Drinking and driving, a reminder you never want to be in.

[srfdude]

My brother is currently a FO of a major airline, having 20,000+ hrs. He has been nailed twice for alcohol, and gone through the program twice, and in a sense still going through it, as he is a (I forget the term he uses) but some sort of counselor. I was surprised he was hired this time but it was at the beginning of covid and the airlines were desperate?
At any rate, not dissing the alcohol problems on the highway in any way, I think cell phone usage is equally or even worse, as it is not always found and blamed for accidents.

 

[Pablo]

"Alcohol is not a drug." So glad that saying is behind us.

Tough to watch. Why did they record that? Glad they recorded that.

 

[JeffKeryk]

"Alcohol is not a drug." So glad that saying is behind us.

Tough to watch. Why did they record that? Glad they recorded that.

In my case, other's opinions about booze or whatever are none of my concern.
I just ask myself, "How many times you been in jail"?
Then, "How many times sober?"

I have one person to blame.
For that, I am responsible.

 

[fat biker]

My alcoholic old man drank every day. Some days a lot. Alcohol was one of the substances that killed him, along with tobacco.
From the very little he ever told me about my grandfather there is not one doubt that he too was a drunk.
In my early twenties I was a binge drinker.
I stopped drinking for ten months, since then with only a few lapses I am able to drink in moderation.
By the toughest definition I have read, I am Alcoholic.
Every day, I am thankful for changing my behavior.

On the several times I drove drunk, how did I not injure or kill someone?
Why was I never arrested for DUI?
Simple answer? Blind, Dumb Luck.

I firmly believe that as a society we need to discuss Automobile Universal Breathalyzer Ignition Interlock.
I also believe that every highway on ramp should have https://www.onewayspikes.com/
Cost, always an issue. No idea what all this would cost and who should bear the cost.
I expect the question comes down to what dollar value do we assign to an individual's life?

fat biker

 

[Just a civilian pilot]

My alcoholic old man drank every day. Some days a lot. Alcohol was one of the substances that killed him, along with tobacco.
From the very little he ever told me about my grandfather there is not one doubt that he too was a drunk.
In my early twenties I was a binge drinker.
I stopped drinking for ten months, since then with only a few lapses I am able to drink in moderation.
By the toughest definition I have read, I am Alcoholic.
Every day, I am thankful for changing my behavior.

On the several times I drove drunk, how did I not injure or kill someone?
Why was I never arrested for DUI?
Simple answer? Blind, Dumb Luck.

I firmly believe that as a society we need to discuss Automobile Universal Breathalyzer Ignition Interlock.
I also believe that every highway on ramp should have https://www.onewayspikes.com/
Cost, always an issue. No idea what all this would cost and who should bear the cost.
I expect the question comes down to what dollar value do we assign to an individual's life?

fat biker

I don’t support any changes until they treat distracted drivers the same way.

More people are killed by distracted drivers nowadays but they aren’t treated like drink drivers until they kill someone too often ( Canada ).

I still remember a young woman telling me she has had two accidents caused by her rear ending people ( write off ) because she was texting and driving but she was not charged with anything worse than following too close. She said she put her phone away and police never suspected this was the cause.

How many other drivers are like her, lots I bet and they rarely get caught unless someone gets killed and they check the phone possibly.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I don’t support any changes until they treat distracted drivers the same way.

More people are killed by distracted drivers nowadays but they aren’t treated like drink drivers until they kill someone too often ( Canada ).

I still remember a young woman telling me she has had two accidents caused by her rear ending people ( write off ) because she was texting and driving but she was not charged with anything worse than following too close. She said she put her phone away and police never suspected this was the cause.

How many other drivers are like her, lots I bet and they rarely get caught unless someone gets killed and they check the phone possibly.

2 wrongs don't make a right.

 

[JeffKeryk]

My alcoholic old man drank every day. Some days a lot. Alcohol was one of the substances that killed him, along with tobacco.
From the very little he ever told me about my grandfather there is not one doubt that he too was a drunk.
In my early twenties I was a binge drinker.
I stopped drinking for ten months, since then with only a few lapses I am able to drink in moderation.
By the toughest definition I have read, I am Alcoholic.
Every day, I am thankful for changing my behavior.

On the several times I drove drunk, how did I not injure or kill someone?
Why was I never arrested for DUI?
Simple answer? Blind, Dumb Luck.

I firmly believe that as a society we need to discuss Automobile Universal Breathalyzer Ignition Interlock.
I also believe that every highway on ramp should have https://www.onewayspikes.com/
Cost, always an issue. No idea what all this would cost and who should bear the cost.
I expect the question comes down to what dollar value do we assign to an individual's life?

fat biker

Alcohol is big business; don't expect a breathalyzer. And if so, people will find a way around them. Look at the lengths idiots go to trick Self Driving Controls?
People will claim they have rights.

Awareness is the answer. But it often comes when it is too late, I'm sorry to say.
Congrats on getting your life in order. In my case, total abstinence is the only answer.

 

[ripcord]

Social pressure is the most effective deterrent. Make them wear a scarlet DUI. Only kind of joking.

 

[Just a civilian pilot]

Social pressure is the most effective deterrent. Make them wear a scarlet DUI. Only kind of joking.

Same with people caught texting and driving.

 

[nomas]

My wife got hit by a drunk driver . Totaled her car . Well , the FD had to cut the roof off and rip the passenger seat out to extract her . She had a partially collapsed lung , fractured ribs , and over 60 stitches in her left arm where they dug glass out . The jackass that hit her had no drivers license , no insurance , no job , and no assets . This was his third offense . He blew a .240 . Not a scratch on him .

 

[Al]

Thanks for the kind words...
Let's just say Police Officers and Judges helped me understand. Jails. Fear. Homelessness. Being broke all the time. Broken teeth.
I take no credit for my sobriety; it's a gift. That's my experience.

You are likely now a much better man the great majority. Congratulations sir.

 

[Al]

A good friend from my HS class of '64 married his HS sweetheart. 12/13 years ago she was killed by a drunk on her way home from work as a nurse. So sad.

 

[JeffKeryk]

My wife got hit by a drunk driver . Totaled her car . Well , the FD had to cut the roof off and rip the passenger seat out to extract her . She had a partially collapsed lung , fractured ribs , and over 60 stitches in her left arm where they dug glass out . The jackass that hit her had no drivers license , no insurance , no job , and no assets . This was his third offense . He blew a .240 . Not a scratch on him .

I am so sorry. Your dear wife was an innocent victim. This is so wrong. There are no words. I hate alcohol; it scares the you-know-what outta me.

You are likely now a much better man the great majority. Congratulations sir.

I am one of the lucky ones. End of story.

I could have been the drunk driver that hit nomas' wife. And I know it.

 

[Pablo]

My wife got hit by a drunk driver . Totaled her car . Well , the FD had to cut the roof off and rip the passenger seat out to extract her . She had a partially collapsed lung , fractured ribs , and over 60 stitches in her left arm where they dug glass out . The jackass that hit her had no drivers license , no insurance , no job , and no assets . This was his third offense . He blew a .240 . Not a scratch on him .

Death penalty

 

[Wylie6G72]

In 2000, my sister and her boyfriend were enjoying margaritas at her house, and he left to go to his house. After not receiving the usual "I'm home" call, and an hour of trying to reach him on his cell phone, to no avail, in a panic, she jumped in her car to go look for him. She rounded the corner onto his street to see his Mustang upside down against a tree, and cop cars everywhere. She flew out of her car and ran to the scene, and was immediately arrested for drunk driving.

Hot on the heels of that, my cousin closest in age to me was killed in a horrible highway accident because the guy he was riding with was three sheets.

What my family has gone through due to drunk driving changed my whole perspective on the subject. Prior to this I had driven "buzzed" and even drunk, countless times. Now I refuse. When are we go out, either I drink, or my spouse drinks. Period.

 

[dbias]

Being retired from my fire department since 2016 I miss a lot of things but cutting people from dui induced collisions is not one of them. The smell of alcohol and steaming antifreeze is something I’ll never forget.
In December 2000 I was coming home from the main station after going to vacation draw for the upcoming year. I was in my F350 and a drunk hit my from behind going about 50 miles an hour while I was setting still at a red light. He had hit a car load of college students two blocks back and was running from that accident when he hit me. His Cadillac sedan deville punch under the center right side and pushed the right rear wheel almost under my driver’s seat. The big ball hitch I had on my truck came within an inch of his nose.
He was a prominent CPA in town with a lot of connections. And after I came back to work from back and hip surgery the court case finally worked it way through many delays by his connected friends and he finally got what he deserved. He had been convicted or plead guilty to first offense drunk driving EIGHT times before he hit me. Many people came by the fire station to talk to me about not appearing, offers of money and various other things but I wasn’t going to let this one slide. He got two years in jail. Three years of home confinement and lost his license to drive for ten years.
A good lawyer friend of mine assisted me in practically taking most of what he had and the insurance policy coverage didn’t hurt.
Sad thing is a lot of the collisions I worked the drunk driver usually suffered less injuries than those they hit.

 

[Bladecutter]

I never liked drinking, and the only real times I did was in college ('93), because I would go with a group of guys to make sure they got back to the dorms safe from the lake they would have their bonfire drinking parties at. They drove me there, and I drove them all back. If I didn't have at least 1 beer, I would be relentlessly harassed all night long as the favorite target. God, how I hate Old Milwaukees Best.

Decided in '95 that I never needed alcohol again in my entire life, and the number of times of people who asked me if I don't drink because I am / was an alcoholic is staggering. Nope, I'm just smart enough to know how to avoid wasting money on things that do me no good in life.

Unfortunately, so few people listen to my recommendation to cut drinking out of their lives before something bad happens to them.

 

[Donald]

Just remember alcoholism is a medical condition. It would be nearly impossible for a alcoholic to go to bed saying he will stop drinking in the morning and when the next day comes he never has another drink. Treatment & AA are the only solutions.

Now many drunk driving crashes are when a non alcoholic gets wasted at a party and kills someone on the way home. Education is probably the best answer there along with a host looking out for her guests.

Not saying there should not be consequences for driving drunk.

 

[Thermo1223]

This happened fairly recently in my area;

https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/be...ges-after-shopping-center-crash-cops-say.html

A blood-alcohol content test later revealed Hines had a level of .326% at the time of the accident, city police said. Penalties for most drivers in Pennsylvania begin at 0.08%

The amount of people on social media gaslighting and saying "everyone makes mistakes" is staggering. She should be held to the highest standard but the general public just thinks it was a "bad decision".

I like some in this thread had many times I got lucky but should have been in jail in my youth now at 42 those days are gone. I recently had way to much mourning over a friend who passed, drove home, and summarily got yelled at severely and well deserved by the wife.

It was a wake up call as I don't often go out and drink like that but it will not happen again. My daughters heard the commotion and that is not the father they deserve to see.

 

[nomas]

Death penalty

He should have been in jail instead of driving drunk . The Prosecutor told us that the guy actually had ANOTHER DWI that was too old to be counted against him . The Judge lectured him and he hung his head and looked all sad . He barely got another slap on the wrist and probably got drunk that same night . I lost track of the guy's name . I would love to know whatever became of him . Prison I hope .