Report in here if you, a family member, or aquaintance, has EVER had a DUI>>>

[hang a left]

I am a recovering alcoholic. I am 46 years old. I have had 7 DUI's. All before the age of 21.

[AlCzervik]

1. i had a family member killed by a 5 time repeat offender drunk driver

i also now 2 people who who were busted for dui.

[hang a left]

11. I am sorry for your loss.

I am not trying to excuse someone for killing someone.

I don't think that is ever the intention of the driver.

It is a hard place. I have been on both sides. A person who was alcoholic and a person who is against drunk driving and for stiffer penalties.

[AlCzervik]

18. right up until my mother was diagnosed with brain cancer she was a raging

alcoholic and i thanked my lucky stars for one thing--she didn't have a license and even if she did we couldn't afford a car.

[RebelOne]

60. I have had 2 family members killed by drunk drivers.

And one of the drivers was an off-duty policeman.

[myrna minx]

92. Me too.

I'm sorry for your losses. :hug:
My father was killed when I was no bigger than a weevil and my brother was killed when I was 17. Both people who killed my family members were serial offenders and they received wrist slaps.

on edit: After reading this thread, I realized the OP wasn't making light of DUIs.

[grannylib]

2. The son of one of my friends got a DUI at 23; my daughter was one of his

passengers and the only one who lost her life when he left the road.

[hang a left]

14. So so sorry.

I am not trying to excuse the behavior. I have volunteered for MADD.

Only to let some understand that it is not like child molesting. I have been on both sides.

[grannylib]

22. That's what we asked for most of his sentence too... talking to MADD and

SADD groups. He did do a year in jail, local, nights and weekends only, so he could work (he had a big fine) and we just couldn't see sending a basically good kid to the state prison for four years...
It wouldn't bring her back and it would probably just embitter him and surely not help. So we asked for the reduced sentence in exchange for a "guilty" plea (he had initially tried to say he had not been behind the wheel, and that she had been driving) and for more community service time with the groups. We felt that might be more constructive and, we hoped, healing in some way, and could maybe make a difference for someone else's life.

Did you find that working with MADD was a good thing for you???

[hang a left]

24. I did it after several years of sobriety...

just because

[Maddy McCall]

3. So that DUers can feel a sense of camaraderie with drunks who kill people?

Sorry. You get no sympathy from me for drunk driving, especially when the selfish idiot kills someone.

Alcoholics have my sympathy--because that is a disease.

But idiots who get behind the wheel while drunk and KILL SOMEONE get no sympathy from me, whether they're citizens or not.

[MedleyMisty]

15. No

It's to prove the point that some legal US citizens drive drunk and that one's US citizenship status has nothing to do with drinking and driving.

[hang a left]

21. I am not looking for camaraderie

I just know many who drink and drive, who are not alcoholic. It can happen to anyone. Two drinks, Christmas party, and your done.

Not all people who drink and drive kill people. I am not trying to excuse it. YOU SHOULD NEVER drink and drive. Perhaps I should have written my op differently and asked if anyone has ever drank and drove.

[piesRsquare]

40. "It can happen to anyone"

Bullshit.

Some of us plan ahead. Always.

Going to a Christmas party and plan on throwing back a few? Designate a driver or take a cab. Feel tipsy? Take a cab home and pick up your car the next day. It's really that simple.

Don't try to "gauge" your intake. Screw those little "personal breathylizers". If you drive, don't drink. If you really want or need to drink, don't drive. Don't like such a difficult choice? Too bad. That's life.

I had to spend over $200 to stay the night at a hotel after a concert last year because the half-glass of wine that I had interacted badly with my medication. That put one hell of a dent in my budget (woulda cost more to take a cab home and then back the next day to get my car). I probably could have made it home okay had I driven. But "probably" isn't good enough when you're at the controls of a heavy machine going 60 mph on the freeway. You're either in control, or you don't drive. Period.

Driving is a PRIVILEGE, that brings with it an enormous amount of responsibility.

[hang a left]

44. No argument here...

I agree

Designate a driver, take a cab, sleep in your car, or get a hotel.

[TahitiNut]

4. My (step-)nephew is in his 15th month without his driver's license.

He's done the community service and breathalyzer visits and paid the fines ... now it's up to the Secretary of State.

[walldude]

5. Don't drink... never have

I'm a pot smoker, stoners are much easier to deal with than drunks. And no I don't drive when I'm high.

[A HERETIC I AM]

6. Then you were a fuck up

When you were a youngster. Get over it, already.

I had a DUI in Fl in the early 80's. I deserved it. I was too drunk to drive. But i didn't crash into anything and i never hurt anyone (except myself and mostly financially)

You had 7? Well...so....so what? Did you hurt anyone?

If you did you should have to pay (if you haven't already)
Were you an asshole?
Did you get over it?
How many miles driving under your belt now since the last ticket of ANY kind?

You are a year younger than I am. I'm curious what possessed you to post such a thread.

[Maddy McCall]

10. If you have three DWIs in Texas...

say hello Huntsville. It's a felony with mandatory time.

Seven DWIs? My GOD.

[A HERETIC I AM]

20. Back when i had mine was before MADD (which started in South Fla) and no open container law....

Those days, you could drive down the street with a 16 oz'er between your legs and if you weren't intoxicated, you were fine. Just go straight home.

In my opinion, anyone that has any more than 2 or 3 (at the outside) DUI's is a fuckup. But hey, we all have been fuckups to one degree or another at some point in our lives. If the OP'r got over it, hasn't hurt anyone and is now a conscientious, safe driver i say....


Who cares?

Hell Maddy, in Texas, driving while drinking is a public participation activity. Why the hell else is there a big tub of Longnecks on ice just inside the door? (Wet counties only. In the dry counties in TX, you have to drive the 10 miles to the county line where there are 3 or 4 quickie marts with the tubs-full-o'-beer just waitin' for ya!)

[hang a left]

25. It was in the 70's. You could never do that anymore.

The laws have changed drastically.

[snooper2]

80. yeah, in Texas you would never get a license again...

nt

[hang a left]

23. I should have made a different statement in my OP

I should have asked if anyone has ever drank and drove.

There are so many people that I know who do it but are not alcoholic.

You could have a few beers after work at your local, and get pulled over, or not.

I never hurt anyone. Thank god.

The point I wanted to make, and did it poorly, is that tons of people have a couple or more and get in their cars.

[A HERETIC I AM]

27. Fair enough. Driving while intoxicated is entirely different than driving when unable to properly

operate a motor vehicle.

People that habitually get behind the wheel when they are clearly unable to properly negotiate the driving task should be dealt with harshly.

That is not the same type of person as the guy who stops by the pub on the way home from work every day, has 2 or 3 beers and drives home safely.

Again, I am still curious why you would bring this up from your perspective.

Is this a catharsis?

[hang a left]

30. The average drunk driver that kills someone is below the

legal BAC limit. Did you know that?

[A HERETIC I AM]

31. The average driver in the US couldn't pass a basic skills test in Europe.

Did you know that?

Bad drivers are made worse by alcohol, no doubt. Unfortunately in this country, we have a dismally bad driver education system and we pay for it every day.

[hang a left]

33. You are not addressing what I said...

Bottom line your average non-alcoholic beer drinker, who stops for a few after work and then continues home IS the guy who kills the most people.

See for yourself:

http://www.madd.org/stats/11088

[A HERETIC I AM]

34. And you didn't address my queries in posts 6, 20,27 or 31 but again, who cares?

What exactly do the statistics on that Mothers Against Drunk Driving page demonstrate? That there is a higher frequency of accidents involving folks that have been drinking?

No kidding.

The point i was trying to get across in my previous post was that Americans, by and large, are horribly undereducated drivers and as a consequence, suck at driving NO MATTER WHAT THEIR LEVEL OF INTOXICATION! The fact that they cause more accidents when they have had a few should come as no surprise. Start teaching people how to properly operate a motor car and you would see a drastic change in fatalities across the board.

[hang a left]

35. I didn't respond to all of your posts because really....

most of them were just saying the same things. I posted where I did in order to convey my message.

You stated that people that "have a few" and drive home safely are A-OK with you. Bottom line is that these people ALSO get in accidents and are not at the legal intoxication level, therefore NO DUI. It is not because they can't drive, many times it is the people that are driving the other car that have caused the accident.

I am NOT condoning drinking and driving one little bit. I know now as a mature adult it is not the responsible thing to do. However, IT IS DONE EVERY SINGLE DAY, by many non-alcoholic US citizens innocuously. And, sometimes it results in the death of an innocent.

[A HERETIC I AM]

36. Umm....I did not say it was "A-OK" with me if people have a few and drive home safely.

So please, don't put words in my posts that aren't there.

The question i asked twice was essentially "Why did you start this thread?" From the point of view of a person with 7 DUI's, i am just curious about your motive - what you hope to accomplish for yourself. Again, are you having a catharsis? It is, of course, none of my damned business, but there you go.


Look, don't misunderstand my point of view. I think a person who has too much to drink, is too stupid to realize their limitations and gets behind the wheel of an automobile lacking the proper training on safe operation needs to be punished. A person who does that repeatedly needs to be severely punished.

The millions of Americans that do NOT fall in those categories should NOT be punished if they operate their vehicles safely and properly.

[hang a left]

38. Your correct you didn't say it was A-OK. Those weren't your exact words.

Your exact words were:

"That is not the same type of person as the guy who stops by the pub on the way home from work every day, has 2 or 3 beers and drives home safely."

However the statistics that I provided to you through the Madd link indicate that is the case.

There aren't any statistics about licensed drivers that don't drive well, and kill people. However, the majority that kill while driving don't have any drugs or alcohol in their system at all.

What I provided to you was statistical proof that most people who kill people that are under the influence are, IN FACT, not legally guilty of DUI because their blood alcohol levels are below the legally defined level.

[EnviroBat]

72. No didn't "know" that, but I'd be glad to see the statistics.

if you have any...

[leftofthedial]

50. if you have three beers after work, you will qualify for a DUI nearly everywhere

unless you wait until midnight to drive home

[A HERETIC I AM]

67. Whether or not 3 beers will put you over the legal limit has everything to do with body weight....

3 beers drunk by a man that weighs 250 pounds does not give the same blood alcohol percentage as the same amount drunk by someone weighing 150 pounds.

In the interest of full disclosure, i hold a CDL (Commercial Drivers License) and regardless of the type of vehicle i am driving, the BAC legal limit for me is .04%. HALF the lowest legal limit of .08%

In Florida there was for years a provision the courts could use if you were say .07. They called it "DUBAL" or Driving with Unlawful Blood Alcohol Level. Technically different than "Driving Under the Influence" because DUI could include being stoned or on any other drugs. The DUBAL charge was often leveled against drivers who weren't at or above the .10 BAC threshold.

I don't know if they still use that in this state or not.

[Marrah_G]

57. 7 DUI's? You should have been locked up for a long time

Unfortunately that only happens after you kill someone. Sorry NO sympathy here. I have a BIG scar only my shoulder after barely surviving a drunk driving accident. The asshole even walked away from the scene. My 14 year old cousin was killed by a drunk with a bunch of Dui convictions, after running over my cousin he fled the scene and hid in a hotel until morning when he was sober.

Never in my life have I driven drunk. If I know I need to drive I just DON'T fucking have a drink. Drunk drivers are selfish irresponsible pieces of shit. They only "care" when they are standing in front of a judge after killing someone. Other then that they have no problem with what they do. They makes excuses why they drive drunk and even post on message boards about how it isn't a big fucking deal.

No sympathy here. NONE.

[hang a left]

71. I didn't say it wasn't a big deal and am not looking for sympathy.

I just admitted to my past.

[Demobrat]

7. A forty-something year old female friend of mine

got one in AZ and spent 10 days in prison. She described it in detail. AZ prisons are not fun. But she still doesn't get it. She'll complain about being thrown in with murderers, but the small fact that if she had killed somebody drinking and driving she would have been a murderer too just doesn't compute. She won't admit it, but I think she still drinks and drives. Guess ten days in prison wasn't rock bottom for her. No idea what that will be. I just hope she doesn't take anybody else down with her.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

43. Is she a Republican?

Reason I ask is because a friend of mine fits your exact description, and we're in AZ too. She's a total Bushbot. Her biggest gripe with going to Sheriff Joe's hotel was that she'd be in there with "dirty Mexicans". Her words, not mine. Ya know, right now I'm hoping that her time in there was really uncomfortable. :evilgrin:

[Demobrat]

90. No she's a

politics-are-boring-shut-up-about-it who doesn't vote cause it's beneath her. Hey I hope your friend had just as good a time as mine did!

[RB TexLa]

8. Have a family member about to do 20 years for them. And it's exactly where he belongs

[Digit]

9. early 80's

I was going to walk home from the bar as I was only two blocks away....my co-worker's car wouldn't start so she needed a ride home. She had met a guy at the bar so they were bribing me with shots to stay as they made out and the cop followed me from the parking lot.
I spent the night in jail...it was the most horrific experience of my life. They reduced it to reckless driving and I have NEVER driven when drinking since. If I go out with friends, I always volunteer as the designated driver...I don't trust others to get me safely home. I don't even have one beer...I will only drink sodas.

When I went to court, the officer's brother was in for his second DUI.
It cost me alot of money and I endured horrible humiliation.

[Digit]

29. In the 70's, the Park Police in DC were very forgiving

I was driving home from a bar in DC and had to drive with one eye closed to be able to see.
I was almost to the Lincoln Memorial when I was stopped by the Park Police (I believe it was them).

They had me sit in the back of their squad car. They had a good laugh at me as I was incredibly drunk (and stupid) and told me to drive safely as they let me go without even a warning.
I did reach home intact without hurting anyone else....thank God.

I was one of the lucky ones. I don't do that anymore, thank goodness.
Age has mellowed me me and I grew up.

[rasputin1952]

12. I got one in 1984...I was pulled over on I-5 just So. of Tacoma...

I was told I almost hit a hitchhiker on the on ramp.

I quit drinking, and thank God no one was injured or killed.

While this might sound cold, it is not meant that way, I know that alcoholism is a disease, but if you have 7 DUI's, you better hang in ythere on the sobriety sector. If you knew the judge I had to see, you'd be typing your post from jail.

I see where you've been clean/sober for abou 25 years, if I read you post correctly and you quit drinking after your last DUI....Stay the course, it will keep you alive...:)

[ComerPerro]

13. I have a friend who got one in another state. Messed him up pretty bad

he didn't drink for a long time after that.

[Horse with no Name]

16. My white American boyfriend had 3 in 6 months

Went off of a bridge at a high speed and totaled my car and slid my motorcyle 300 feet leaving his kneecaps on the road getting him a ride in a helicopter. Cost me a fortune in money to get him out of trouble, but I did. I think I was dumber than he was.
He was 21 at the time.

[Alcibiades]

17. When I was 21

I was taken in because I failed the street drunk test and had been driving erratically. I went to the station and blew .001% lower than the level at which it was mandatory for them to give me a DUI. Instead, they let me go. Since that time, no DUI's, no driving while intoxicated. My advice is this: if your drinking gets to the point where it's changing your daily life for the worse, you should cut down a little. Or pass out on the curb and wet yourself, but don't drink and drive.

[BlueIris]

46. "(I)f your drinking gets to the point where it's changing your daily life for the worse..."

"...you should cut down a little."

Or, you know, get treatment.

[Alcibiades]

79. As a first step

just try drinking less. Or not drinking. Treatment--especially the 12-step variety--was designed for people who have bottomed out. Hardcore alcololics. I'm suggesting it might be sensible for people to stop or cut down on drinking long before they reach that point, to use common sense rather than relying on some therapeutic intervention. What I'm suggeting is that there might be a middle ground for many people, that it would be possible to prevent truly damaging behaviors by changing your behavior long before you get to the point when quitting drinking causes withdrawal.

In fact, I think this is something that happens to a lot of people when they are young--they get drunk and do something stupid, like nearly getting arrested for DUI (or actually getting arrested for a DUI), picking a fight, waking up in a pool of your own vomit, etc. Many people, after such a situation, will say to themselves "Golly, that was foolish, I won't do that any more." They then moderate their drinking, long before they realize any potential for alcoholism that may or may not be present. I'm thinking that there are a lot of warning signs and opportunities for change before you reach DUI #7--the difference between most people and alcohilics is that the latter choose to let these pass by.

[Jack Sprat]

19. My president had a DUI, but Alberto

Gonzales was able to cover it up and keep it from hurting his election chances.

[Catherine Vincent]

28. Wow. I think you're the first here to actually call Bush as "my president".

:spank:

[Blue_In_AK]

26. My ex had a few DUIs.

My mother was killed by a drunk driver when I was 8. I understand both sides of this issue.

[trackfan]

32. One brother, one sister and a nephew have had one.

I think all are more than 20 years ago.

[REP]

37. None - Don't Associate With People Who Don't Know Better Than To Drive Drunk

[SmokingJacket]

63. I don't know anyone either.

I was once rejected from jury duty because they thought I was lying that I really didn't know anyone who'd had a DUI.

I've known a few lucky enough not to get caught though.

[Solon]

105. I don't know anyone who ever had a DUI either...

My Mom told me a story about a date she was "set up with" by my grandmother before she met my dad. It was the first and only date, the guy, I forget what his name was, told my mom about how he was driving home, drunk, and ran over and killed a neighbor's kid. My mom describe his mannerisms during the date as being "dead inside".

[Critters2]

39. One relative had one DUI 20 years ago.

He started going to AA then, and has gone ever since. I honestly don't think he's an alcoholic (he was stopped driving home from a party in college), but that one DUI scared the bejesus out of him.

Seven DUIs is a little harder to square, imo.

[in_cog_ni_to]

41. One of my brothers had so many DUI's, I lost count. He lost his license for years,

had to be driven to and from work, had to take some kind of class and pay fines before he got his license back. He had a TON of legal bills from trying to get out of the tickets. That was years ago. He finally stopped drinking once he could drive again. He wrecked cars. He rolled one and came out of it alive. He would be so drunk, he'd miss work because he couldn't function. He'd go out, get drunk as a skunk and park his car on the side of a road and pass out. I woke up many mornings with him parked in my driveway sleeping in his car. Get THIS...for a while, he worked at a local NUCLEAR PLANT :scared:. He would go to work DRUNK, crawl up in the rafters of the Nuclear Plant building and SLEEP! He was a security guard!:scared: He also smoked pot AT THE NUCLEAR facility. I could never understand how he got the damn job in the first place. Doesn't that make you feel secure?:( One weekend he went to Las Vegas, from Illinois, and when he was there he drank and gambled all his money away and couldn't afford to come home. He called me to wire him enough money for gas to get home. It was never a dull moment with him. At least he was a happy drunk...not a mean and violent one.:( He's 49 years old now and sober.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

42. I got one 5 years ago. No excuses.

Paid my fines, did my day in jail. Learned my lesson. If I drink, I don't drive. If I drive, I don't drink.

Besides, having a few at home is a lot cheaper than out in town. ;)

[BlueIris]

45. Family member. nt

[live love laugh]

47. Friend's daughter totaled her car but escaped unscathed. Hope she

learned her lesson after getting her license suspended.

[depakid]

48. Driving over .08 is a crime that almost everyone has committed

at one time or another.

So the degree of self-righteousness I see on some of these threads really smacks of hypocrisy.

[Codeine]

49. Not true.

Many of us are intelligent enough not to drink.

[depakid]

51. I would bet at least 80% and probably more

have driven above .08- They just haven't had the misfortune to get caught.

Of course, that doesn't apply to people who don't drink at all.

People also drive after taking certain prescription drugs or after having smoke pot, which also constitutes a DUI.

[Marrah_G]

58. Wrong

'Most people' have not driven drunk. It is those who do that feel the need to justify it to themselves by saying "well everyone does it"

[depakid]

70. I think a lot of people here are in denial

or won't face the reality that at some point in their lives, a very high percentage of people- even on this thread have driven while over .08. I personally don't know anyone who hasn't, other than one friend of mine who doesn't drink at all.

Of course, the failure to recognize this is understandable- as one poster mentioned, the media campaigns and the societal condemnation these days makes it hard for people to accept.

You don't have to condone something to accept that it's happened.

[Marrah_G]

77. I guess we all look at things from our own experience

You don't know anyone who doesn't. I know very few who have.

[snooper2]

81. I know about 90% of the 200 people in my office have driven drunk

or have driven over .08. This is in Plano Texas though where every other friday is a happy hour.

[Maine-ah]

61. bullshit.

[hlthe2b]

62. I have to admit being surprised at the responses too

Not the understandable condemnation of those who repeat, cause accidents or worse, kill someone--on that, I think there is absolute common agreement.

But, I am old enough to remember a time when there were neither the strict laws in some states, nor the strict enforcement, nor (more importantly) the societal condemnation to drinking and driving that there is now. I would imagine there may be large segments of society in their late forties and older who may have had a multiple decades old DUI from their teens and which taught them a very valuable lesson that influenced the remainder of their life and ensured they would never repeat such irresponsible behavior.

The strides we have made in recent decades is tremendous and I agree that MOST people (surely) would NOT have driven under the influence and certainly not legally drunk if asked today. For that, I am very very thankful. Those that do--regardless of age-- in this time are worthy of condemnation. There is no excuse.

:shrug:

[dysfunctional press]

76. i don't drink- so i haven't.

nt.

[ecstatic]

87. How much alcohol does it take to get .08 or more?

How might one be affected by a glass of Long Island Iced Tea (for someone 120 to 130 lbs)? Curious... I don't want to be a hypocrite :scared:

[depakid]

93. Depends on gender

Women metabolize alcohol less efficiently than men.

The calculator below is calibrated for men, but if you scroll down, you can see charts showing the gender difference.

http://www.ou.edu/oupd/bac.htm

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

98. Agreed.

Or if they haven't driven drunk, they've driven while tired. Which is equivalent.

[Solon]

106. Not true...

My buddies and I had a rule, if you drink, you crash at OUR place, where the party was at, or have a DD. If you have a problem with that, you aren't invited, and you give us the car keys at the door, no ifs, ands, or buts.

[Vinca]

52. Okay, Don, I knew you'd post here eventually.

You are my brother . . . aren't you? Seriously, your story sounds similar to my little brother's. Somehow, someway, there came a time when he went through rehab #2 that something clicked. He turned his whole life around. All by himself he put himself through college, got an MSW and made a good life. I'm very proud of him. Whatever you've been through or are going through, it will only get better as sober time passes. Best of luck.

[Tyler Durden]

53. Never.

My family and I are from the CHEAP DRUNK/PROJECTILE VOMITING School of Alcohol Abuse.

VERY hard to drive while throwing up on your windshield, so we seldom try.

[wicket]

54. My 17 year old cousin was killed by a drunk driver

She was decapitated in the accident :cry:

[leftyclimber]

55. Family member.

One, should have had more. Quit driving completely afterward, hasn't gotten behind the wheel in seven years.

[Buzz Clik]

56. Roughly 50% of all traffic deaths involve alcohol.

[hang a left]

73. WRONG!

I am not condoning drinking and driving. But your statement is false.

[Buzz Clik]

95. Interesting.

So, am I off by 2%? A factor of ten? Is it greater, less?

I have no doubt that it's different than 50% ... so what is it really?

[Buzz Clik]

96. Okay -- here's the official stats.

I wasn't wrong.



http://www.madd.org/stats/0,1056,1298,00.html

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

99. Your stats say 39%

:shrug:

[Buzz Clik]

102. For 2005. And I said "roughly 50%".

Though there has been a steady decline, it wasn't that long ago that the number was over 50%.

[hang a left]

97. The number is still high. And they are senseless deaths.

It is interesting how the numbers have come down with all of the strict enforcement. 25-30 years ago they did hardly anything to drunk drivers and there wasn't the awareness that there is today.

[Buzz Clik]

103. agreed

[Maine-ah]

59. I have friends who have gotten DUI's

and 8 of my friends have been killed by someone else who was DUI. :cry: I hold no sympathy for people who drive DUI, and I think their licenses should be revoked at the first DUI.

[hlthe2b]

64. my heavens, Maine-ah...

EIGHT of your friends? Anyone who has suffered at the hands of a drunk driver has my absolute sympathy, but your sacrifice seems extraordinary, truly. I am so sorry. :hug:

Were these friends traveling together, if you don't mind me asking, or from the same area of the country? I think I might want to avoid traveling in that area if they are so lax on enforcement.

I agree on the license revocation. I thought most states suspended the license after a single DUI, no?

[90-percent]

66. DUI

Got one three years ago. Driving drunk is indefensible. The whole experience was terrible, but drunk driving is much more terrible.

I think most people are oblivious to current day laws on drunk driving;

It doesn't take very much drinking to be over the limit.

I suspect there's a lot of people that do it, a few pops after work, and never get caught for years. Then they get caught for doing what they've done for years and find out first hand how sever ethe laws are.

Bottom line - there should never be any tolerance for operating a car drunk, and driving education in the USA can't suck enough. In Europe, driving is a privilege that requires a lot of education.

A guy I work with totaled his bike at about 70 due to a semi-conscious driver in front of him, changed lanes, Dan went to pass, and the driver changed lanes back for no apparent reason. Dan locked the wheels up and went over the handle bars and bounced against the guard rail three times. He went 100 feet and the bike went 300. The oblivious driver in front of him may not even know to this day the havoc they caused!

-85% Jimmy

[Maine-ah]

68. same area, just is bad for it.

My first friend was a family friend's son, who was hit a couple of days before graduation, his grandmother was hit crossing the street a few years later. The second was a girl I knew since 1st grade, and a year later her parents, left behind a 10 year old son. That's 5 right there. The last one was the most tragic. My best friend's twin brother was hit while he was walking home from a bachelor party. The guy that hit him was also coming home from the same party, left him in the middle of the road. His best friend found him in the middle of the road early the next morning. The guy spent no time in jail, still lives in the same town, and has the nuts to even talk to the family. Fucking asshole.

as for suspension, not up here. I watch the court cases up here, and most get a slap on the wrist. I don't get it.

[hang a left]

74. They do now.

25 years ago, they would let you park and drive you home.

[rainbow4321]

65. My cousin killed a child 30 yrs ago.

Was drunk, driving home, hit/killed a young girl. That was about 30 years ago. In the years following the accident I was always told he never could bring himself to drive again, even after he was allowed to do so.

[praeclarus]

69. i had one and it worked...

... had some beers after work, wasn't falling down, blind drunk,
didn't hit anybody or anything. This state of affairs was reasonably
common for me, have a few drinks with the gang after work then go home.

That night I spent in the cooler. Ended up hiring a lawyer and got off
but it worked.

From that day to this (1997 it was), I have never so much
as had one single drink and then drove.

Anybody who gets a second, after getting a first, should think
about getting help right then and there. Getting to 7 is beyond
the pale.


<edit for syntax>

[dysfunctional press]

75. i'm a 46 year-old male, and i've never had a dui.

but almost every single one of my male friends has had at least one, and my father had one too.

[LeftishBrit]

78. I know someone who was in court for drunk driving, yes

Got a fine; was very ashamed of himself; never did it again. He was in his early 20s at the time. Fortunately, no one was injured.

I think there is less drunk driving in the UK than there used to be - there is still more than there should be, but I think attitudes have changed and it's no longer considered to be 'clever' to get away with it, as it was at one time in some circles.

[KansDem]

82. A couple of family members and a couple of friends.

I've never been arrested, not that there wasn't a time or two when I should have been. I was just lucky. I don't drink much now, only a couple on the weekends, but then I don't drive. Just stay at home.

But for about 30 years, I was lucky...

edited for spelling

[MountainLaurel]

83. A family member had two

A year without a driver's license was enough to scare him straight.

[Marnieworld]

84. Why?

WHat are you trying to accomplish with this question?

[NMDemDist2]

85. i had one in 1986 and should have gotten several more

but got sober in 1992 so no worries since :evilgrin:

[ecstatic]

86. I don't drink like that, but I know someone who does. I really fear for his safety

and the safety of others around him when he's DUIing. :scared:

[davsand]

88. Yeah, I know some folks who have been busted for DUI.

For most of them it was a one time deal--NOT that they stopped drinking, mind you. For some it was multiple DUIs. The smart ones gave up drinking completely, but most of them gave up driving or gave up driving if they were gonna be anyplace around booze. The others had multiple DUIs and some even served jail time.

Hang a left, it sounds to me like you had a pretty rough young adulthood if you had all your arrests before you were 21. It also sounds like you pulled it together pretty well if you have made it to the ripe old age of 46 with no further legal problems that are drug or booze related. For that, I congratulate you--addiction and life issues are not easy stuff to be dealing with. I've seen a lot of people that have not dealt with it half so well.

I think that maybe one of the toughest things that anyone deals with is sorrow or maybe even guilt over stuff we've done. Maybe it is nothing too horrible--like killing anybody--but probably it is more often stuff we've said or done. I'll admit freely that I can do that midnight sort of self flagellation that is just devastating to self esteem. (I think it comes with a conscience--ya know?) I also think that to have survived to the point you have, you probably have learned to deal with it already.

Don't let the judgment on here get to you, please. The only thing standing between a LOT of people and a DUI bust is LUCK--pure and simple. You took steps to get control, and by all accounts you are doing a good job with it. I can't absolve you--nobody really can except you.

May your burdens ease for you, and please don't let them get to you.



Laura

[devilgrrl]

89. No DUI's in my family...

except for my evil ex-sister-in-law. :rofl: Fa ha ha biatch!

Luckily she didn't get anyone killed.


She's still an asshole though. :nuke:

[mdmc]

91. Many folks I know, even one MSW / PhD.

:kick:

Everyone get healthy!

[mainegreen]

94. Me? I'm the guy who orders carbonated water with lemon.

Brother in law had two though.
I don't think he drinks at all any more.

[etherealtruth]

100. My brother in law

... he's now 45.

He has a restricted license ... NOW, but went many, many years with no license.

[Nikia]

101. Several people who I have worked with

Have gotten multiple DUIs. This is in Wisconsin at places that are mostly working class.
I grew up in a relatively non drinking family. My cousin is currently in prision for getting in an accident when he was driving drunk, which caused the deaths of two out of five of the people in his car (he broke several bones himself). Other than that, no one in my family has gotten a DUI.

[tnlefty]

104. I have a sibling who has racked up a few.

As far as drinking and driving I will say that I did it (came of age in the 70's) before awareness campaigns hit my state. As I became more aware of the dangers I stopped and I won't ride in a car with someone who has been drinking. I won't drink 1 beer, glass of wine, anything and drive and I've been that way for many years.

That is also the message that I have conveyed to my kids many times. Call me, I'll come pick you up, but don't drink and drive or ride with someone who has been drinking. If you live through it you'll have me to deal with and it won't be pretty. ;-)

use the spell check :blush:

[tammywammy]

107. Never had one, don't know anyone that has one either