> But there were no alternatives!
Are you seriously suggesting you had no better alternative than to drive drunk?
There were at least three alternatives available: Don't drink, get a ride with someone sober, or walk/bike/etc.
Are you seriously suggesting you had no better alternative than to drive drunk?
There were at least three alternatives available: Don't drink, get a ride with someone sober, or walk/bike/etc.
The comment I replied to was, presumably, written while unimpaired and with the benefit of hindsight.
To argue "but you knew when you were drinking that 3rd beer!!..." is all well and good, but the point of going out is to enjoy your friends company and have fun, not carefully monitor your alcohol consumption. The lack of taxis, buses, trains, etc in many states is a major contributor to drunk driving.
I think it’s unacceptable for me to drink anything at all when I plan on driving. That way I have never ever been in a situation where I had to drive while being drunk. It’s a quite simple heuristic …
I think it's acceptable to drink some amount before driving because I understand the physiological processes that turn alcohol into not-alcohol and therefore that at some point after I drink, I will be OK to drive. If that wasn't the case then having a drink would be a big decision, after which a person could never drive a car again.
The question is proximity. If we go for a few beers and then walk next door and have dinner (without beers) then I think it's safe to drive home. An hour drinking two beers, an hour eating dinner, and there should be little to no alcohol left in your system when you drive. Fine upstanding citizens do this all the time.
People are going to drink, they are going to do it in social environments beyond their homes, and they are going to return to their homes. A realistic solution involves recognizing these centuries-old truths and minimizing the inherent risk. Water flows downhill, and hitting it with a stick won’t change that.