Drinking and Driving

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Winchester Inc.
Before anyone jumps on me, you never drink and drive.
But the fact is, today's teenagers aren't exactly little angels. More and more accidents happen with drunken teenagers behind the wheel.

Last night, me and some friends got to debating about the age when you're allowed to drink and drive, and how it inluences eachother. Would it be better to learn your limits when it comes to drinking first, and then learn how to drive? Or should you learn how to drive first and then explore your limits?

We compared the situation in Belgium and the US.
In Belgium you can drink at 16, and drive at 18. The US states that you can drive at 16 and drink at 21.

My opinion was that when you know from experience how far you can go with alcohol, and know what it does to your current state of mind, you won't be so eager to get behind the wheel (even with just a few drinks).
On the other hand, when you've never had a drink before you're 21, you have no idea how it affects your body and will have no clue as to how it influences you when you drive.

So which situation do you think is best? You have a better idea? Do you like the situation in your country, or could it be improved?

Debate away! ;)
 
The U.S. is very, very wacky. In the U.S. you can go and die for your country before you can take a drink of alcohol. Not to mention, you can smoke before you can drink, when there are more smoking related deaths (cancer, asthma, etc.) then alcohol related deaths.

Please correct me if you think I'm wrong. I believe that even if you do learn to drive before drinking, or drink before you drive, you should never do both. Period. My best friend was left paralyzed by a drunk driver, so the issue is little touchy for me.

But, I can understand the debate you and your friends were having. It's a pretty interesting way to look at the situation.
 
Iwantmymummy said:
Please correct me if you think I'm wrong. I believe that even if you do learn to drive before drinking, or drink before you drive, you should never do both. Period.
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That was my first sentence. ;)
Before anyone jumps on me, you never drink and drive.
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I'm sorry about your friend, hope he/she's alright given the situation.
 
I started drinking around the age of 15 but still don't have a driver's license at the age of 21. Been working well for me so far.

I don't think drunk driving is a smart thing to do, there's always a place to crash or a phone to call a cab if you drank too much to drive yourself.
 
there is no excuse for drinking and driving. and ive never really understood how making the age you get a license after you are able to drink would help one bit. i am the lightest light weight of them all, and usually drink nothing so i am always the dd. on the rare occasion that i have a single drink i still wouldnt dream of driving after it. when we go out my parents and brother may have a pre dinner cocktail and wine with dinner, and if that happens i am the one who drives home. i really fail to see how hard it is to know you cant drive. i know someone who was throwing up in the bar, people were trying to take her keys, and she still managed to escape them and drive home. luckily when she crashed her car that night it was into a wall and no one else was involved. did spending the night in jail change anything? no. most people charged with a dui are repeat offenders. it just escapes me how people are so idiotic.
 
Drunk people don't think clearly. More often than not, the drunker they are, the more likely they are to think they're not drunk. Judgement gets impaired pretty much immediately. Alcohol starts getting absorbed into the bloodstream in your mouth (under your tongue, at least).

My point?

I think either side is correct, but I also look at this. Studies show that the earlier you start drinking, the more likely you are to have a problem with alcohol (however, there are other factors in this as well). I can see where drinking before driving and knowing your limits would be good, but driving before drinking can be good too. Driving's dangerous enough without adding alcohol into the equation.
 
Jack_The_Ripper said:
My opinion was that when you know from experience how far you can go with alcohol, and know what it does to your current state of mind, you won't be so eager to get behind the wheel (even with just a few drinks).
On the other hand, when you've never had a drink before you're 21, you have no idea how it affects your body and will have no clue as to how it influences you when you drive.

So which situation do you think is best? You have a better idea? Do you like the situation in your country, or could it be improved?

Debate away! ;)
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First of all, there probably isn't an American out there that has actually WAITED until the legal drinking age, to actually START drinking. So by the time everyone is 21, then know exactly how alcohol will affect them.

Everyone knows their limits, they just ignore it!

As for drinking before you're allowed to drive? People who have been driving for years know the effects of alcohol on them and they STILL GET BEHIND THE WHEEL.

And as Allmaple pointed out, MOST DUI's are repeat offenders. No matter how old you are when you start drinking, you're going to think you can drive and get behind the wheel.

Personally, I don't think drivers that are charged with DUIs are punished enough. The first time they're charged, their license should be taken away permanently and their car. Of course, people still drive without their licenses, that's why you take away the car. No one should be able to buy a car without a valid drivers license anyways.

As for the you can smoke before you can drink. Think about it: smoking DOESN'T impair your ability to drive like alcohol does. Smokers cause accidents when they're too concerned about lighting up instead of paying attention to their driving.
 
I don't think it matters what age you get your licence and what age you start drinking. If you want to kill yourself while driving drunk you will do it. You get adults in there 20's, 30's, 40's, I think you get my idea, that are driving while under the influence. And unfortunately you don't kill yourself but you kill or serious hurt someone else.

Ever years the police here put on a R.I.D.E. program every December through to after New Years. And every year people are getting there licences suspended because of drinking and driving. R.I.D.E. stands for Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere.

The courts here treat DUI as a slap on the wrist. I agree with speedy and that drivers caught should have their licences terminated and their cars impounded permanently. Here the courts go oh your bad and give the drivers their licences back in 12 hours for a first offense as long as there was no accident as far as I know. The problem here is with the Criminal Code of Canada and the only way that will change is the Federal Government changes it. And that will probably only happen when pigs have wings.

I'm always our DD as I don't drink anymore. I quit for health reasons.
 
I agree that age doesn't matter, people of any age are stupid, so it doesn't really matter whether you drink before you drive or drive before you drink. Although, as mentioned above, most people probably start drinking before they're legally old enough. ;)

By the way, driving when you're tired is just as dangerous as driving when you're drunk, so even if I had a license and I'd plan on not drinking all night, I'd never offer to drive back after a party or something, I'd most likely fall asleep behind the wheel and drive me and my friends into a wall.
 
^ and at the end of the night when some people take to their cars they are drunk and tired. we did a presentation on this in undergrad of a study where they had people drink and be sleep deprived before going into driving simulators. people didn't judge the compounded effects of sleepiness and alcohol, which made them especially dangerous. because even if the blood alcohol was below the legal limit they performed in the simulators just as poorly because of being tired as well. same thing with cell phones and driving. people just arent being careful enough these days.

i wish there would be harsher penalties. in ontario (or is it all of canada? i cant remember) they really cracked down on speeding. up to $10 000 fines and your car and license are taken away right there on the side of the road. they need to do the same for dui.
 
we have it strange here in the uk. we are legally allowed to get married and have children (16) before we can learn to drive (17), drink any alcohol or buy cigarettes (18).

i don't think it really makes much difference whether you can drink or drive first. if people are going to drive while drunk, then they will. i reckon that if you get caught drink driving, you should be banned for six months. caught again - banned for a year, then two, then if caught for a fourth time, you should be banned for life - you are clearly not going to grow out of the habit
 
I don't think that it really matters whether you start drinking or start driving first. I figure if you want to drink you're going to and if you want to drive you're going to, no matter what the law says. I just turned 18 a few weeks ago, and I am proud to say that I have never taken a drink of alcohol, or tried any other drug for that matter, and I never want to. :) I understand what can happen to you if drink in general let alone drive while doing it.

But, here's what happens to you if you are caught drinking and driving in West Virginia:

"It is illegal in the State of West Virginia to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or above. The .08 percent BAC limit is the standard measurement used across the United States for the "impaired" driver. The State of West Virginia has lower BAC limits for commercial drivers (.04) and drivers under the age of 21 (.02) or Zero Tolerance. The West Virginia DUI law also prohibits the operation of a motor vehicle by drivers under the influence of controlled substances such as narcotics, inhalants and other intoxicants.

The first time you are arrested and convicted of drunk driving in the State of West Virginia you will be sentenced to jail for 24 hours or up to 6 months. You will also receive a fine of $100 or up to $500. Your drivers license will be suspended up to 6 months and you must successfully complete a safety and treatment program before your drivers license will be reinstated.
The second time you are convicted of a DUI in West Virginia you will spend 6 months in jail or up to 1 year in jail. You will also be fined $1,000 or up to $3,000. Your drivers license could be revoked up to 10 years or your drivers license will be suspended for 1 year followed by a mandatory ignition interlock program. Also, you must successfully complete a safety and treatment program before your drivers license will be reinstated.
The 3rd drunk driving conviction in West Virginia will cost you from 1 to 3 years in jail and you will be fined from $3,000-$5,000. You will also face a lifetime revocation of your drivers license or a 1 year revocation followed by mandatory participation in an ignition interlock device program. You must also successfully complete a safety and treatment program before your drivers license will be reinstated.​

The implied consent law in West Virginia says that all drivers in the State of West Virginia have given their consent to a chemical test of their blood, breath or urine if an officer of the law suspects that the driver is under the influence of drugs, alcohol or both. If you refuse to submit to such a test your drivers license will be revoked up to 1 year on your first offense. Subsequent refusals will bring harsher penalties that are equal or greater than a actual DUI conviction. "​
 
Drink drivers wind me up, mostly because when they crash they come out with minor injuries, but the people in the cars they hit more often than not end up with serious injuries or die.
Having worked in a pub, I used to refuse people more than two drinks when I knew they had their car. The good thing about the place where I worked was that it was a little village pub with lots of regulars I knew, some of which would sometimes stop off for a couple of pints when they finished work, but inevitably end up having more. Because they knew me they'd leave their keys, I'd put them safe out the back and they'd either walk home or get a taxi.
With all the alternatives out there, i.e. taxis, walking, lifts from kind bar staff... there's no need to drink and drive. It's pure laziness and selfishness IMO.

CSIL3Willows
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I know there a guy who I go to school with who told me drinking and driving is not all that bad because it's common. :wtf: That's like saying robbing someone is not all that bad because it's common. Just because people do it, does not mean it is right.
 
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