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Drink Driving

The King of Moo

Have you ever done it?

Do you think it's ok?

Having recently started driving, I can now understand the temptation to do it. It's very easy to find yourself having drunk a little bit, and being left with options like having to wait for a bus or pay for a taxi, and maybe the hassle of having to pick up your car the next day.

In those situations I think about driving, and feel for a second like I could do it.
But then I think about the fact that I know I still have some thinks to learn and can still make mistakes as a new driver, and adding alcohol doesn't help. Even if I feel like I can drive, I know my judgement is being affected by the alcohol, and my reactions won't be so good.
And it's simply too easy to cause some serious harm with such a dangerous machine, so I don't think I'll ever do it. It's not worth the risk.
But I've been surprised by the number of people who are not bothered about driving after a drink or two, so I'm curious about the general consensus on the issue.

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Dont call me Shirley

My two cents:

Driving home slowly and carefully on a quiet country road after a few pints. Fine.

Driving fast when tanked up anywhere, but especially in a built up area, should be a serious crime.

Filmer Paradise

Dont call me Shirley wrote: »

My two cents:

Driving home slowly and carefully on a quiet country road after a few pints. Fine.

Driving fast when tanked up anywhere, but especially in a built up area, should be a serious crime.

A bit of common sense here.

Good post.

No hyperbole. No hysteria.

Plain common sense.

doolox

...being a country boy and all. Someone with a few pints in the back of beyond and then someone on a 3 laner in Dublin, two entirely different things.

Little CuChulainn

doolox wrote: »

...being a country boy and all. Someone with a few pints in the back of beyond and then someone on a 3 laner in Dublin, two entirely different things.

Yeah, the guy on the back road might not be found til morning.

Jumboman

What gets me is that the limit is so low that you could be over the limit THE NEXT DAY after just a few pints.

Venus In Furs

Dont call me Shirley wrote: »

My two cents:

Driving home slowly and carefully on a quiet country road after a few pints. Fine.

Driving fast when tanked up anywhere, but especially in a built up area, should be a serious crime.

What about driving home slowly and carefully in a built-up area after a few pints?

Nate--IRL--

Jumboman wrote: »

What gets me is that the limit is so low that you could be over the limit THE NEXT DAY after just a few pints.

Drink less? Finish drinking earlier?

Nate

Kevin McCloud

Just have one in every bar be grand.

square ball

I honestly think that after 2 or 3 pints a lot of people would pass a test after an hour. I have driven after 2 or 3 pints and I can not say I noticed any difference in my driving. I wouldn't feel drunk or even tipsy after 2 or 3 drinks and would usually give myself an hour after finishing the last one. Couple of glasses of water and I think the majority of people would be fine.

It does come back to the whole rural/urban divide. Attitudes in rural areas are more tolerant as it is more difficult to have a couple drinks without driving afterwards than in an urban area. I'm over 4 miles from the pub and it would cost me the bones of €50 to get a taxi as it would have to come from the nearest big town. In towns I would be less tolerant of people drinking and driving as it is so easy to get a taxi even 24 hours and you are more than likely within a 500 metre walk from a pub.

Drink driving is becoming less and less acceptable and rightly so but I believe the limit is gone too low now.

One thing I have noticed becoming more common recently is people parking on the road and on bends to answer their phones in dangerous places.

braddun

never drive sober

Mesrine65

Chancer3001 wrote: »

Some people aren't bright enough to pick up on subtle humour.

Back at you Mr.Subtlety :rolleyes: :P

Saint Sonner

Sorry if this had already been covered as I am late to the discussion.

On the recent advertisement on the radio re drink driving they say it takes one hour to process a unit of alcohol does that mean if I go to a pub and drink one unit then if I'm stopped and breathalysed 60mins later I would pass?

[Deleted User]

Saint Sonner wrote: »

Sorry if this had already been covered as I am late to the discussion.

On the recent advertisement on the radio re drink driving they say it takes one hour to process a unit of alcohol does that mean if I go to a pub and drink one unit then if I'm stopped and breathalysed 60mins later I would pass?

Yes.

Saint Sonner

Deleted User wrote: »

Yes.

Never realised that!

So if I drink 6 pints tonight I can drive home 6 hours after the last one..... better get to the pub sharp!!!!

[Deleted User]

Saint Sonner wrote: »

Never realised that!

So if I drink 6 pints tonight I can drive home 6 hours after the last one..... better get to the pub sharp!!!!

No because there's a whole lot more than one unit of alcohol in a pint!

sh1tstirrer

Tail Docker wrote: »

I've heard rumours that if you are caught drink driving, the cops can prosecute you and you can lose your licence. That's reason enough for me not to chance it, ever. Mainly as I am not a fcuking muppet.

So you're just an ordinary muppet then?

ShowMeTheCash

Putting people at risk....
I know people who put other people at risk when they are sober...

Muppets can be muppet without drink!

jimgoose

I'm of a certain vintage and ilk that pretty much grew up with it, and would drive home from the local watering hole after three or four pints of stout semi-regularly for a long time in Elder Days. I packed that up completely in 2004, and my rule since is, not one drop. Unless the car/motorcycle/Kenworth rig/unicycle is parked up at home.

ShowMeTheCash

Drink driving is stupid everyone knows it is stupid however people tend to jump on a bandwagon about it.

Calling people muppets... OK

Trying to look for stats here but I remember reading that speeding and driving when fatigued result in more fatalites.

Have you ever driven when feeling tired?? Yes... You Muppet..
Have you ever driven above the speeding limit?? Yes... You Muppet.

Here is one stat

84% of people disapprove of speeding yet 69% do it.

Jumboman

ShowMeTheCash wrote: »

84% of people disapprove of speeding yet 69% do it.

I dont believe 84% of people oppose spending. Most people would have absolutely no problem with people speending on motorways.

Also I would say that close to 100% of drivers have gone over the speed limit at some point.

free_man

Bench Press wrote: »

up to about 4 years ago, I would drink drive nearly every weekend.

I didn't know boards.ie is accessible from hell

Jumboman

square ball wrote: »

I honestly think that after 2 or 3 pints a lot of people would pass a test after an hour. I have driven after 2 or 3 pints and I can not say I noticed any difference in my driving. I wouldn't feel drunk or even tipsy after 2 or 3 drinks and would usually give myself an hour after finishing the last one. Couple of glasses of water and I think the majority of people would be fine.

It does come back to the whole rural/urban divide. Attitudes in rural areas are more tolerant as it is more difficult to have a couple drinks without driving afterwards than in an urban area. I'm over 4 miles from the pub and it would cost me the bones of €50 to get a taxi as it would have to come from the nearest big town. In towns I would be less tolerant of people drinking and driving as it is so easy to get a taxi even 24 hours and you are more than likely within a 500 metre walk from a pub.

Drink driving is becoming less and less acceptable and rightly so but I believe the limit is gone too low now.

One thing I have noticed becoming more common recently is people parking on the road and on bends to answer their phones in dangerous places.

You may be no were near drunk but 2 or 3 pints would still have an effect on you.

I know this because I went out one night and decided not to drink because I was up early the next day.

After listening to my freind talk nonsense I coundnt listen to him any longer and decided to order just 1 pint. By having just 1 pint I was able to listen to my friend ranting after he had drank about 5 pints.

This just shows the power of alcohol if you go into a pub and not drink you will be bored out of your head. But just having 1 pint makes sitting in a pub a lot less boring.

nilsonmickey

I do it once in a while. 5 or 6 pints tops. Theres no busses Home and a taxi costs 20 euro

TwoShedsJackson

Saint Sonner wrote: »

Never realised that!

So if I drink 6 pints tonight I can drive home 6 hours after the last one..... better get to the pub sharp!!!!

There's 2 - 2.5 units in a pint.

free_man

nilsonmickey wrote: »

I do it once in a while. 5 or 6 pints tops. Theres no busses Home and a taxi costs 20 euro

Where are you from and when are you going to pub next ?

I need a new car and smashing my banger into a drunk driver will be godsend

Mesrine65

I would never drink & drive, ever...might hit a pothole & spill my beer

The Backwards Man

nilsonmickey wrote: »

I do it once in a while. 5 or 6 pints tops. Theres no busses Home and a taxi costs 20 euro

How much do the half a dozen pints cost?

How much does getting insured after a ban cost?

How much does living with killing someone cost?

That taxi is looking cheaper all the time isn't it?

sh1tstirrer

jimgoose wrote: »

I'm of a certain vintage and ilk that pretty much grew up with it, and would drive home from the local watering hole after three or four pints of stout semi-regularly for a long time in Elder Days. I packed that up completely in 2004, and my rule since is, not one drop. Unless the car/motorcycle/Kenworth rig/unicycle is parked up at home.

Jim if you're that vintage you surely remember that it was legal to have 3 pints before you were in danger of going over the limit.

Tail Docker

sh1tstirrer wrote: »

So you're just an ordinary muppet then?

yeah, one who's sister and all her family got mashed into more than a year in hospital when a drunk driver came around the bend on the wrong side of the road and ploughed into them head-on. The Muppet. And he walked away. They didn't.

Dont call me Shirley

Venus In Furs wrote: »

What about driving home slowly and carefully in a built-up area after a few pints?

If you were driving slowly enough I think it would be ok. But if everyone did it i suppose it would have a knock-on effect on traffic in built up areas.

For the record, I never drink and drive. I did it once or twice in my younger days and actually feel pretty guilty about it because I was too drunk.

I would like to see some scientific tests done comparing the impact of alcohol at different speeds. You know those figures they make you learn for the driving test where they break down how long it takes you to stop at different speeds.

I don't have those figures to hand but the pattern is something like this. At thirty mph it takes 1 second for you to react to a situation and apply the brakes. It then takes the car two seconds to stop.

At forty mph it takes 1 second for you to react and four seconds for the car to stop.

At sixty mph it takes 1 second for you to react and eight seconds for the car to stop.

Let's say that having three pints slows your reaction time by a factor of two. This would allow that you could still bring your car to a stop more quickly with alcohol taken at forty mph than you would sober at the speed limit.

Of course being outright drunk is still extremely dangerous because your reaction speed would decrease significantly and your judgement in other areas of driving would suffer.

But i think that if the proper safety studies backed it up I think there should be scope for an inbetween alcohol limit where you would have to drive at a percentage below the speed limit.