Winter madness: drink-drivers
Discussion
Silly season is now upon us. We heard the first random volleys of fireworks at the weekend. That's 3 weeks before bonfire night. No doubt they will continue on-and-off for a month or so.
Meanwhile, we'll have the Hallowe'en festivities to put up with.
Thereafter we can start psyching ourselves up for Christmas. Sadly, that means another inevitable upturn in the number of drunk drivers on our roads. Why do some morons still do that?
I live next to a pub and see people boozing for hours on end time and time agian before getting back in their cars and driving off. They often don't even try and hide the fact and screech off in a cloud of rev-limited tyre smoke. All it would take would be a police car parked just down the road to stop and breathalyse them and they'd be off the road for ages. Just one weekend of that sort of police action would wipe out the bulk of the offenders straightaway. Have any of you ever seen a car stopped after leaving a pub car-park on suspicion of drink-driving? Seems obvious to me.
Meanwhile, we'll have the Hallowe'en festivities to put up with.
Thereafter we can start psyching ourselves up for Christmas. Sadly, that means another inevitable upturn in the number of drunk drivers on our roads. Why do some morons still do that?
I live next to a pub and see people boozing for hours on end time and time agian before getting back in their cars and driving off. They often don't even try and hide the fact and screech off in a cloud of rev-limited tyre smoke. All it would take would be a police car parked just down the road to stop and breathalyse them and they'd be off the road for ages. Just one weekend of that sort of police action would wipe out the bulk of the offenders straightaway. Have any of you ever seen a car stopped after leaving a pub car-park on suspicion of drink-driving? Seems obvious to me.
LotusOmega375D said:
Silly season is now upon us. We heard the first random volleys of fireworks at the weekend. That's 3 weeks before bonfire night. No doubt they will continue on-and-off for a month or so.
Meanwhile, we'll have the Hallowe'en festivities to put up with.
Thereafter we can start psyching ourselves up for Christmas. Sadly, that means another inevitable upturn in the number of drunk drivers on our roads. Why do some morons still do that?
I live next to a pub and see people boozing for hours on end time and time agian before getting back in their cars and driving off. They often don't even try and hide the fact and screech off in a cloud of rev-limited tyre smoke. All it would take would be a police car parked just down the road to stop and breathalyse them and they'd be off the road for ages. Just one weekend of that sort of police action would wipe out the bulk of the offenders straightaway. Have any of you ever seen a car stopped after leaving a pub car-park on suspicion of drink-driving? Seems obvious to me.
It's a shame, but the type of person that is going to get pissed in a pub, then wheelspin out of the car park, is hardly going to stop just because they've been banned.Meanwhile, we'll have the Hallowe'en festivities to put up with.
Thereafter we can start psyching ourselves up for Christmas. Sadly, that means another inevitable upturn in the number of drunk drivers on our roads. Why do some morons still do that?
I live next to a pub and see people boozing for hours on end time and time agian before getting back in their cars and driving off. They often don't even try and hide the fact and screech off in a cloud of rev-limited tyre smoke. All it would take would be a police car parked just down the road to stop and breathalyse them and they'd be off the road for ages. Just one weekend of that sort of police action would wipe out the bulk of the offenders straightaway. Have any of you ever seen a car stopped after leaving a pub car-park on suspicion of drink-driving? Seems obvious to me.
But as the other poster said, if you see this you must report it. I've done it in the past, and followed the piss-ant for 3 miles bouncing off the kerb until the Police arrived.
LotusOmega375D said:
doogz said:
If you seen someone that's clearly drunk, getting in their car and driving off, phone the police. Simple.
They'll be long gone before the police ever got here. The police need to be a bit more pro-active themselves.Also it's not just this time of year it happens, summer when it's nice & warm is just as bad! (all 2 days each year)
LotusOmega375D said:
doogz said:
If you seen someone that's clearly drunk, getting in their car and driving off, phone the police. Simple.
They'll be long gone before the police ever got here. The police need to be a bit more pro-active themselves.I holidayed on the Isle of Barra once (Outer Hebridies). In the pub on the Saturday night, the locals asked us if we'd driven to the pub. Yes, I said, our cottage is 5 miles away up a very dark little road, no way we're walking that. Oh they said, make sure whoever is driving doesn't drink because the fuzz sit in a little layby just outside the pub car park EVERY weekend night, and breathalyse eveyone leaving the car park.
The wife was going to drive us back in any case as she doesn't drink (I'd never dream of driving after so much as half a shandy), but sure enough we pulled out of the car park to go home and there they were, and they pulled us over and the wife got breathalysed.
The locals told us that no one drink drives on the island as they're pretty mcuh certain of getting caught. Good stuff. Wish that level of policing could be achieved on the mainland!
The wife was going to drive us back in any case as she doesn't drink (I'd never dream of driving after so much as half a shandy), but sure enough we pulled out of the car park to go home and there they were, and they pulled us over and the wife got breathalysed.
The locals told us that no one drink drives on the island as they're pretty mcuh certain of getting caught. Good stuff. Wish that level of policing could be achieved on the mainland!
I think they do it all year round, the proper hard core drink drivers, its just the Police are out in force and consequently catch more, also office parties, a shed load to drink the night before, taxi home and then into work for nine am, hmmm, what could possibly go wrong.
Even some of the most vehement anti drink drivers have been caught out by the morning after.
Its pretty simple, think about it, if you aren't 100 percent sure don't drive, think about the impact to your life before it happens rather than regretting it after the fact, once you get stopped you have started a chain of events that have an impact for years, and that is the purely selfish view if you don't cause death or injury.
Honest, take a while to ponder it, the magnitude of that damage you can do to yourself, your family and your life is massive.
Even some of the most vehement anti drink drivers have been caught out by the morning after.
Its pretty simple, think about it, if you aren't 100 percent sure don't drive, think about the impact to your life before it happens rather than regretting it after the fact, once you get stopped you have started a chain of events that have an impact for years, and that is the purely selfish view if you don't cause death or injury.
Honest, take a while to ponder it, the magnitude of that damage you can do to yourself, your family and your life is massive.
J4CKO said:
Even some of the most vehement anti drink drivers have been caught out by the morning after.
Still too many people think that just because they've gone to bed and its now a new day that it essentially 'resets' everything and they're back down to 0. The mindset of 'but that was yesterday! this is today!'When i was pulled over for a random test i remember the officer was very pleased when i tested 0. He was such a polite officer i was almost expecting a gold star.
A friend of mine's father drove to the pub one night. Had a few pints and decided it was best to walk home. Bade his friends good night and left the pub, after asking the landlord if it was OK to leave the car there.
On his way home a drunk driver mounted the kerb, ran him over and killed him.
On his way home a drunk driver mounted the kerb, ran him over and killed him.
Volvo360 said:
A friend of mine's father drove to the pub one night. Had a few pints and decided it was best to walk home. Bade his friends good night and left the pub, after asking the landlord if it was OK to leave the car there.
On his way home a drunk driver mounted the kerb, ran him over and killed him.
Theres a moral to that story somewhere. But i have no idea what it is.On his way home a drunk driver mounted the kerb, ran him over and killed him.
Shaw Tarse said:
Tell the police it's happening, if possible give them some reg numbers & times.
Also it's not just this time of year it happens, summer when it's nice & warm is just as bad! (all 2 days each year)
I might try that. Problem is now it's dark so early, it's impossible to identify people and vehicles from where I live: I'd actually need to be in the pub as a spy, which wouldn't be very healthy on either my liver or my head if anyone realized they'd been grassed up.Also it's not just this time of year it happens, summer when it's nice & warm is just as bad! (all 2 days each year)
You're also right about the summer of course.
LotusOmega375D said:
They'll be long gone before the police ever got here. The police need to be a bit more pro-active themselves.
They are, pretty much every force in the UK has a Christmas drink driving campaign, offering education and awareness of the issue to the public, as well as operational tasking like getting more cars stopped and breathalysing where appropriate. Sadly, there aren't enough police officers to sit waiting down the road from every pub, bar, house party and social club to catch drink drivers, but they are certainly on the lookout for them rest assured.
Policeman waits outside a busy pub. Friday night.
Man comes out, zig-zags across the car park, falls over, sings a few songs, throws up, has a dance under the streetlamp, falls over again.
Policeman watches quietly as an hour passes. The pub is now closed, the car park has emptied, except for this one guy rolling around and one car.
Finally, the guy crawls across to the car. 5 minutes fumbling in his pockets for his keys. 5 more minutes unlocking it. Climbs in. Slowly drives off.
Plod's moment has arrived! Straight away he pulls him over and breathalises him. Reading: zero. Mystery.
"I've watched you drunk as a lord for an hour! What's going on?"
"I'm the DD, officer. Designated Decoy."
Man comes out, zig-zags across the car park, falls over, sings a few songs, throws up, has a dance under the streetlamp, falls over again.
Policeman watches quietly as an hour passes. The pub is now closed, the car park has emptied, except for this one guy rolling around and one car.
Finally, the guy crawls across to the car. 5 minutes fumbling in his pockets for his keys. 5 more minutes unlocking it. Climbs in. Slowly drives off.
Plod's moment has arrived! Straight away he pulls him over and breathalises him. Reading: zero. Mystery.
"I've watched you drunk as a lord for an hour! What's going on?"
"I'm the DD, officer. Designated Decoy."
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