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My solution to drink driving laws and rural isolation.

SafeSurfer

I was driving home from the pub last night after having a couple of pints while waiting for a chinese. Before I get lectured about being irresponsible the pub is on the age of a small village with deserted country roads about 2 miles from my house.

The pub was deserted, especially for a Friday night. A couple of weeks ago an elderly bachelor was found dead in his house. He was last seen 4 days before by the postman. This was a man that went to the village for a couple of pints every night and drove home about 3 miles again along quiet back roads.

The man in question had stopped going to the village since the introduction of the stricter drink driving limits which effectively mean any more than a pint and you could be convicted for drink driving.

I am also aware of the hurt and damage caused by drunk drivers and the misery this has left in its wake.

However. My idea is to allow a higher drink driving limit for people driving tractors. Say to double the current limit so someone driving a tractor could have 2 to 3 pints and still drive home.

What do you think?

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mikemac1

Interesting

The council could pay you your beer money for cutting the grass

spoonbadger

Quite the thread, lot of people falling over themselves to see who can say, "drink driving r bad" the loudest.

For my two cents, I'll point out that john-joe driving home after a couple in the local kills far fewer people than some tit in a subaru doing 100mph to impress his friends after ten cans of tuborg. Or no cans of tuborg.

If it were up to me, and possible, I'd rather have a test that determines whether someone is too stupid to drive. Would solve the problems of speeding, drink driving etc. "I'm sorry sir, the breathalyzer says you are an idiot, please step out of the car".

Novella

My dad was involved in an accident caused by a drunk driver years ago and suffered a severe brain injury which left him with epilepsy. So although the accident was over two decades ago now, he still feels the effects of it. He's been out of work for a year next month because he fractured vertebrae during a seizure in his sleep.

So ya know what? No. I don't think anyone should drive whilst under the influence of alcohol. I don't think they should drive cars. I don't think they should drive tractors. I don't think they should drive on rural roads. Yeah, the chance of an accident might be slimmer, but there's still a chance and as far as I'm concerned, that's enough.

Wattle

spoonbadger wrote: »

Quite the thread, lot of people falling over themselves to see who can say, "drink driving r bad" the loudest.

For my two cents, I'll point out that john-joe driving home after a couple in the local kills far fewer people than some tit in a subaru doing 100mph to impress his friends after ten cans of tuborg. Or no cans of tuborg.

If it were up to me, and possible, I'd rather have a test that determines whether someone is too stupid to drive. Would solve the problems of speeding, drink driving etc. "I'm sorry sir, the breathalyzer says you are an idiot, please step out of the car".

If John-Joe gets behind the wheel after a skinfull on those crappy unlit roads isn't he more likely to kill or seriously injure himself? Who would look after the farm then?

oppenheimer1

There are taxis to be got in rural areas as some taxi drivers have realised these areas can be more lucrative to serve than sitting in a long queue outside Dublin Airport. The problem with taxis in rural areas is their cost, journeys tend to be longer and more expensive.

Where there is a crisis however there is opportunity. Rural pubs are closing which should be leading to more concentrated numbers in those that remain. It would be in the publicans interest therefore to provide transport, either free or at low cost to regulars. Indeed if he provided a pick-up and drop-off service he might see an increase in custom, encouraging people to go out.

The drink driving laws are in everyones benefit as they make the roads safer. It is up to publicans to make their pubs more appealing places to go to in light of these laws - not the taxpayer by providing booze buses for rural areas. I have no sympathy for publicans who see their custom drop off if they cannot be innovative. I also have no sumpathy for auld fellas who put others at danger because they want a few pints but don't want to organise a safe way home for themselves.

spoonbadger

Wattle wrote: »

If John-Joe gets behind the wheel after a skinfull on those crappy unlit roads isn't he more likely to kill or seriously injure himself? Who would look after the farm then?

No? people drive successfully on "crappy unlit roads" every day. They will drive less successfully when sloshed, but that is true of anyone on any road. How drunk they are will have more of an effect than the quality of the road.

dreamers75

Drink drive limit should be zero.

Solves everything really.

[Deleted User]

dreamers75 wrote: »

Drink drive limit should be zero.

Solves everything really.

Not if you have a medical condition that naturally ferments sugar in your gut!

spoonbadger

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

There are taxis to be got in rural areas as some taxi drivers have realised these areas can be more lucrative to serve than sitting in a long queue outside Dublin Airport. The problem with taxis in rural areas is their cost, journeys tend to be longer and more expensive.

Where there is a crisis however there is opportunity. Rural pubs are closing which should be leading to more concentrated numbers in those that remain. It would be in the publicans interest therefore to provide transport, either free or at low cost to regulars. Indeed if he provided a pick-up and drop-off service he might see an increase in custom, encouraging people to go out.

The drink driving laws are in everyones benefit as they make the roads safer. It is up to publicans to make their pubs more appealing places to go to in light of these laws - not the taxpayer by providing booze buses for rural areas. I have no sympathy for publicans who see their custom drop off if they cannot be innovative. I also have no sumpathy for auld fellas who put others at danger because they want a few pints but don't want to organise a safe way home for themselves.

Taxis are a non-entity in certain rural places. I grew up in one. They weren't there. You'd have to have one drive all the way from the nearest town, pick you up, drive you home and then drive back. Costs a lot. There are taxis in a lot of places, but no, there are definitely not taxis everywhere.

Some publicans nearby did have a hackney service, which kept them going alright. It certainly seems like the best way for them to get customers and make sure they make it home safely.

Wattle

spoonbadger wrote: »

No? people drive successfully on "crappy unlit roads" every day. They will drive less successfully when sloshed, but that is true of anyone on any road. How drunk they are will have more of an effect than the quality of the road.

Why combine both? Both factors together would increase the chances of an accident no?

Battered Mars Bar

hairyprincess wrote: »

If they refrain from going out one of the nights in the week that they go out they will have the money to drink and get a taxi the other nights. Everybody is happy

You do realise a taxi in this scenario can cost 40 euros, 20 to get the pub and 20 back for a 10 mile journey for instance.

flanum

for those that live downhill from the local, whats wrong with the auld dunnes trolley? or maybe a wheelie bin attached to a skateboard? they could hitch to the pub and leave said vehicle parked where the kegs are stored! simple!

[Deleted User]

flanum wrote: »

for those that live downhill from the local, whats wrong with the auld dunnes trolley? or maybe a wheelie bin attached to a skateboard? they could hitch to the pub and leave said vehicle parked where the kegs are stored! simple!

Load up with a full one for a bit of ballast!

MadsL

More donkeys need. Train em well and ride em home. They know where to go.

somefeen

I would like to second the donkey idea.

Caseywhale

The solution is to make it legal for the publicans to sell pints of lager or stout without alcohol, but to pretend there is alcohol in them.
So when the aul lads go out and drink 2 or 3 pints they wont actually know the difference.
so they think they are driving home over the limit but they are not.

we had a party in our house when i was at uni. so decided to play a little practical joke.
we said there was free beer but it was only carlsberg (we had hundredsof empty bottles ) and replaced the lager with alcohol free and put the tops back on just before the party. Nobody noticed, and the funniest thing was that most of them thought they we drunk after a few and started acting drunk.. even complaining of hangovers next morning.

even when we told them afterwards they didnt believe us.

stovelid

So much of what passes for debate on this subject is actual assimilated publican propaganda.

Maybe people also stay away because of drink prices too.

But then its easier to put pressure on your local gombeen politicians than run a promotion or run a mini bus out of the pub.

Like the poor taxi drivers and their long-lost monopoly.

Or the poor provisional license holders who go and build their lives around cars in the full knowledge theyre not qualified to drive.

It's always the government isn't it: never you.

Milk & Honey

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

And none of the bar staff would take a fiver to drop someone 2 mile out the road?

The bar staff wouldn't be insured to do it, for one thing. For another, there would be security issues at the pub if bar staff were leaving to drive customers home.
Publicans providing transport is better than nothing but it can mean people having to stay in the pub until the transport is ready. That might be too late for some and they might drink more than they intended.

stovelid

Milk & Honey wrote: »

Publicans providing transport is better than nothing but it can mean people having to stay in the pub until the transport is ready. That might be too late for some and they might drink more than they intended.

Tough.

sh1tstirrer

Where To wrote: »

I can have 14 different companies (some are companies, some are single operators) comprising 50+ cars at my front door within 10 minutes and I live in the one of the most rural and disadvantaged parts of the country.

Lack of taxis or hackneys is a myth, country areas are generally better served than urban areas. Better service and value too;)

So tell us where is this isolated place that you live that can have a taxi at your door within 10 minutes of calling them?

SafeSurfer

stovelid wrote: »

It's always the government isn't it: never you.

For years Ireland had an appalling record of road deaths and injuries. That has fortunately been changed in recent years through the introduction of the traffic Corps, penalty points, clamp down on speeding and drink driving etc.

BUT. The single biggest reason for the reduction in road fatalities in Ireland has been because for the first time we have roads fit for purpose. For decades we had among the worst roads of any developed country. Up until recently and in many places still, the main roads linking our towns and cities are simply dangerous. Poorly designed, badly maintained and unlit. Compare the statistics for fatalities and accidents on our old N road network with that of the new motorway network.

So past governments are partly responsible for consistent underinvestment in our road infrastructure while simultaneously admonishing citizens for the carnage on our roads.

corktina

somefeen wrote: »

I would like to second the donkey idea.

a Sulky might work...totally exempt from all laws.

Kolido

SafeSurfer wrote: »

But one can still get behind the wheel of a car after drinking and it is perfectly legal. What is illegal is if you drink more than the 50mg blood alcohol limit allows.

Thats all well and good but I doubt the lads we are talking about here are going to the pub for a sniff, there going to have a few pints.

spoonbadger wrote: »

Quite the thread, lot of people falling over themselves to see who can say, "drink driving r bad" the loudest.

For my two cents, I'll point out that john-joe driving home after a couple in the local kills far fewer people than some tit in a subaru doing 100mph to impress his friends after ten cans of tuborg. Or no cans of tuborg.

If it were up to me, and possible, I'd rather have a test that determines whether someone is too stupid to drive. Would solve the problems of speeding, drink driving etc. "I'm sorry sir, the breathalyzer says you are an idiot, please step out of the car".

The probability doesnt matter, if it can save one person its worth it. Its unfortunate that these old lads have limited opportunity for socail outlet but you cant risk peoples lives by letting them drive under the influence.

sh1tstirrer

corktina wrote: »

a Sulky might work...totally exempt from all laws.

That's true but don't forget to say to the Garda when he stops you "sorry boss I didn't know that I was goin down the wrong side of the road"

BattleCorp

Defiler Of The Coffin wrote: »

It's completely unworkable to have one drink driving rule for the poor oul fellas and another for the rest. Drink driving has become socially intolerable over the last number of years and hopefully it continues that way.

I sympathise with the fact that a lot of elderly people in rural Ireland are lonely but allowing them leeway to perform a dangerous act isn't the answer.

Ah yes, but we do have different rules on drink driving already.

A professional driver and a provisional driver have a lower legal blood alcohol level allowance than the rest of us.

3ndahalfof6

its all about the alcohol, take it away and so many life's would be saved, it is the scourge that has destroyed many life's and families, it is a drug and without it how much better this place would be,

but if that happened there would be a lot less taxis,

JustAddWater

Milk & Honey wrote: »

hairyprincess wrote: »

If you can afford to go out drinking then you can afford a taxi home.

Simple as.

Do you know the price of drink? After buying a few pints very few people would have the money left for a taxi. Especially if they go out drinking a few nights a week. People generally have a choice. They can pay the publican or the taxi driver but not both.

Let me get my litlle tiny violin...

So endangering others lives is a much better choice?

Immaculate Pasta

I heard a great story on drink driving once. This friend of mine knew someone who went out the night before got hammered and had work the next day. He woke up the next morning still drunk but was insistent he'd make his shift. Anyway he drove into work, got to his desk and when he answered the phone to a customer he was still slurring his word. The manager went over, furious, could smell the drink on him still and sent him home. He said I'm calling you a taxi now and I'll give you a bollicking tomorrow. The manager called him a taxi sent yer man then stumbled in and went to sleep.

He then woke up a few hours later about 1 o clock. Panicked because he realise he had work to go to and looked out his window and was shocked to see his car missing. He phoned the manager and said in a frantic tone "I'm sorry I haven't phoned or been in to work today, my car's been stolen and I've been phoning the police and the insurance claims all day." The manager just said "You fucking eejit, you've already been in today!"

. Yer man had forgotten in his drunken haze he'd already been to work! Still kept his job though like :eek:.

sheeper

Just wondering why all the people complaining about the dangers of drink driving a tractor bucause of their size and power are quite happy to let 16 year olds drive em

Old man driving home after a few scoops vs 16 year old with a full silage trailer on the back ( I know who I would rather meet on a county road

3ndahalfof6

sheeper wrote: »

Just wondering why all the people complaining about the dangers of drink driving a tractor bucause of their size and power are quite happy to let 16 year olds drive em

Old man driving home after a few scoops vs 16 year old with a full silage trailer on the back ( I know who I would rather meet on a county road

this was done already, in back to the future.