so it looks Good in court?


    you make me sick

    Joe


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 78,787 ✭✭✭✭Victor


    i will... Your a ****ing moran.
    Cool. Banned.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 118 ✭✭ats


    fits wrote:
    Goodness do any of the posters on this thread realise just how easy it is to be caught while barely over the limit??? A lot of self righteous talk going on here.

    pity it wasn't easier for them to get caught, if the garda had the proper resources to police the streets and I'm also talking about organised crime but thats for another thread, then idiots like you and shane that think its ok to be "a little bit over teh limit" would get what you deserver.

    read what you just posted and justify that statement would ya. coz its complete and utter crap. of course it should be easy to be caught while over teh limit, be it a little or a lot thats why its Over The Limit. jesus H Christ they shouldnt be over teh limit in teh first place while behind the wheel.

    maybe a day in the life would sort out your "sure i wan't really drunk" attitude. spend a weeked in ICU, watch the life fade from a loved one coz some tosser couldn't leave the keys at home and take a cab. spend time with the families who have lost thier loved ones, or spend time in the rehab units with people who'se bodies have been damaged that they have to learn to adapt to not being able to walk or having to learn to walk again. are these extreme examples of teh effects of drink driving? yes but alas they are also teh cold hard facts. People die, people get sop seriously injured that they can't walk again or are parmenantly disfigured. spend time with these people, even one day and eth "its easy to be caught when yuo're a little over" attitude will hopefully fade. personally a part from mandatory public flogging for anyone caught DUI, I think something like the above should also be included in their sentence.

    people are not being self righteous they are expressing disgust at 2 things. one the breaking of the law and beiong DUI and also the abuse of a care system that is put in place free of charge by good people to help those that want to get thier lives back in order. wasting limited resources that could be used to save someone elses life that frankly would deserve it more.

    shane is trying to keep himself out of teh slammer. teh fact that he said he'd go after the holidays is proof enough that he is simply using the AA to stay out of jail and not because he has any actual remorse for what he has done. he's just another arsehole trying to get off with a sentance coz he doesn't want it on his record. if it was any other way he wouldn't have came out with teh mother of all statements "sure everyone does it" or "i was in a better condition than me mate" if he really had his life in order he would have realised that he has 1 drink offense against his name, even if it is suspended and if he Fd up again he was going to pay the price but instead he neglected to remember that and gets behind the wheel of a car. and then has teh balls to come on here trying to find a way the weasle out of it. Bright spark, he and others like him deserve everything they get to be perfectly honest. the only down side to these people is that its usually some innocent person that is injured or killed so the fool behind the wheel says hes "sorry and wont dop it again your honour thanks for the fine and the points" and off they go the following weekend and do it all over again.
    fits wrote:
    I just love it when people equate 81mg with murder while 79mg (or being stoned, on prescription drugs, tired etc.) is cool!
    i dont condone being behind the while while on medication, prescribed or otherwise. I firmly believe there should be zero tolerance, any alcohol even one glass of wine and you should not get behind the wheel. and i don't recall seeing anone in this thread expressing the above opinion. it wasn't equated to murder but I said it should be treated with the same severity at the end of the day they know it is illegal, they know their reactions are slowed etc but they willingly get behind the wheel, therefore its premeditated no one forced them to do it. the bar man sure as hell didn't hold a bottle opener to his head and say "go on get in the car and drive sure you'll be fine". I've worked in bars abroad and have actually drove people home myslef instead of letting them drive. I drove their car home then took a cab back to work for some of our well known customers just so they wouldn't drive. Or i have taken their car keys from them and paid for a cab home. now i know this can't be done here but I lived in a small town so most customers where known on a first name basis.

    as i said maybe shane does regret his actions, but i believe he regrets that he got caught and not that he drove. if he hadn't been stopped do you honestly think he'd be on her saying "do you think i should go to AA coas I got behind the wheel while drunk and got away with it" he would in his arse. if anything it would probably entice him to do it again coz he got away with it once.

    and before anyoen asks if I have ever drank and got behind teh wheel, yes once 10 years ago, and like shane i "wasn't really drunk" and like Fitz onle "a little over the limit" in a country where teh drink driving limits are higher than in Ireland. I ended up in a ditch and only because someone drove by a while after was I taken to hospital. luckly no serious damage and more importantly nothing more serious tha a screwed up car and a dead deer to worry about. and to this day I regret it. My company christmas party is tomorrow night, i'll cost me about €50 in taxi fares to and from the thing but my keys will stay at home coz €50 is not a lot when compared to what else is at risk, my life, my job, someone elses life.
    chump wrote:
    Why is everyone being so critical of shane.

    It could just be bad luck that in the only two incidences where he was drunk and broke the law and put lives in danger, he happened to get caught.

    Unfortunate for him.


    like hell it is bad luck, he knew what he was doing getting behind the wheel. pure and simple fact. so i think its safe to assume you think its ok to be DUI once you don't get caught? feel the same about rape and murder do you? once you dont get caught its ok?

    teh criticism is as was said be my and others teh fact the he is trying to use and abuse a care system with limited resources to keep out of eth slammer coz he was too stupid to leave teh keys at home, or if he had to leave teh car in the parking lot and get a cab. we're not ctiticizing his bad luck.


  • Hosted Moderators Posts: 7,486 ✭✭✭Red Alert


    I'm sorry to see you back here again shane with a problem. Like a lot of the other posters I'm a bit disappointed that this has happened to you, and it's not very nice for your christmas to have this hanging over you.

    I'd be inclined to hope we all learn from our mistakes. I got really drunk a couple of nights years ago and then knew from experience that I just couldn't handle that amount of drink. Luckily I didn't do any harm to anyone or myself!

    I would say go along to AA, no matter what your own personal reasons are, as you can't change how you feel. You might however find it a much better guide/help than you think. Yes I would imagine a judge would look favourably on it, but he might have been just that bit more impressed if you didn't leave it until another incident to sort out the problem.

    On the drink drive thing: I'd never drive a car having had any drink at all that day, because even after a glass or two I do badly playing GTA, never mind a real car. The only reason the limit shouldn't be put down to zero is residual alcohol from a night out (like this morning if I drove in i'd be under the limit, but not zero). Just don't take the car if you want a drink.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9,314 ✭✭✭Talliesin


    fits wrote:
    Goodness do any of the posters on this thread realise just how easy it is to be caught while barely over the limit???
    It's extremely hard to be caught over the limit if you don't combine the activity of drinking alcoholic drinks and the activity of driving a vehicle.

    Unfortunately it's also far too hard to get caught if you are actually over the limit.

    I think the OP should go to the AA because he might get help with his drink problem, whether that problem is alcoholism or not. It might also help him get a lesser sentence, but hopefully he'll still have to do some time.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 14,239 ✭✭✭✭fits


    To clarify things a little, I do agree with the drink driving laws as they stand.. Its the only way to go about things...

    Having said that, to be caught over the limit means you were guilty of being over the limit, nothing more, nothing less.
    It doesnt mean you're guilty of murder, or responsible for the 400 dead people every year... now that could be just because you were lucky, or not... but I do wish people wouldnt get so sensationalist about it...

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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 118 ✭✭ats


    fits wrote:
    to be caught over the limit means you were guilty of being over the limit, nothing more, nothing less.
    ..


    does this still stand if the person found guilty of being over the limit happens to have an RTA and kill someone? or seriously injures them?

    granted they may not have gone out with the expressed intention of running someone down or having an RTA but they did intentionally get behind the wheel so the possibility of an accident is increased a hell of a lot due to response times etc. they may not have intended to kill someone, but they did and yet most people who do that often get a lesser charge of manslaughter or what not maybe a year or two in the slammer. (not sure what the sentence is these days so open to correction). my over all point is the end result is the same, someone is dead by the intentional act of being DUI. unlike manslaughter which basically means accinential death in that you may kill someone in a fight or even while driving with 0 in your system, the fact you drive with alcohol or narcotics or what not in your system in my eyes means you should face a tougher sentence than DUI. it should be mandatory time behind bars. and i know the original thread had nothing to do with injury from being DUI but I'm trying to highlight the effects that drink driving has. its not just a case of crap i'm banned from driving for a few months, it can have a lasting effect on other people if there is an accident involved.

    IMO there is no excuse for drink driving. be it over or under the legal limit if you want a drink dont drive not even 1 beer, there is always an alternative be it taxi, bus, train, vomit comet, or even the good old (and probably wobbly) feet.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 14,239 ✭✭✭✭fits


    ats wrote:
    does this still stand if the person found guilty of being over the limit happens to have an RTA and kill someone? or seriously injures them?

    Silly question tbh... of course not...


    This is an emotive subject for a lot of people quite understandably... I just feel like theres a lot of grey in between the black and white...

    I live in a rural area and was at a party on Saturday night, I was driving so not drinking however... the following morning myself and OH decided to go for some breakfast at about 11.30, OH just hopped into drivers seat without thinking and we drove 2 miles to village. There was a checkpoint, and we honestly didnt know whether or not he was under the limit, breathalyser came up as zero, but it could easily have been at the limit, its just so hard to tell these days! And its dependant on how much you've eaten, how well liver is functioning, how fit you are etc.
    Same thing happened after Electric Picnic at same time in morning, after stopping drinking at same time night before and he came up as being close to limit.. We were in camper van so pulled in and had some breakfast and coffee before going further.
    I must get me one of those breathalyser keyring thingys...

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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9,314 ✭✭✭Talliesin


    fits wrote:
    breathalyser came up as zero, but it could easily have been at the limit, its just so hard to tell these days!
    We don't have new modern alcohol that affects ones brain differently than it did in the old days.

    What you can't tell is if you're in the situation where you shouldn't be driving, but you might be okay legally.


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