How good are you at driving when drunk?
Discussion
Cos I'm really good...
Only joking, but coming home in a taxi last night the taxi driver was truly horrendous (he was sober I hope, I wasn't).
I spotted 3 different things which had me pressing the imaginary passenger footwell brake well before he did. At one point he nearly killed a pedestrian!
Is there somewhere you can go, private track, simulator or whatever to have a few beers and try driving?
Or is that a stupid question? I imagine a few of those that tried it and didn't die in their virtual world would take their new found confidence onto the road.
I'm convinced I'd be a better driver after 10 pints than a large majority of other sober road users!!
Only joking, but coming home in a taxi last night the taxi driver was truly horrendous (he was sober I hope, I wasn't).
I spotted 3 different things which had me pressing the imaginary passenger footwell brake well before he did. At one point he nearly killed a pedestrian!
Is there somewhere you can go, private track, simulator or whatever to have a few beers and try driving?
Or is that a stupid question? I imagine a few of those that tried it and didn't die in their virtual world would take their new found confidence onto the road.
I'm convinced I'd be a better driver after 10 pints than a large majority of other sober road users!!
Haha... It's not just that though, it's every day when you see someone do something stupid or not spot something which is quite clearly a problem waiting to happen.
Things which you'd still notice after 10 pints.
A none topic, I know, but even so... Maybe I've happened upon a business idea.
Stag parties etc, turn up, drink beer and drive round in simulators.
Things which you'd still notice after 10 pints.
A none topic, I know, but even so... Maybe I've happened upon a business idea.
Stag parties etc, turn up, drink beer and drive round in simulators.
My mate has 60 acres, have driven lots of different vehicles in various states of inebriation. Only wrecked one car, many moons ago. We had a homemade rally course set up in some woods, and we were getting faster and drunker quite quickly. Ended up having a head on with a tree in a Nova, the tree came off better.
Boobonman said:
My mate has 60 acres, have driven lots of different vehicles in various states of inebriation. Only wrecked one car, many moons ago. We had a homemade rally course set up in some woods, and we were getting faster and drunker quite quickly. Ended up having a head on with a tree in a Nova, the tree came off better.
In my teens we used to do this a lot, although most of my friends became less enthusiastic after one friend Land Rover 90 hit another friend's Fiesta XR2 (writing it off badly).I tried this, on Gran Turismo 2, no drink, did a few laps to set a base time, Autumn Ring Mini, cant rememer the car, got in the 29's, had one bottle of beer, Budweiser I think (sorry), did a few laps and set my best time, 28.3 iirc, had another beer, then another and the times started going up, the dirving got scrappier, I crashed off etc, after 5 bottles it was clear you cnt drive very well after a decen ammount of booze, but critically, one actually improved it.
I repeated the same lap when sober again and couldnt get the 28.3 again, Top Gear did something very similar a few weeks later and Tiff Needell got very similar results, i.e. better after a tiny ammount but markedly worse after any more, so 1 bottle of Budweieser, not a pint, 330 ml, 1.7 units of Alcohol.
Not advising anyone to drink and drive but that was my findings.
I repeated the same lap when sober again and couldnt get the 28.3 again, Top Gear did something very similar a few weeks later and Tiff Needell got very similar results, i.e. better after a tiny ammount but markedly worse after any more, so 1 bottle of Budweieser, not a pint, 330 ml, 1.7 units of Alcohol.
Not advising anyone to drink and drive but that was my findings.
I regularly play Grid 2 and NFS with friends online and we often comment how much better we do with 2 pints in us. Of course it doesn't matter when you crash in a game and you're looking for speed and we presumably take more risks after the alcohol and get better times.
I wouldn't even dream of driving over the limit in real life I might add.
I wouldn't even dream of driving over the limit in real life I might add.
J4CKO said:
I tried this, on Gran Turismo 2, no drink, did a few laps to set a base time, Autumn Ring Mini, cant rememer the car, got in the 29's, had one bottle of beer, Budweiser I think (sorry), did a few laps and set my best time, 28.3 iirc, had another beer, then another and the times started going up, the dirving got scrappier, I crashed off etc, after 5 bottles it was clear you cnt drive very well after a decen ammount of booze, but critically, one actually improved it.
I repeated the same lap when sober again and couldnt get the 28.3 again, Top Gear did something very similar a few weeks later and Tiff Needell got very similar results, i.e. better after a tiny ammount but markedly worse after any more, so 1 bottle of Budweieser, not a pint, 330 ml, 1.7 units of Alcohol.
Not advising anyone to drink and drive but that was my findings.
Is that just to illustrate your point?I repeated the same lap when sober again and couldnt get the 28.3 again, Top Gear did something very similar a few weeks later and Tiff Needell got very similar results, i.e. better after a tiny ammount but markedly worse after any more, so 1 bottle of Budweieser, not a pint, 330 ml, 1.7 units of Alcohol.
Not advising anyone to drink and drive but that was my findings.
And I would actually say that sounds reasonable to me. I don't know why, but after a small drink I certainly have much better hand eye coordination. More than that and it starts to go the other way though.
I suppose when on the computer you take risks and they sometimes pay off (others you might crash and die but doesn't matter) and maybe with pool you are aware you've had a pint or 2 and concentrate more - I suppose same with driving.
But there are definitely people on the road who have the same reactions when sober as some people do when leathered.
It's scary.
But there are definitely people on the road who have the same reactions when sober as some people do when leathered.
It's scary.
Was involved in an experiment many years ago where we drove a car and when the red light came on the dashboard we had to do an emergency stop. They then gave us a pint and we repeated. We did this a number of times and the reaction time was noted each time. Obviously this was on private land. By the end I had consumed 8 pints and it took me 18 seconds to respond to the red light!
One of the bike magazines did a feature a few years ago; riding when seriously exhausted, riding when pissed, riding when wet and freezing cold.
Worst turned out to be wet and cold, but even just a few beers had a marked effect on ability and safety.
Generall, when driving a car, I find the "hands at ten to two, close your left eye and keep the road between your thumbs" method works best...
Worst turned out to be wet and cold, but even just a few beers had a marked effect on ability and safety.
Generall, when driving a car, I find the "hands at ten to two, close your left eye and keep the road between your thumbs" method works best...
craigjm said:
Was involved in an experiment many years ago where we drove a car and when the red light came on the dashboard we had to do an emergency stop. They then gave us a pint and we repeated. We did this a number of times and the reaction time was noted each time. Obviously this was on private land. By the end I had consumed 8 pints and it took me 18 seconds to respond to the red light!
When I was at university (many years ago) there were experiments you could take part in for free beer! It was interesting how at most things we got better after a pint, were a little worse than sober after two and from there it was all downhill.Probably my least responsible was driving from Edinburgh to Aberdeen one night after taking a seriously healthy dose of magic mushrooms washed down with a good measure of whisky.
By Dundee I was on a major trip and, as I drove down towards the first roundabout on the outskirts, the street lights looked like the launch lights in Battlestar Galactica when a spacecraft is being fired out of the mothership.
Wow man, just wooooooowwwwwwww!
I suddenly realised I was doing about 90 and still accelerating towards the roundabout however somehow, in my addled state, I managed to slow down and change down enough that only one set of wheels went over the island.
I was still laughing about it ten minutes later as I left the other side of town.
Seemed like a good idea at the time, but I can't imagine me ever doing it again...
By Dundee I was on a major trip and, as I drove down towards the first roundabout on the outskirts, the street lights looked like the launch lights in Battlestar Galactica when a spacecraft is being fired out of the mothership.
Wow man, just wooooooowwwwwwww!
I suddenly realised I was doing about 90 and still accelerating towards the roundabout however somehow, in my addled state, I managed to slow down and change down enough that only one set of wheels went over the island.
I was still laughing about it ten minutes later as I left the other side of town.
Seemed like a good idea at the time, but I can't imagine me ever doing it again...
I took part in one of the affore mentioned "experiment on a student" things while I was at university. I can drive a damned slight better drunk than some people could sober. 
What really stuck with me from that test is how appalling I am at driving when I'm tired - I'd rather drive after five pints than after only having four hours sleep.
What really stuck with me from that test is how appalling I am at driving when I'm tired - I'd rather drive after five pints than after only having four hours sleep.
HenryJM said:
When I was at university (many years ago) there were experiments you could take part in for free beer! It was interesting how at most things we got better after a pint, were a little worse than sober after two and from there it was all downhill.
Exactly this was one of those eventsRubin215 said:
Generall, when driving a car, I find the "hands at ten to two, close your left eye and keep the road between your thumbs" method works best...
Yup - 40-odd years back when socializing and driving was still quite common, a mate recommended that if I could see two white lines, I should cover one eye so only one white line was visible, swapping hands to change gear. It had served him well for many years, he said...Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff