Do You Drink And Drive ?

[rucus7]

I didn't expect you to see it my way but the reality is that the number of people driving drunk everyday verses the number killing people every day is pretty close to 0. My town in America is VERY well enforced for traffic laws so no one even thinks about speeding , there are probabbly 100 people a night who dirve home drunk and their hasen't been a DUI death in 100 years.

Let me guess, some small podunk town in Texas. Or you are stretching the truth.

Edited August 14, 2012 by rucus7

[RabC]

Even if a handful of hard core alkies can handle driving plastered it is irrelevant. The vast majority of people can not and the law has to apply to everyone. People that can not stop driving drunk belong in prison.

Thats complete nonsence .... the number of drunk drivers who drive and get home safely evey night is FAR FAR more than the number involved in accidents and almost 0 that cause deaths compared to the number that don't , the reality is that it's a small fraction of drunk drivers not a large percentage of them that cause the accidents or deaths that are almost ALWAYS speeding related.

Your not real smart.. but i did not expect much else from a drunk driver. To expect all cars to have accidents who are piloted by drunk drivers is crazy. Then to say that that means its safe to drive and drink. It just increases your chances of getting in an accident. I know i can drive with my lights off and get home most of the time.. but i can pretty much grantee it increases my chances of an accident.

Robb you are urinating in the wind, it's the same defence they NRA use when they say it's people kill people not guns.

[MrRealDeal]

Tinted windows increase your risk , playing music increases your risk , having a passenger increases your risk , the question is does it increase the risk so much that it makes it so dangerous as to be something to worry about .... in my case I don't think so and the fact that I have never been in an accident would help back that up. For others that might not be the case and obviously for some it's not , so I agree with the law and accept it applys to me. If it makes you happier "drunk" to me would actually be within the legallity of the USA just not Thailand ..... I was tested by the cops once just about as drunk as I ever get and passed the breathaliser. But to me even that legal level is drunk enough to qualify and close to double Thai standards.

It's a podunk town in Montana but close enough

Edited August 14, 2012 by MrRealDeal

[thenervoussurgeon]

Yes i drink and drive my car ,in Britain i would be over the legal limit (i sniffed the barmaids apron) i would never drive if i was impaired and i certainly do not speed even if i have had only a couple of pints.which is about my whack anyway.

Edited August 14, 2012 by metisdead
: Underscore removed.

[BookMan]

Actually you could go to ANY Police data site and find out that virtually 100 percent of drunk driving deaths involve speeding , sorry but thats just the facts. Go look for yourself

The bad driving is a result of being drunk. So the deaths are a result of bad driving because of alcohol. That's not hard to understand is it?

[MrRealDeal]

Even if a handful of hard core alkies can handle driving plastered it is irrelevant. The vast majority of people can not and the law has to apply to everyone. People that can not stop driving drunk belong in prison.

Thats complete nonsence .... the number of drunk drivers who drive and get home safely evey night is FAR FAR more than the number involved in accidents and almost 0 that cause deaths compared to the number that don't , the reality is that it's a small fraction of drunk drivers not a large percentage of them that cause the accidents or deaths that are almost ALWAYS speeding related.

Your not real smart.. but i did not expect much else from a drunk driver. To expect all cars to have accidents who are piloted by drunk drivers is crazy. Then to say that that means its safe to drive and drink. It just increases your chances of getting in an accident. I know i can drive with my lights off and get home most of the time.. but i can pretty much grantee it increases my chances of an accident.

Robb you are urinating in the wind, it's the same defence they NRA use when they say it's people kill people not guns.

And you are sugesting it's NOT people who kill people ?

[richard_smith237]

I think we have to be careful in this thread. IMO there are two categories.

1) Driving after a drink: The person who has drunk one or two beers over a couple of hours, is under the limit and drives home.

2) Drunk Driving: The person who drives while clearly intoxicated and would fail the breathalyser test.

I have no issues with number one, I do it myself when having a couple of cans of beer on the golf course. I am confident I'd pass a breathalyser test.

I have issue and take objection to the careless characters who drive when drunk. There is no excuse, its against the law, its socially and morally unacceptable behaviour and its been prove to kill.

BUT: There is a third issue: I was out with my wife a few weeks ago, she was the driver (not drinking). She fell i'll so we left and I drove us home after 2 pints (over 2 hours). I wouldn't have have enjoyed facing the breathalyser on that occasion. But I didn't want to leave my car out over night.

A believe this is where a grey area exists, I was safer driving home than my wife who was ill. But realistically we should have left the car there and I picked it up the next morning.

Whenever I go out and think I might drink I never take the car unless my wife is with me driving (as above) even then something can catch us out.

It's not a perfect world and we don't need to harass the borderline 'couple of drinks and drive home brigade' but for the second category - They are deplorable scum who should be scorned, despised and banished from civilised society.

The problem - Most of my Thai friends drink and drive !!! - I hate it and they get a lot of stick for it from me.

One more Point: I ask my Thai friends if they know any of their friends who have NOT had a drink-driving related accident. I then tell them I don't know any Western friends who HAVE. I think that statement speaks enough for itself than many of the other comments one could make.

Edited August 14, 2012 by richard_smith237

[MrRealDeal]

Actually you could go to ANY Police data site and find out that virtually 100 percent of drunk driving deaths involve speeding , sorry but thats just the facts. Go look for yourself

The bad driving is a result of being drunk. So the deaths are a result of bad driving because of alcohol. That's not hard to understand is it?

Thats not hard to understand at all , but not everyone who is drunk sucumbs to the desire to drive poorly just because they have been drinking and their inabitions are less , some like me do the opposite and are extra carefull instead. But I am sure we are beating the dead horse here and I don't expect anyone to change their mind over the issue.

[DP25]

I was tested by the cops once just about as drunk as I ever get and passed the breathaliser.

Ahh...so you just don't understand what the word drunk means. Yes I agree people can drive home after a couple drinks if they are not drunk. Someone under the limit is clearly not even close to drunk, the limit errors on the safe side.

[MrRealDeal]

I think we have to be careful in this thread. IMO there are two categories.

1) Driving after a drink: The person who has drunk one or two beers over a couple of hours, is under the limit and drives home.

2) Drunk Driving: The person who drives while clearly intoxicated and would fail the breathalyser test.

I have no issues with number one, I do it myself when having a couple of cans of beer on the golf course. I am confident I'd pass a breathalyser test.

I have issue and take objection to the careless characters who drive when drunk. There is no excuse, its against the law, its socially and morally unacceptable behaviour and its been prove to kill.

BUT: There is a third issue: I was out with my wife a few weeks ago, she was the driver. She fell so we left and I drove us home after 2 pints (over 2 hours). I wouldn't have liked to have enjoyed facing the breathalyser on that occasion. But I didn't want to leave my car out over night.

A believe this is where a grey area exists, I was safer driving home than my wife who was ill. But realistically we should have left the car there and I picked it up the next morning.

Whenever I go out and think I might drink I never take the car unless my wife is with me driving (as above) even then something can catch us out.

It's not a perfect world and we don't need to harass the borderline 'couple of drinks and drive home brigade' but for the second category - They are deplorable scum who should be scorned, despised and banished from civilised society.

The problem - Most of my Thai friends drink and drive !!! - I hate it and they get a lot of stick for it from me.

One more Point: I ask my Thai friends if they know any of their friends who have NOT had a drink-driving related accident. I then tell them I don't know any Western friends who HAVE. I think that statement speaks enough for itself than many of the other comments one could make.

The only problem I have with that way of thinking is that the FIRST thing even 1 beer does is lower your inabitions and if you are the type who gets what is commly called alcohol balls even 1 beer and you might start making the road your personal race track , to me it's about can you handle your booze or not more than can you drive drunk.

[MrRealDeal]

I was tested by the cops once just about as drunk as I ever get and passed the breathaliser.

Ahh...so you just don't understand what the word drunk means. Yes I agree people can drive home after a couple drinks if they are not drunk. Someone under the limit is clearly not even close to drunk, the limit errors on the safe side.

It's not that I don't understand the defenition it's that in one place the defenition might be one thing and another something else Thailand is half of what Montana used to be but has now changed to .08 which is still higher.

And thats also not true ..... a person who drinks for the first time and is just below the "legal" limit is defenitly DRUNK. If You think a teenager at .01 is not drunk you would be wrong.

Edited August 14, 2012 by MrRealDeal

[richard_smith237]

I think we have to be careful in this thread. IMO there are two categories.

1) Driving after a drink: The person who has drunk one or two beers over a couple of hours, is under the limit and drives home.

2) Drunk Driving: The person who drives while clearly intoxicated and would fail the breathalyser test.

I have no issues with number one, I do it myself when having a couple of cans of beer on the golf course. I am confident I'd pass a breathalyser test.

I have issue and take objection to the careless characters who drive when drunk. There is no excuse, its against the law, its socially and morally unacceptable behaviour and its been prove to kill.

BUT: There is a third issue: I was out with my wife a few weeks ago, she was the driver. She fell so we left and I drove us home after 2 pints (over 2 hours). I wouldn't have liked to have enjoyed facing the breathalyser on that occasion. But I didn't want to leave my car out over night.

A believe this is where a grey area exists, I was safer driving home than my wife who was ill. But realistically we should have left the car there and I picked it up the next morning.

Whenever I go out and think I might drink I never take the car unless my wife is with me driving (as above) even then something can catch us out.

It's not a perfect world and we don't need to harass the borderline 'couple of drinks and drive home brigade' but for the second category - They are deplorable scum who should be scorned, despised and banished from civilised society.

The problem - Most of my Thai friends drink and drive !!! - I hate it and they get a lot of stick for it from me.

One more Point: I ask my Thai friends if they know any of their friends who have NOT had a drink-driving related accident. I then tell them I don't know any Western friends who HAVE. I think that statement speaks enough for itself than many of the other comments one could make.

The only problem I have with that way of thinking is that the FIRST thing even 1 beer does is lower your inabitions and if you are the type who gets what is commly called alcohol balls even 1 beer and you might start making the road your personal race track , to me it's about can you handle your booze or not more than can you drive drunk.

Yep, I agree with your point.

I'd also go as far as suggesting that we shouldn't drive with strong cold or flu symptoms. That's taking this debate a little far for now but IMO its the thin end of the 'Under the Influence' wedge (i.e. under the Influence of anything which may impair your capacity to operate a potentially dangerous vehicle and potentially cause harm to someone else or their property).

We also have to be realistic. Driver education could be better everywhere, DUI and its associated risks is a fundamental part of this driver education, as is wearing seat belts and placing your children in car seats....

Edited August 14, 2012 by richard_smith237

[RabC]

Robb you are urinating in the wind, it's the same defence they NRA use when they say it's people kill people not guns.

And you are sugesting it's NOT people who kill people ?

Anticipated Red Neck response, take away the guns/drunk drivers and reduce the number of deaths.

[giddyup]

I was tested by the cops once just about as drunk as I ever get and passed the breathaliser.

Ahh...so you just don't understand what the word drunk means. Yes I agree people can drive home after a couple drinks if they are not drunk. Someone under the limit is clearly not even close to drunk, the limit errors on the safe side.

It's not that I don't understand the defenition it's that in one place the defenition might be one thing and another something else Thailand is half of what Montana used to be but has now changed to .08 which is still higher.

And thats also not true ..... a person who drinks for the first time and is just below the "legal" limit is defenitly DRUNK. If You think a teenager at .01 is not drunk you would be wrong.

In some countries any amount of alcohol is enough to get your licence suspended.

[MrRealDeal]

I think we have to be careful in this thread. IMO there are two categories.

1) Driving after a drink: The person who has drunk one or two beers over a couple of hours, is under the limit and drives home.

2) Drunk Driving: The person who drives while clearly intoxicated and would fail the breathalyser test.

I have no issues with number one, I do it myself when having a couple of cans of beer on the golf course. I am confident I'd pass a breathalyser test.

I have issue and take objection to the careless characters who drive when drunk. There is no excuse, its against the law, its socially and morally unacceptable behaviour and its been prove to kill.

BUT: There is a third issue: I was out with my wife a few weeks ago, she was the driver. She fell so we left and I drove us home after 2 pints (over 2 hours). I wouldn't have liked to have enjoyed facing the breathalyser on that occasion. But I didn't want to leave my car out over night.

A believe this is where a grey area exists, I was safer driving home than my wife who was ill. But realistically we should have left the car there and I picked it up the next morning.

Whenever I go out and think I might drink I never take the car unless my wife is with me driving (as above) even then something can catch us out.

It's not a perfect world and we don't need to harass the borderline 'couple of drinks and drive home brigade' but for the second category - They are deplorable scum who should be scorned, despised and banished from civilised society.

The problem - Most of my Thai friends drink and drive !!! - I hate it and they get a lot of stick for it from me.

One more Point: I ask my Thai friends if they know any of their friends who have NOT had a drink-driving related accident. I then tell them I don't know any Western friends who HAVE. I think that statement speaks enough for itself than many of the other comments one could make.

The only problem I have with that way of thinking is that the FIRST thing even 1 beer does is lower your inabitions and if you are the type who gets what is commly called alcohol balls even 1 beer and you might start making the road your personal race track , to me it's about can you handle your booze or not more than can you drive drunk.

Yep, I agree with your point.

I'd also go as far as suggesting that we should drive with a strong cold or flu symptoms. That's taking this debate a little far for now but IMO its the thin end of the 'Under the Influence' wedge (i.e. under the Influence of anything which may impair your capacity to operate a potentially dangerous vehicle and potentially cause harm to someone else or their property).

We also have to be realistic though. Driver education could be better everywhere, DUI and its associated risks is a fundamental part of this driver education, as is wearing seat belts and placing your children in car seats....

I'm not sure what the laws are where you come from but where I come from cold medecine would certianly qualify for being impared and get you a DUI , in fact lack of sleep and driving while to tired to reasnably operate the car would also get you a DUI it changed from DWI which was driving while intoxicated to DUI which is driving under the influence to allow for the influence to mean pertty much anything that influences your driving.

[poanoi]

I did, i have most likely driven drunk more often than sober,

all my 3 accidents in Thailand however happened when i was sober, go figure.

But no longer, i won't spend the obligatory night in thai jail coz i had a beer,

in fact i never go out any longer, so many vendors are losing out

[Scully]

Tinted windows increase your risk , playing music increases your risk , having a passenger increases your risk , the question is does it increase the risk so much that it makes it so dangerous as to be something to worry about .... in my case I don't think so and the fact that I have never been in an accident would help back that up. For others that might not be the case and obviously for some it's not , so I agree with the law and accept it applys to me. If it makes you happier "drunk" to me would actually be within the legallity of the USA just not Thailand ..... I was tested by the cops once just about as drunk as I ever get and passed the breathaliser. But to me even that legal level is drunk enough to qualify and close to double Thai standards.

It's a podunk town in Montana but close enough

My uncle in the UK was hit by a drunk driver and now spends his life in a wheelchair. The driver was not speeding and was a respected middle aged woman who wasn't speeding but just failed to react quickly enough. This is purly anecdotal however I truly believe if she was sober this wouldn't of happened.

I have driven drunk taking a family member to hospital but felt the risk was the better of two evils. Would I go out drinking planning to drive home, absolutely not.

[mca]

I have been drinking and driving for some 35 years never been a problem it's not drunk driving that causes accidents it's drunk AND stupid driving , imo. Most drunk driving accidents have speeding or running a red light ect involved , driving drunk and obeying the road signs and traffic lights ect is not as unsafe as all that. It's drunken kids all hyped up with no experience that started the whole problem in the first place not adults driving home from the bar at night. I do however drive more slowly and carefully because I realise my reaction time is a little slower.

Is it a good thing or something to brag about probabbly not but it's also not some big thing to get worked up over either.

I've read some unadulterated wank on this site in my time but this takes the custard cream. You're either trolling or a complete <Snip>

My aunt was killed by a drunk driver back home. He was in his mid-fifties and under the speed limit. No doubt thought everything was hunky dory same as you. She was halfway across a pedestrian crossing when he slammed into her.The ambulance blokes were stars.They did their best. Apparently they were about a minute from the A and E when she succumbed I found out later. Left a hubbie and 2 teenage girls.

He was blubbering away like a frigging baby in court about how he was sorry. If he wanted any sympathy he should have bought a bloody dictionary and looked between R and T.

Drunk drivers? Scum.

Edited August 14, 2012 by metisdead
: Understandable outrage, however flame comment removed.

[StreetCowboy]

I have been drinking and driving for some 35 years never been a problem it's not drunk driving that causes accidents it's drunk AND stupid driving , imo. Most drunk driving accidents have speeding or running a red light ect involved , driving drunk and obeying the road signs and traffic lights ect is not as unsafe as all that. It's drunken kids all hyped up with no experience that started the whole problem in the first place not adults driving home from the bar at night. I do however drive more slowly and carefully because I realise my reaction time is a little slower.

Is it a good thing or something to brag about probabbly not but it's also not some big thing to get worked up over either.

Its crazy what you are saying its proven drunk driving kills.

Actually it's proven that bad driving kills but more often when drunk , talking on a cell phone is no less dangerous than drunk driving , if you actually looked at the deaths from drunk driving you would see that they come from BAD driving and speeding ect not from driving within the posted laws and causing death , the problem is that being drunk makes some people act more irisposibly and speed and not obey the other laws not that being drunk makes it so difficult to drive well enough if you are not speeding ect. Your point of view is a common misperception of the facts.

Your points are common for people defending drunk driving. There has been all kinds of research done into drunk driving. It is proven to kill, that other things are also dangerous does not excuse drunk driving. Response times go slower ect.

Its not drunk driving that kills people, its drunk crashing.

Its not drunk driving that kills people, its irresponsible people who make unreasonable demands on the reactions of others...

One of the reasons that I'll sometimes drive after a beer or two is to get the car home...

I acknowledge that even after one beer, my reactions and judgement are less sharp than before the beer, by the way

SC

[richard_smith237]

Tinted windows increase your risk , playing music increases your risk , having a passenger increases your risk , the question is does it increase the risk so much that it makes it so dangerous as to be something to worry about .... in my case I don't think so and the fact that I have never been in an accident would help back that up. For others that might not be the case and obviously for some it's not , so I agree with the law and accept it applys to me. If it makes you happier "drunk" to me would actually be within the legallity of the USA just not Thailand ..... I was tested by the cops once just about as drunk as I ever get and passed the breathaliser. But to me even that legal level is drunk enough to qualify and close to double Thai standards.

It's a podunk town in Montana but close enough

My uncle in the UK was hit by a drunk driver and now spends his life in a wheelchair. The driver was not speeding and was a respected middle aged woman who wasn't speeding but just failed to react quickly enough. This is purly anecdotal however I truly believe if she was sober this wouldn't of happened.

I have driven drunk taking a family member to hospital but felt the risk was the better of two evils. Would I go out drinking planning to drive home, absolutely not.

This is what separates the decent from the true a$$holes. There is no need whatsoever to drive if you are planning to drink. I'd even better that with if you are caught out by your lack of planning and find yourself 'drunk', the car (or bike) can stay where it !!

[metisdead]

An off topic obfuscation post has been removed as well as a reply. Another post has been edited to remove an inflammatory comment, the comment was understandable, however not allowed.

[Radar501]

Do I have a couple pints or glasses of wine and drive? Absolutely. Do I drive when legally drunk? Absolutely not.

Do you have a personal breathalyser, otherwise how would you know? Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe there is a zero tolerance policy when it comes to driving and alcohol, especially if involved in a serious accident.

Blood alcohol level can easily be calculated by a persons weight and the amount ingested over a period of time.

Not correct.

Some of the variables that exist are:

Body weight: A fat person will probably have a higher BAC than a muscular person of the same weight

Amount ingested over time: Did the person binge drink to start with, and then ease of, or was the drinking steady over time

Food consumption: A stomach full of food will release alcohol slowly to the intestines, and therefore to the blood stream

Liver health: A heavy drinker may have poor liver function. An unhealthy liver fails to break down alcohol, so the BAC stays higher for longer

Same person, different day: One particular person's BAC may vary from day to day, even with identical routine and drinking habits.

Hand-held and hotel breathalysers are very unreliable, so trust them at your peril. If the slightest doubt exists, don't drive.

[Mosha]

The car that runs a red light was driven by a drunk. The victims were on their way to school.

Removed link it doesn't work

Edited August 14, 2012 by Mosha

[MrRealDeal]

https://www.facebook...=timelineSingle

The car that runs a red light was driven by a drunk. The victims were on their way to school.

Yes running red lights kills people I am all for stopping red light runners.

[giddyup]

https://www.facebook...=timelineSingle

The car that runs a red light was driven by a drunk. The victims were on their way to school.

Yes running red lights kills people I am all for stopping red light runners.

Them and tailgaters. Those guys who sit on your ar*e are dangerous. They would have to be drunk to drive like that. Wouldn't they?

[StreetCowboy]

https://www.facebook...=timelineSingle

The car that runs a red light was driven by a drunk. The victims were on their way to school.

Yes running red lights kills people I am all for stopping red light runners.

I'm all for discouraging things that impair our judgement and make us prone to run red lights; things that slow our reactions so that we are unable to get away with reckless foolishness that might have been a near-miss sober.

Arrogant self-justiication never killed anyone, except indirectly

SC

[TommoPhysicist]

I don't believe many Thais read this thread.

Congratulating each other on how sober you are is mostly ineffective.

Do I drink and drive?

I am no longer permitted to consume alcohol, so it's irrelevant.

Edited August 14, 2012 by TommoPhysicist

[chowny77]

I think the real question should be, should drunk Thai people be allowed to drive on the roads in Thailand? I mean they are mostly very bad even when sober.........................with very few exceptions!! Most of farang relatated drunk driving accidents happen because they are not used to the vehicle they are using or they are not used to driving in the place where they are staying because they are mostly tourists. Where do tourists go? Places that have lots of places to find girls and alcohol!!! If you live outside of the Pattaya/Bangkok/Phuket/Chiang mai/Khon Khen/Koh Samui bubble, there are rarely any farang drunk driving problems. People still drink but the traffic volumes are not so high and the need to get to drink so fast in a short period. In the small towns/ countryside you can take your time over a beer with food and feel that you are still able to get home with your own form of transport without killing yourself or others. ..........but still be aware of other road users also...........the crazy buggers!!!!

[poanoi]

I believe drivers who cross red lights, cross lanes, and fail to signal

prior to a turn causes more accidents & deaths than drunk drivers.

That is my sincere experience from 10 years of driving in Thailand,

and was the case in all my 3 accidents here.

btw, i had a 70+ year old neighbor who couldn't see a cat 10 meters away,had more abysmal reflexes in his best days than i have sleeping,he cheated himself to a driving license as there was no way he would pass test otherwise,yet he was a strict believer of cursing drunk driving. Ahem...

Edited August 14, 2012 by poanoi

[transam]

I believe drivers who cross red lights, cross lanes, and fail to signal

prior to a turn causes more accidents & deaths than drunk drivers.

That is my sincere experience from 10 years of driving in Thailand,

and was the case in all my 3 accidents here

Your post has my full support and agreement.