Is it okay to drink and drive?

Question

This issue has been at the forefront of my family lately and I was wondering what you all think about it.

Is it okay to drink and drive if you are not impaired or is having any alcohol before driving just a bad idea altogether?

Drinking alcohol is such a big part of socializing here in my city that I think it would be virtually impossible to avoid drinking and driving to some extent. This is the majority opinion in my family -- drink responsibly and it's okay to drive.

On the other hand, it makes me angry when a person gets into a car drunk and puts other's lives at risk. I feel that they have no right to be on the road if they are drunk and that they are violating my right to be safe.

What do you think? Do you and your friends or family drink and drive? Have you ever driven drunk and regretted it?

Answer 1

In my state it is ok. The state will even provide a person free room and board for doing it. And bracelets, and free rides in police cars.

• Jajaja...perfect. - --Mariana-- Apr 19, 2011
• ...Nice - GuitarWarrio Apr 19, 2011
• Ja ja ja! - SonrisaDelSo Jun 6, 2011

Answer 2

I'll keep it simple:

Any alcohol causes impairment. The more you get, the more impared you become.

Given that it's only a matter a degree, it's about judgement now.

So can the person drinking be the judge...? Remember, he's impaired, and the first thing he'll get wrong is this judgement...

So you figure it out!

• Bingo! - amykay Apr 19, 2011
• Exactly! - Echoline Apr 19, 2011

Answer 3

On the other hand, it makes me angry when a person gets into a car drunk and puts other's lives at risk.

Exactly. That's what I hate.

..

Me parece aceptable que tomen solamente una copa o dos y conduzcan, pero más de eso no me parece nada bien. Lo que pienso hacer cuando pueda conducir es no ir en el coche si ya sé que voy a beber. Hay otras maneras de transportación, no tengo que conducir todo el tiempo solamente porque tengo un coche.

• ¡Sí! Exacto -- Hay otro tipos de transportación. - --Mariana-- Apr 19, 2011
• íBien hecho, Culé!:) Las personas que quieren beber podrían tomar un taxí, el autobús, el tren etc..en lugar de usar sus coches - FELIZ77 Apr 19, 2011

Answer 4

Nooooo it isn't... I feel very strongly about this topic.

I don't drink any alcohol if I'm driving. Because I never can tell if today is a day it goes down well or not. I'm not much of a drinker so I might respond badly to it and I'd rather not take any chances whatsoever. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I were to cause an accident that results in the death of someones husband / wife / child / mother / father.

In my opinion the combination of drinking and driving is an absolute NO. Everyone considering to drink and drive should contemplate how they would feel if a loved one were to be run over by a drunk and realise they could be about to do the same.

Answer 5

The problem with drinking and driving is that a lot of people have a drink or two and think that they can drive better than ever. Drinking makes you feel like you can do no wrong and it creeps up on you before you know it. No doubt, some people can have a drink and be okay to drive, but why take a chance. Driving while drunk is the leading cause of traffic accidents.

And yes, I have driven while drunk and I am very lucky to be alive.

Answer 6

Oh God no, drinking and driving is sooo horrible. I have a friend here where I live whose husband we killed by a drink driver. When it happened my friend was only about 38 and their daughter was 9. Now this nice little girl does not have a father. I can't imagine anything worse. Like Ron said, it's very rare for a person to say to themselves, "Oh yeah, I'm waaaayyy too drunk to drive!" People think they are ok, then they get behind the wheel and kill someone. It's just so sad.

Answer 7

Drinking alcohol is such a big part of socializing here in my city that I think it would be virtually impossible to avoid drinking and driving to some extent

I really take issue with that statement. Drinking or not drinking alcohol is a matter of personal choice and responsibility. There is absolutely no reason that one cannot socialize with a non-alcoholic drink in their hand. It is not "virtually impossible" to avoid drinking and driving. It is a choice, pure and simple, and shifting the blame from personal responsibility to "social pressure" is buying into a lie of the worst magnitude.

I would love to hear anyone utter that sentence above to a mother....or a wife....or a husband...or any loved one who has lost someone to a drunk driver. It has nothing to do with your city....it has to do with the crowd that you choose to socialize with. I would love to hear that sentence used as a defense in a court of law (actually, I'd hate it because it would mean that yet another person had their life changed in the blink of an eye by the chosen, irresponsible behavior of another human being).

• Cathy, I agree with you completely :) - FELIZ77 Apr 19, 2011
• Please see my comments in a later post. - --Mariana-- Apr 19, 2011

Answer 8

Short answer - no it's not.

I have lost five relatives and eight friends to drunk drivers. Another three friends have killed themselves the same way. I'm sure all the drivers thought they were fine.

Answer 9

Of course it's okay at the time you make the decision to do so. You are competent, you feel totally in control, you know full well that the alcohol you have consumed will do nothing to impair your reactions.

It's after you've hit that young child who is now trapped under the wheels of your vehicle that you are suddenly brought back to reality and realise that you were in no state to make the decision in the first place.

• Exactly Eddy well said:) - FELIZ77 Apr 19, 2011

Answer 10

I quit driving over 4 years ago because I never liked it and had adopted a life style where it wasn't necessary, so what I do isn't particularly relevant. However, to be statistically valid, a study of the effect of alcohol on driving ability must also test the blood alcohol levels of people who have not been in accidents, and an unbiased sampling must be made of the entire driving population. To the best of my knowledge, this has only been done once and the surprising result was that the group with the lowest accident rate had blood alcohol levels of around .06.

• Interesting. A level of .08 is illegal in my state, Massachusetts. - --Mariana-- Apr 19, 2011
• Maybe minor imparement makes a driver more cautious. - pesta Apr 19, 2011
• such statistics have no value without statements as to who collected them, when, how, etc. If you drink, however little, do not drive. - Lector_Const Apr 20, 2011
• And statistics collected without this approach have no value, no matter who collected them, when, or where they were published. - lorenzo9 Apr 20, 2011
• especially if those taking them had had a drink or two. - ian-hill Jun 6, 2011

Answer 11

I am with Ron on this, Yes I have done it as well and thank God have never had an accident. I had a service station and wrecker business as a young man and saw the result of this up close and personal, helping to cut people out of the twisted wreckage.

Many European countries have a zero tolerance policy. and regardless of the time of day or reason for the traffic stop you will get the breathalyzer.

In México we are using the same rule as the U.S.which allows a person more or less two drinks before being over the limit.But even with this, the police are ineffective and we see the result of drunk driving.

At the base of this is personal responsibility,and that is something that cannot be regulated, therefore the wise person will just not drink and drive, the risk to oneself and others is just too great.

Answer 12

Recently in my city, an older couple that had run a day care for many years were killed when a car driven by a 16 year old girl crossed the center line and hit them head on. Was the girl drinking? No, she was texting.

I have encountered drunk drivers on the roads. I have also encountered people talking on cell phones and texting. Frankly, I can tell from their driving behavior that both conditions result in impaired responses and judgment.

To lighten the mood, the Jack Daniel's distillery is a few miles away from where I live. I occasionally visit there for a wonderful tour of the facility. The guide always says the company gives a bottle of Jack Daniels to every employee the first Friday of each month.

They say that is the only day every employee comes to work.

• The leading causes of acciidents seem to be: being distracted because the driver is doing something in addition to driving, speeding, impairment due to alcohol or drugs, and being a teenager. - lorenzo9 Apr 19, 2011

Answer 13

Mi abuela ha sobrevivido un choque hace treinta años; y hoy día, tiene heridas que no se han mejorado. ¡Que suerte es ella que solamente tenga una pierna que la duele! Es una lastima que hayan personas que no hacen frente y juguetean con la seguridad suya, y la de todos a su alrededor. Por favor - te ruego de lo hondo de mi corazón - si bebes, no conduzcas. Si sales a beber, siempre trae un chofer designado contigo. Solamente tú puedes poner freno a las heridas y muertes causados por conducir bajo la influencia. Que le vaya bien.

• es verdad. - Echoline Apr 19, 2011

Answer 14

Cathy said:

It is not "virtually impossible" to avoid drinking and driving.

You're absolutely right. What I meant to say by that statement, and a clearer way to express it would be: "In my city it would be virtually impossible to eliminate drinking and driving" given the atmosphere of social acceptance.

I try very hard to convince people not to drink and drive...not even that one beer or glass of wine...because the risk is simply too great.

There is absolutely no reason that one cannot socialize with a non-alcoholic drink

I am always the designated driver because I drink alcohol very rarely and don't mind socializing with a soda water.

• Yes, Marianne, I don't think there is a place on earth (city, rural, first world, third world) where this would not be true....unfortunately. That is why we must drive defrensively...and report anyone driving irradically. - Echoline Apr 19, 2011

Answer 15

I'll start with....I did very well from ages 12 to 21 (drinking that is) and remember vividly getting into a car and driving away from many parties after having a "few"...unfortunately a few wasn't a "few". Each time I thought to myself...this is stupid, I shouldn't be doing this and yet I drove because I was the "sober" one of the bunch. Of course I didn't start driving until I was 16 but I was still in no condition to drive. Like Ron, probably should've been killed on multiple ocassions. Then and now I think how stupid it was and when I hear about people under the influence and driving or doing something stupid I know it's stupid. Should you just have a few and drive, No! Should you have a lot and drive No! I hope this helps and sheds a little light on the "issues" I have...Marianne....my skype light is yellow and I'm on the net??!!! Crud...I'll get it. jajajaja Nice post chica Besos

• At least you are wiser now, Jason:) - FELIZ77 Apr 19, 2011
• I'm so glad that you grew up and chose better. - Echoline Apr 19, 2011