4 ms·

It does make sense to say the problem is drunkenness, because, well, science says that there are very clear links between drink driving and accidents: e.g. http

It does make sense to say the problem is drunkenness, because, well, science says that there are very clear links between drink driving and accidents: e.g. http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/impaired_driving/impaired-drv_factsheet.html http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/impaired_driving/impai... An arsehole-driver is a dangerous driver when sober, but everyone is a dangerous driver when drunk.

aianus 11y ago
We define drunkenness by blood alcohol content without adjusting for tolerance. I'm sure there are alcoholics out there whose tolerance is so high that they're perfectly sober at 0.08. Then there are people like Michael Schumacher or whatever who I'm sure drive better 'drunk' than 99% of sober people. I wish the police focussed more on the generally shitty soccer mom sub drivers and taxis that try to kill me every day instead of some guy who had two glasses of wine and crossed some arbitrary threshold which may or may not have made him a dangerous driver.
- mystikal 11y ago
  It's usually safe to break safety laws, on the road or off it. Consider seatbelts. A wide net is cast to catch the exceptions. Nevertheless I agree that egregious unimpaired bad driving should be targeted too.
dbattaglia 11y ago
I've met plenty of people where I grew up (Long Island, NY) that have gotten arrested for DWI that are not alcoholics. The fact of the matter is that, in the suburbs, you drive to the bar. And that's how you're probably going to get home. I've done it. . I'm not proud of it. People drink, and thinking people are going to stop is not realistic. People do all sorts of silly things in the name of fun or escape. Now that I live in NYC it is infinitely easier and safer to go out for a night of drinking, knowing there's busses, subways, taxis or Uber to take me home, far safer than if I were back in the 'burbs with almost no good options.

aianus 11y ago

We define drunkenness by blood alcohol content without adjusting for tolerance. I'm sure there are alcoholics out there whose tolerance is so high that they're perfectly sober at 0.08. Then there are people like Michael Schumacher or whatever who I'm sure drive better 'drunk' than 99% of sober people. I wish the police focussed more on the generally shitty soccer mom sub drivers and taxis that try to kill me every day instead of some guy who had two glasses of wine and crossed some arbitrary threshold which may or may not have made him a dangerous driver.

mystikal 11y ago
It's usually safe to break safety laws, on the road or off it. Consider seatbelts. A wide net is cast to catch the exceptions. Nevertheless I agree that egregious unimpaired bad driving should be targeted too.

dbattaglia 11y ago

I've met plenty of people where I grew up (Long Island, NY) that have gotten arrested for DWI that are not alcoholics. The fact of the matter is that, in the suburbs, you drive to the bar. And that's how you're probably going to get home. I've done it. . I'm not proud of it. People drink, and thinking people are going to stop is not realistic. People do all sorts of silly things in the name of fun or escape. Now that I live in NYC it is infinitely easier and safer to go out for a night of drinking, knowing there's busses, subways, taxis or Uber to take me home, far safer than if I were back in the 'burbs with almost no good options.