Society & Culture Drinking and driving and you

[The Old Dark Navy's]

I don't believe I have ever been over the limit and driven. I usually use one of those breath testers. Even then, I have only done that on a handful of occasions. Mostly, I won't even have one drink if I am driving. There is just no point in starting and tempting fate.

I have been in a car with someone who was extremely drunk though. I was only about 14 so couldn't really stop him. Twice I have been in a car with a driver that was wasted, one I knew, the other I was hitchhiking. Funnily enough, on that latter occasion, we went past an accident scene out in the country and there were bodies covered in sheets out on the grass. I hope the guy who picked me up got something out of that.

 

[Upgrayedd]

See its kinda scary being in a car when you know someone doesnt have complete control, would never get into a car if i couldnt react to the enviroment where it could cause me/others harm.

I remember my friend threatening me to let him drive me home, only 5 minutes so eventually i said yeah alright, took the keys off him as soon as he got to my house and i told him to walk the hell back.

 

[Changaneen]

See its kinda scary being in a car when you know someone doesnt have complete control, would never get into a car if i couldnt react to the enviroment where it could cause me/others harm.

I remember my friend threatening me to let him drive me home, only 5 minutes so eventually i said yeah alright, took the keys off him as soon as he got to my house and i told him to walk the hell back.

^^^^ Coming from someone who drinks seven beers in under two hours and thinks he's under the limit

 

[maka]

so i went to Carbon Bar last night, and watched Australia vs Japan (wont put up the results just in case), i followed that up by watching Man Utd in the FA Cup (another result i wont post), i got there at 11pm and stayed till 3am, so in that 4 hours i had one Pint of Ted's, one pint of Heineken and 2 stubbies of Corona, i thought ahh yeah 4 hours have passed, i should be good, but for the first time ever i blew into one of them machines at the pub, i blew 0.085, i was freaking nearly double the limit and felt perfect, needless to say i slept in my car for another 2 and a half hours

* I blame this thread * , but so there you go, no matter how good you feel, no matter how sober, you never really know.

 

[borntigerfan]

I did it about a year ago and got caught. I was .118 at the time and thought none the wiser. I am just glad that i wasn't involved in any accident but i have learnt a valuable lesson after 11 months without my license being unable to do the things that we all take for granted. I just hope that i have taught a few others along the way and my screw up actually may have prevented someone else from doing the same thing. Now i dont get in the car until i am under .00. I bought a tester just to make sure.

 

[Ljp86]

Playing for a cricket club, I see drink driving all the time. Until the penalties for doing so are much higher, people will keep drinking and driving simply because they can as the penalties for the lesser infringements are only minor. I've seen guys who can barely get the key in the ignition drive home.

If people want to drink and drive it's their choice but they'll have to suffer the consequences if something goes wrong. Personally, I don't see a problem with someone having a couple of beers over a three or four hour period and then driving home. If I drive, I'll generally have two or three beers and space them out before driving home. There's a lot of people who are just stupid and choose to have way too much and then drive and that's when it becomes a major problem.

 

[fairdinkum]

Bullshit.

I don't drive a car, but...:

.

Yawn.

 

[Walesy]

Just out of curiosity- does anyone have the numbers on how many road fatalities are caused by people between 0 and 0.05?

 

[Upgrayedd]

Just out of curiosity- does anyone have the numbers on how many road fatalities are caused by people between 0 and 0.05?

I remember a year ago i saw some figures about accidents and drinking, between 0.02-0.09 its nothing out of the ordinary even lower then what you expect, however after about 0.14 your about 22 times more likely to be involved in an accident and the graphy just went verticle after 0.16

However absolutly impossible to gauge these things correctly

 

[GoTheSwannies]

I'll start by saying I used to drink drive alot when I was younger, and not only did I drink drive, but I did some dangerous shit as well (which I'm not proud of). Drink driving was commonplace around my area because we lived 40 minutes out of the city, so on the weekends someone would be drink driving to get us home from the club. We were all around the 18-22 year age bracket, and I was too stupid/naive to consider the consequences of my actions, it was just the risk I took if I wanted to have "fun", and it seemed like everyone around me shared the same attitude, someone had to take one for the team. Sure, not drinking was an option, but being young and dumb, that option sucked.

I used to sometimes drive 30/40 minutes home drunk. Sometimes me and my mates would be having a quiet drink at someone's house, then at 12am after I'd had maybe 4/5 drinks, driving to the city to go clubbing sounded like a great idea. Sometimes I'd speed, gpoing upwards of 100km/h.

Eventually my stupidity caught up with me, I was driving back to the hotel from the club (simple 5 minute cab ride would've done the trick), but no, I was stupid enough to drive, got done, mid-range, lost my license for 6 months, $1500 fine. It really was a blessing though, and not in disguise. It wasn't until that moment, that I stopped to think about the consequences, and other potential hazards of my actions. I'm just thankful that I didn't kill myself, my mates or any other innocent people.

As a result of getting done, and a few more years of maturity I feel I'm a much more responsible drinker. I still like my drink, I still ocassionally have 2 or 3 over the course of a night when I'm driving. I'm much more aware of my limitations, and of how I feel when I'm tipsy. I usually have a go on the breatherliser at the club and make sure I'm well under .05 before I get behind the wheel.

I see nothing wrong with having a couple of drinks if you're driving, as long as you're responsible about it. Bringing the limit down to .0 or .02 is rediculous imo and would be punishing everyone because of the actions of a few.

In one of the articles it said someone that had had 1 drink over dinner would be 5 times more likely to get into an accident. I'm not sure how true that is, but I also would like to point out that people who have been out to dinner would also be more likely to be driving a car load of people and probably more distracted by conversation etc. If they hadn't had a drink would they still have had an accident? perhaps.

Other than that, I'd also like to see the data on fatalities as a result of people driving while under .05. Like the other guy pointed out, I'd assume it's more mid-high range drink drivers that case a majority of fatalities.

The other statistic that stood out was that it was the 18-22 age bracket that led to a higher number of fatalities while drink driving. I think it's more a reflection of immaturity, lack of judgement, poorer driving skills + having a car full of drunk/rowdy friends causing distraction, rather than simply being a result of having alcohol in their system. It's those other factors combined with alcohol consumption that you don't find in mature drivers (keeping in mind I'm talking about < .05, not drunk drivers).

There's no doubt that your reflexes/decision making skills are impaired even at .05. But as long as you adopt a defensive driving style, drive at or below the speed limit and generally concentrate then you should account for most incidences. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that there's a difference between someone who speeds/drives agressively who is at .05, and someone who is a more sensible driver at the same BAC level.

Rather than restricting everybody, I think more emphasis should be placed on reducing the alcohol for drivers under the age of 22 regardless if they're on their full's (not sure if this is done in any states atm). In my experience, I lacked the maturity to make the appropriate choices in regards to drinking/driving at that age.

The other factor is education. For me, there are pockets in society where drink driving is acceptable. I never considered the possibility of killing someone while drink driving. I think the RTA etc should include compulsory educational sessions detailing the possible effects of drink driving/fatalities etc just to open people eyes to the possibilities.

 

[woopedazz]

Only when I'm so drunk I don't think about the consequences.

 

[Chirf]

Good doco' on ABC now about drink/drug driving.
Some of you on here could do worse than take a good look

 

[Schulzenfest]

Now i dont get in the car until i am under .00.

Good luck with that.

 

[The Norm]

Didn't read the whole thread so not sure if it's been mentioned, but what are people's thoughts on smoking and driving?

Do many people who smoke regularly not drive when stoned?

 

[cammo84]

Didn't read the whole thread so not sure if it's been mentioned, but what are people's thoughts on smoking and driving?

Do many people who smoke regularly not drive when stoned?

I do it more often than I should. I used to live in the country and regularly drove back from the city while stoned. I'd never do that these days. If I drive stoned, it's just to the shops or somewhere else local. I never do it at night (too paranoid about random drug testing), and never do it if I've had a couple of beers too. I don't drive straight after smoking a cone, I usually wait a while for the intensity to die down. I would never drive after a big session, only if I've had one or two bongs.

It's not a very good excuse, but I actually believe I am way more careful on the road if I've been smoking. I tend to relax when behind the wheel sober (loud music, one hand on the wheel), whereas if I'm stoned my full attention is on the task at hand, I usually turn down the music, put both hands on the wheel and pay attention to everything happening on the road.

 

[Chirf]

I do it more often than I should. I used to live in the country and regularly drove back from the city while stoned. I'd never do that these days. If I drive stoned, it's just to the shops or somewhere else local. I never do it at night (too paranoid about random drug testing), and never do it if I've had a couple of beers too. I don't drive straight after smoking a cone, I usually wait a while for the intensity to die down. I would never drive after a big session, only if I've had one or two bongs.

It's not a very good excuse, but I actually believe I am way more careful on the road if I've been smoking. I tend to relax when behind the wheel sober (loud music, one hand on the wheel), whereas if I'm stoned my full attention is on the task at hand, I usually turn down the music, put both hands on the wheel and pay attention to everything happening on the road.

Well I feel better that you turn down the music when stoned

**** wit

 

[Hurls_18]

I drove drunk on a Sunday morning a few weeks back on the way to work (only 5 minute drive). I had sunk a fair bit the night before and only had 4 hours sleep. I was travelling 20 under but it's still stupid and selfish. I don't condone it one bit. Just ask yourself how you'd feel if someone killed a family member because they were drunk. Anyway thats my two cents.

 

[the fly]

At around my weight (100kg) if i had 7 standard beers the recognisable blood/alcohol level for anybody normal is assumed at 0.12. Sounds twice as much as the legal limit right?

Now Slash off depending on circumstances (food ect) at the least with no food or anything (just sitting and drinking) 0.01 every 40 minutes, now if i said 2 hours that brings me down to 0.09 at least. with we can assume is 0.03, making me about 0.09

I decided to check that out using the formula that I learnt when I got my RSA Certificate.

According to that, 7 standard drinks in 2 hours for a 100kg male equates to a BAC of approx. 0.081. Even this calculation is fairly conservative, so still being under the limit at that stage isn't 100% inconceivable when alcohol leaves your body quicker than average.

 

[Upgrayedd]

I decided to check that out using the formula that I learnt when I got my RSA Certificate.

According to that, 7 standard drinks in 2 hours for a 100kg male equates to a BAC of approx. 0.081. Even this calculation is fairly conservative, so still being under the limit at that stage isn't 100% inconceivable when alcohol leaves your body quicker than average.

You really cant judge it on random stats however, if i didnt eat all day and smashed them all down i nthe second hour i would probably be drunk. But yeah how they work it out in an average man i would blow 0.08 after 2 hours with 7 beers, i dont understand how its therefore impossible for me to be under 0.05 after that amount


ANYWAYS. I found a nice little graph someone was asking for earlier

 

[The_Whisper]

Drink Driving

Hey, long story short-

Got done the day after a big night (0.06) back late last year, and didnt lose my license until i paid the fine - at least that is what i thought.

Side swiped a car on the 30th of Jan, and just found out i didnt have my license at the time (lost it 3 days earlier), if i try to get my insurance to cover it, will they 100% check in to see if i had a license at the time? and then get done for driving with a suspended license on top of the damage? only $1700 worth of damage...

anyone work with an insurance company? cheers

and yes im a not all there.

 

[THFC_70]

Re: Drink Driving

serach function noob lololololololollolololo

 

[THFC_70]

Re: Drink Driving

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=791410

 

[Messenger]

6 bumps

 

[The_Whisper]

Re: Drink Driving

its more of an insurance question than drink driving story now that i think about it

 

[Caesar]

Re: Drink Driving

How did you not realise the date your suspension began? I lost mine a couple of months ago (not for drink driving) and I got at least 2 or 3 letters reminding me when I had to cease driving.