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no worries zootles. im glad for the discussion
Yeah I have to admit that 4 is a bit much. (even though I do have somewhat high tolerance for alcohol and don't easily get even buzzed let alone drunk) Oh btw, I drove to DC to meet with some friends over the weekend. We were gonna drive in to the downtown area and go hit the clubs. I suggested that we take the metro instead and then a cab to get to the club cos that way we can drink all we want. And so that's what we did. There were 5 of us so we shared the cab fare. It cost almost nothing!
Also, apologies to the original thread starter for somewhat derailing the focus of this topic. That's awful that you almost got hit by a drunk driver!
Somehow I just read what I wrote and it doesn't seem too black and white.
We just need to have zero tolerance and provide better solutions but at the same time, empathy for the offenders as we do the victims. Most people that drink and drive suffer from a disease called alcoholism and they need help.
I tire of the stigma that alcoholics get. It's like we're bad people and we should be thrown in prison for life because we're no good and we've made bad decisions.
I suffer from enough pain already, I don't need to walk in a crowd where they just want to hang me all the time.
Well, I'm sorry, I was in a rush to make a post...I really don't mean that MOST first time drunk drivers are alcoholics but A LOT of them are, and MOST repeat offenders are.
I worked in a rehab facility and a lot of our clients were referred stemming from a DUI, and let me tell you, I saw a large percentage of them being alcoholic. Some yes just made an awful decision, paid their dues and went about their way and didn't have a problem, but a lot of them are problem drinkers.
I seriously fail to see the point, here. Alcoholism means that people should be more tolerant of their drunk driving? Sorry, no. I've never read 'driving drunk' as one of the symptoms of alcoholism in the DSM. Even if they're addicted to alcohol, they can choose not to drive while partaking.
And while under the influence, drunks have no control of decision making, bad or good.
So you're telling me that someone who drank a number of beers who thinks they are "fine" to drive are in the right state of mind to make a responsible decision?
I think not.
Of course they aren't. But the decision to drive drunk happens before a person starts drinking and therefore that person should be completely capable of making a responsible decision. The time to plan how you will get home needs to be made before you go out, before you start drinking. And THAT is both a simple and very effective solution to the problem. The only difficulty in it is getting people to accept that they are responsible for their own damned decisions.