Drink driving

~~John Wilkes Booth~~ · 01-24-2015, 03:47 PM

i remember hearing something about how it's actually no less dangerous to use bluetooth than it is to just talk on the phone. seems counter intuitive. could be incorrect too, i dunno. but it was something along the lines of the distraction from the convo is what makes it dangerous, not necessarily having to hold the phone.

Ninetales · 01-24-2015, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Agreed, but that's not necessarily an arranged thing. You can stay up too long or work too hard and be tired, sure, or drive away from a bad meeting with your ex or whatever, and in those cases it's true you should probably exercise common sense and not drive till you've recovered. But it doesn't hold a candle to driving while under the influence of alcohol, which IS an arranged thing. Nobody goes out and gets accidentally drunk. You know damn well what you're doing, and it's your fault then if you have an accident.

Also, saying this happens and that happens is not an excuse. You could say well people talk on their mobile phones while driving, but all that does is add another category to the things people should not do when driving. And for my money, drink driving is at the top of the list.

yeah its not an excuse. im not talking about getting drunk tho. a couple beers during dinner and watching sports =/= drunk. I don't think having one beer is a big deal, for me atleast, as I don't think it hinders driving skills in any discernible way ie I don't get tipsy or anything. I know my own personal limits and if ever I was worried that I was incapable of driving I would not do so. even if I was drunk.

~~John Wilkes Booth~~ · 01-24-2015, 04:38 PM

i really get the vibe from some people in this thread that they regard alcohol with an almost mystic level of distrust

thread related: i will be attending a catholic church that serves real wine as part of communion tomorrow. i really hope i can find a designated driver so that i won't be in danger of plowing into a farmer's market

Trollheart · 01-24-2015, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Wilkes Booth

i don't think the arranged vs not arranged distinction is really all that important. i can see your point to an extent, but all in all the fact that you didn't mean to get tired doesn't make it any less dangerous.

No, I didn't say it was. I just said that with drinking there's a higher probability of you having an accident, and just like being tired, you can rest and wait (or stay over/get a lift/whatever) with drink you can do the same. I must admit though, I have yet to hear of an accident caused by someone who was tired. The difference may be that you will REALISE you're tired, stop and do something about it, even if it's only sleeping in your car for a few hours (says he who does not and never has driven), but if you realise you're drunk or affected by drink the same idea does not seem to apply. Nobody says "I better book into a hotel because I'm too drunk to drive" ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pet_Sounds

They're OK. I actually saw a cop talking on her cell phone while driving yesterday, believe it or not. It didn't look like a police radio.…

Don't you know cops are above the law?

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Wilkes Booth

i remember hearing something about how it's actually no less dangerous to use bluetooth than it is to just talk on the phone. seems counter intuitive. could be incorrect too, i dunno. but it was something along the lines of the distraction from the convo is what makes it dangerous, not necessarily having to hold the phone.

You're right there: just talking on the phone, even with a handsfree (which is legal here) is dangerous. It is indeed the attention you divert from your driving that is the killer, sometimes literally. But holding the phone just gives you one less hand to steer with and one more thing to juggle in your brain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ninetales

yeah its not an excuse. im not talking about getting drunk tho. a couple beers during dinner and watching sports =/= drunk. I don't think having one beer is a big deal, for me atleast, as I don't think it hinders driving skills in any discernible way ie I don't get tipsy or anything. I know my own personal limits and if ever I was worried that I was incapable of driving I would not do so. even if I was drunk.

Yeah but I still think you're no judge of how drink will affect you. If you have a drink then you should not drive. It should be that simple. Again, says he who never drives....

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Wilkes Booth

i really get the vibe from some people in this thread that they regard alcohol with an almost mystic level of distrust

Not alcohol. Some (not all) people who abuse it. Guns don't kill people etc...

Quote:

thread related: i will be attending a catholic church that serves real wine as part of communion tomorrow. i really hope i can find a designated driver so that i won't be in danger of plowing into a farmer's market

Well if you do, be happy that you will be doing God's work.

~~John Wilkes Booth~~ · 01-24-2015, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

No, I didn't say it was. I just said that with drinking there's a higher probability of you having an accident, and just like being tired, you can rest and wait (or stay over/get a lift/whatever) with drink you can do the same. I must admit though, I have yet to hear of an accident caused by someone who was tired. The difference may be that you will REALISE you're tired, stop and do something about it, even if it's only sleeping in your car for a few hours (says he who does not and never has driven), but if you realise you're drunk or affected by drink the same idea does not seem to apply. Nobody says "I better book into a hotel because I'm too drunk to drive" ...

well as long as you've yet to hear of one, i'm sure it never happens.

honestly though trollheart you don't drink and you apparently don't drive so really it doesn't seem like you have much to go on here besides the fact that you always hear about it in the news when a drunk driver crashes.

Chula Vista · 01-24-2015, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

I have yet to hear of an accident caused by someone who was tired.

Falling asleep at the wheel is quite common.

Sleep-deprived driving - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ninetales · 01-24-2015, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Yeah but I still think you're no judge of how drink will affect you. If you have a drink then you should not drive. It should be that simple. Again, says he who never drives...

how am I not? ive had casual beers for years now so I know how it affects me more than anyone. if I got into an accident after having one beer I guarantee the alcohol would not be the cause.

Trollheart · 01-24-2015, 08:26 PM

Your attitude is the problem, and I don't mean that in an antagonistic way, but people who say "Oh I can drive, I'm fine, I only had one beer" are missing the point. I'd love to see some statistics of accidents that have been caused by people who "just had one beer". You're not alone, not by a long way: most people I worked with would "chance it". But once you're under the influence you are susceptible, and I just personally think you should not be chancing it.

Easy for me to say, yes, as I don't drink, but I bet a lot of people who caused accidents thought they were okay to drink. Admittedly, there are those who get behind the wheel stinking drunk, but I wouldn't be surprised to find that it's those who are only slightly above the limit who get into accidents. I would try to look it up but I'm way too busy and I don't want to start an argument here, or at least a bigger one. I just feel drink driving should be a zero tolerance thing: you don't know what's going to happen any more than I do, so why take the risk?

@JWB I don't behead people either but I see it on the news. What does your comment prove? The news is stuffed with stories about lives wiped out by people who were drunk or over the limit. Admittedly, speeding also plays a part but this is often allied to drink driving. How can you say I've nothing to go on? The stats are there from the road safety associations: it's not like it's a disputed idea. It happens, all the time. Just because I don't drink does not mean I can't believe what I see in the news. If you saw the wrecks of cars and the funerals we've had to watch here in Ireland (and I'm sure it's the same where you are) you might think twice about dismissing the idea, or saying it's only something a person who drinks can comment on, which I think is possibly one of the least intelligent things you've said on this forum. I don't need to drink to know that drinking and driving don't mix. It's pure common sense.

Ninetales · 01-24-2015, 08:35 PM

well im not rationalizing this when im drinking. I know, being completely sober, that i can drive after a single beer. i don't get drunk or tipsy after a pint. i get the whole "zero tolerance" thing but its just impractical (plus laws, here atleast, allow you to be over 0 if you have a certain license). i go to a restaurant, have a pint with my meal, and then leave. im not calling a cab every time i go out to eat. there are many more dangerous yet technically legal things people do while driving than having a single drink.

Chula Vista · 01-24-2015, 08:38 PM

Ya, I'm able to drive fine with a mellow buzz. I probably drive better than straight when like that. My big problem is my speech get's slurry after only one drink, so if I were to be pulled over I'd be screwed.

01-24-2015, 08:26 PM	#68 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Your attitude is the problem, and I don't mean that in an antagonistic way, but people who say "Oh I can drive, I'm fine, I only had one beer" are missing the point. I'd love to see some statistics of accidents that have been caused by people who "just had one beer". You're not alone, not by a long way: most people I worked with would "chance it". But once you're under the influence you are susceptible, and I just personally think you should not be chancing it. Easy for me to say, yes, as I don't drink, but I bet a lot of people who caused accidents thought they were okay to drink. Admittedly, there are those who get behind the wheel stinking drunk, but I wouldn't be surprised to find that it's those who are only slightly above the limit who get into accidents. I would try to look it up but I'm way too busy and I don't want to start an argument here, or at least a bigger one. I just feel drink driving should be a zero tolerance thing: you don't know what's going to happen any more than I do, so why take the risk? @JWB I don't behead people either but I see it on the news. What does your comment prove? The news is stuffed with stories about lives wiped out by people who were drunk or over the limit. Admittedly, speeding also plays a part but this is often allied to drink driving. How can you say I've nothing to go on? The stats are there from the road safety associations: it's not like it's a disputed idea. It happens, all the time. Just because I don't drink does not mean I can't believe what I see in the news. If you saw the wrecks of cars and the funerals we've had to watch here in Ireland (and I'm sure it's the same where you are) you might think twice about dismissing the idea, or saying it's only something a person who drinks can comment on, which I think is possibly one of the least intelligent things you've said on this forum. I don't need to drink to know that drinking and driving don't mix. It's pure common sense. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

01-24-2015, 08:38 PM	#70 (permalink)
Chula Vista Toasted Poster Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: SoCal by way of Boston Posts: 11,332	Ya, I'm able to drive fine with a mellow buzz. I probably drive better than straight when like that. My big problem is my speech get's slurry after only one drink, so if I were to be pulled over I'd be screwed. __________________ “The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”

01-24-2015, 03:47 PM	#61 (permalink)
~~John Wilkes Booth~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 2,235	i remember hearing something about how it's actually no less dangerous to use bluetooth than it is to just talk on the phone. seems counter intuitive. could be incorrect too, i dunno. but it was something along the lines of the distraction from the convo is what makes it dangerous, not necessarily having to hold the phone.

01-24-2015, 04:38 PM	#63 (permalink)
~~John Wilkes Booth~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 2,235	i really get the vibe from some people in this thread that they regard alcohol with an almost mystic level of distrust thread related: i will be attending a catholic church that serves real wine as part of communion tomorrow. i really hope i can find a designated driver so that i won't be in danger of plowing into a farmer's market

01-24-2015, 08:35 PM	#69 (permalink)
Ninetales Music Addict Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: livin wild Posts: 2,179	well im not rationalizing this when im drinking. I know, being completely sober, that i can drive after a single beer. i don't get drunk or tipsy after a pint. i get the whole "zero tolerance" thing but its just impractical (plus laws, here atleast, allow you to be over 0 if you have a certain license). i go to a restaurant, have a pint with my meal, and then leave. im not calling a cab every time i go out to eat. there are many more dangerous yet technically legal things people do while driving than having a single drink.