Beer and Drunk Driving

Thank You. Still hard to accept to this day. 49 and with a wife and son....

 

The toothpaste is kind of out of the tube on this one.

All I know is if it's 2 am and I'm in the city 6 miles from home, I'm sure as shit calling an Uber or Lyft.

Tough to find a cab in many areas these days.

 

Not trying to start a serious off-thread discussion or stir up any strong emotions, but to me trying to debate lyft/uber getting around regulations by being a cab, not cab company is like debating the idea of paying servers a real/living wage before tips vs. relying only on tips, and so on. It's just a long, drawn out, difficult and emotionally taxing discussion to have with no obvious answer. The server one is just a much longer/older established policy.

 

You guys don’t think I married my wife for love, do you?

 

Wait, what? It's illegal to drink in the streets here? Bugger, that changes things. Street parties are all doomed from here on out!

 

There's a difference between a "real" street party and being allowed to drink in the streets. I know you're just being funny, but it's different. In New Orleans, especially, you can have an open container basically anywhere. Hell, remember that Louisiana has drive-thru daiquiri shops (my wife's cousin owns one), and they just put a little piece of tape over the straw. Most cities, towns etc., you can't just walk down the street with an open container. BUT, if there is some type of event, whether it is a singular business or otherwise, yea, you can have open containers there.

 

I've been to NOLA several times for work (and once in my college youth), and had a conversation like this in the past decade or so:
Coworker: Ready to go?
Me: Wait, let me chug this...
Coworker: No, get a go-cup.
Me: (pondering)... oh, right, NOLA... go-cup.

 

I think it was pretty common. I remember stories from my uncles, my dad, and others about how common it was, often involving snow plows and slightly less than legal deer hunting. I drove drunk a lot when I was younger because I was drunk, stoned, or both a lot and consider myself a fortunate man having survived, no wrecks, and no harm to others. Young and dumb, certainly not proud of my early "adulthood". Open containers were pretty much commonplace for me, often multiple open containers. I can remember my dad covertly having a beer in the truck a time or too and he wasn't even a big drinker.

One huge change is in the sheer volume of vehicles on the road which obviously raises the probability of disaster. I live in a rural area pretty much where I grew up. Not the middle of nowhere only 15 miles or so from Providence and 40 minutes from Boston. But I can remember riding my bike around town for an entire day without seeing a car on the road and being taught to drive on empty roads. Now it can take five minutes just to escape my driveway and there are vehicles around constantly. It is a huge change and the odds of vehicular mayhem are high even when sober, so why do anything to make it worse. I don't even want to teach my grandson to ride a bicycle on the road, much less teach him to drive.

But based on the number of DUIs that make the news around here and the stories of repeat/chronic offenders, the number of empty nips on my lawn, the WTF moments on the road? I'm not sure it has changed that much. Then add in cell phones, the cars I see that I swear are straight out of a Cheech and Chong movie... Hell I saw a dude the other day Facetiming with the tablet held on the steering wheel. I think one could argue that impaired or distracted driving have gotten worse.

So based on my personal history coupled with the density of people and vehicles on the road, I am very careful. Believe me - I am very happy that I have lived to learn my lesson without harm to self or others. I don't drink when we dine out. Work situations I find it useful to let everyone else drink and just listen. On the road, I'll have a beer or two in the hotel room. My weakness is brewery visits, but I avoid the high ABV stuff, stick to tasters or small pours, limit the count strictly, and eat/drink water. And I take my time. I'd rather spend the money and buy a few unknown beers to drink at home versus alternatives that could be pretty grim. Having a shitty beer at home isn't going to land me in jail or worse, and I am a pretty good judge of a brewery's capabilities after seeing how they run their shop.

 

I don’t condone drinking and driving in general, but there’s definitely gray areas.
As @John_M mentioned there are reasonable precautions to take.
If I’m going to have a few drinks at Santé Adairius I’m doing it at 2pm and driving my wife’s car (which is much nicer than mine).
I’m never going to have a few drinks and drive home at midnight in a beater car with a burnt out taillight.

 

My Uber driving client got arrested for DUI 3 weeks ago on the job. You're taking chances every day as well even if you're not aware of them. No debate?. . . yes, I usually take that as a challenge.

Its very common. 95% of our roads out here are dirt roads. Dirt road sodas are almost a rite of passage. Only incidents are relatively rare and single vehicle (assumption of risk cowboy shit).

Shit a bottle of Hottenroth and 2 red solo cups in the console is/was practically a mando for me in the summer months.

A few LE here have some sweet side by sides and like to party. Not all driving under the influence is illegal. Minimize your risk for sure, know your ability/tolerance. Wear a helmet and seat belt. Roll with it, the wheels will be back on the ground in no time. And don't let no morbidly obese person tell you about safety and shit. For whatever reason, they seem to be the biggest lecturers on "helth" (sic) and "risk" wo any sense of self awareness.

Ah so your gripe possibly is with government regulation as opposed to business innovation that eludes what might be seen as economic regulation disguised as economic protectionism? I can see that. Same with this "independent contractor" shell game trick shit.

The Taxi theme song is underrated. Shit the whole show is underrated. BRB going to go watch Taxi episodes.

 

If I had the time to go out and drink I’m lucky enough that I can walk to Flying Fish here. I usually pace myself regardless. My last drink will be a water and the way my body works is that it’s Emma as long as I’m not plastered, if I drink a couple waters and wait about an hour just chillin I’ll be ok to drive. If not then it’s Uber or walking I’ll get my car later

 

Basically, yeah. Either remove the regulations from the cab companies, or put the same regs on the Ubers. Level playing field for all.

Although, I believe most cabbies are also "independent contractors". At least here in my town, they 'rent' the cab for $75 bucks a day, and have to leave it full for the next driver. Whatever they get over the 75 and gas is what they keep.

 

Living 13 miles from a small town I just decided to drink at home. If I go to the brewpub in town I have one beer unless I have town errands to do on foot, then I'll have a second beer. \the road home is full of large wildlife so I'm not willing to risk an accident. It makes my life simpler. And drinking in bars lost it's appeal many, many years ago.

 

My wife doesn't drink, so she's my DD most of the time. If i'm out with friends, I typically have a no-drive backup plan, which often proves difficult because we have no Uber of Lyft drivers around here.

 

I have several friends who are cops and when this changed to .08 in Minnesota they said almost exactly what you said here...they were writing up someone who may or may not have been a danger at .081 while another person goes driving by at .25 and hits someone head on....not my words or thoughts...what the cops I know were telling me...

 

Just to add one more scenario to hopefully scare folks from driving drunk, or even buzzed.

I worked with a man who drove over the limit, but as I recall he wasn't very drunk, I mean, he wasn't two or three times over the limit, but he was definitely over, don't wish to minimize that in any way. On his drive home a drunk guy stumbled off the sidewalk and into the street and the guy hit him, and killed him. At his trial his lawyer proved he had slammed his brakes and swerved and did everything possible to avoid hitting the man. His lawyer proved the man who was killed was way drunker than the guy who hit him. Two years and one destroyed life later he was acquitted, but no job, hated by the public who followed the trial in the papers, and no prospects. Point is, he wouldn't even have been arrested, let alone charged with manslaughter, if he hadn't been drinking. So bad shit can happen to you even if you are able to drive just as safely buzzed as sober (I have known folks like that). So many reasons not to do the stupid DWI thing.