Check this out:

Drinking & Driving In Montana (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/134699022_montana08.html)

I guess there are three states I won't visit any time soon!

"Wild West" be damned - I'm a Westerner and I think that drinking and driving is just plain stupid. You do not have the right to endanger other people. Someone needs to campaign heavily, to get these legislators out of office.

Here, in Az, if enough people want to get a law passed, we get enough signatures, to put it on the ballot, as a referendum. Maybe Montana can do that. Being that sparsely populated, it shouldn't take too many signatures.

Never. I don't even like having a glass of wine or a beer when I'm out to dinner. If I plan on drinking, I either make sure I have a designated driver or call a cab. It seems to me such an easy way to save your life.

Un-Believable!

I'm all for individual rights, and I think that the government shouldn't interfere with how I live my life as long as I don't hurt anyone else. I guess my political views go along with a basic tenant in my religious beliefs (though I am NOT turning this into a religious debate!!) - "If it harm none, do as thou wilt." Drinking and driving harms some, though. Definitely. Kills some even. That's not a part of "culture" that's ignorance. One of the quotes from the State Representative just kills me: "As long as you're sober, I don't see the problem." Um, isn't drinking alcohol the whole opposite of sober? Isn't that an oxy-moron? Or is he just a moron?? ;)

My brother got killed by a drunk driver when he was 19 .I hate drunk drivers: He was in AZ. on a motercycle and a half a joint in his pocket so the guy who hit him walked!
We lived in PA at the time.So we had no chose to let go.To this day I hope that man see this accident in his mind and see my brother dead on that AZ. hwy.every walking minute of every day.No I do not belive in drinking and driving!!!!!!

I am totally against drinking and driving.

A couple of years ago, the 17-year-old daughter of a local high school teacher was killed by a drunk driver. She was returning to our town after finishing work in Rochester, when she was hit head on by a drunk driver who didn't realize he was on the wrong side of a 4 lane highway. This girl died of her injuries while she was being air-lifted to the nearest hospital. She was buried in the dress she was planning to wear to the prom, and the church wasn't big enough to hold all the people who came to her furneral. The day that the rest of her class graduated from high school a couple of months later, also would have been her 18th birthday.

Click on the link to see her picture...

http://www.maddmn.org/madd-victim-tributes/images/reaching.jpg

Thats how I feel,she and my brother never went to collage,married had a child,did her drunk driver walk also?

Idiots! I imagine none of these people have ever had a friend or family member killed or crippled by a drunk driver. If they ever do, I'm sure they will change their tune quickly. :onfire:

Sherral, no the drunk driver got a prision sentence, but I can't remember how long it was.

I am our designated driver. Because of Bill's eyesight, he can't drive at night and I have to. I have ONE drink, before dinner and later ONE drink, at the bar. After that - COKES. Two drinks, spread over 6-7 hours isn't impairing but, I wouldn't go over that.

They are very tight, here, with DUI checkpoints, at random spots and times. Last weekend was Cinco de Mayo, which has become just another drinking holiday. DUI Taskforce nailed 74 drunk drivers, Friday through Sunday.

We are a university town, too. A huge number of underage drinkers get busted.

this was 30 years ago I'm glad the laws have changed..one or two drinks over a 6 or 7 hours is not drunk in my book either,I am talking about the people who go out slam down a lot and then drive.

My father drank and drove thank God he never killed any one,just his self to death.I also hated him for doing that.

I am totally against drinking and driving...I myself was 19 years old when friend and I were being dumb, and had drank way too much, and we ended up getting in a wreck and it sent us to the hospital for 10 days.....we are lucky to be alive today...I hit a semi head-on, broke my left femor, my left lung had collapsed, and broke my nose too...
my friend~ she broke her ankle and kneck, and had her spleen taken out...we haven't been friends since...her mother's insurance sued our insurance and they got the bundle from it..."I" was driving unfortunately.it is a memory I will never forget...

Does anyone NOT have a horror story to share? My best friend began a new job a couple of years ago. On the first Friday, he learned that Happy Hour after work was the custom. His direct supervisor, on the way home, somehow ended up on the wrong side of the highway. She killed someone in the car she hit.


"To Andrew Vandaele, the right to drink and drive is as fundamental as the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Hey Andrew, not when your so-called right robs others of
their lives! Moron.

Hmm well I have never personally know any friends under the age, or even anywhere near the age who died of drinking and driving, not even an accident that I can recall.

Now my 2 grandfathers that's another story, they both drank themselves to death when I was just a wee little girl. Maybe even one of them died before I was born, I'm not sure.

In Australia, they are not allowed to advertise cigarettes at all, not even have the packets on display, they have roller doors over them. Yet, they can advertise alchohol, all sorts of flashy drinks to entice the teenagers and show what a great time you can have, and most of the time the ad is followed by some fast kewl looking car ad.

It amazes me that people can do so much damage with alcohol, drink driving, violence, domestic violence, death, liver damage, etc etc etc yet it is still acceptable in societys eyes.

My father drank himself to death, and in the process destroyed a family with violence, grief, and trauma.

All i ever remember is a very violent drunk man climbing behind the wheel of his car.

Society needs to wake up to the dangers of Alchohol.

K.K.

Tybalt, there are several smokers on this board, myself included. I would not characterize ANY of us as fat and/or drunk. Personally, I will plead guilty to the lack of willpower. As for impugning character, there are far worse character flaws, than indulging in a LEGAL vice.

I do not smoke, where it is prohibited. Heck, I don't even smoke in my own home!

I feel very strongly about drunk driving. If you live in/have been to Ontario, you may have heard the O.S.A.I.D (Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving) radio advertisements. I participate in my school's branch of this organization, and have for the past three years. We try to educate the people in the school... we arrange for media presentations, we make flyers, do skits. None of it seems to have much effect, but we try.

I'll admit, I do participate in underaged drinking. Never in big parties though. And my parents always know. I don't let myself have more than three drinks, and I would never think to drive after drinking. (Actually, if I drink, it's mostly at my cottage which eliminates the driving factor altogether.) Each Christmas, my friends and I pass around little wallet sized cards with quarters taped to them, and they have all of our phone numbers and cell phone numbers. This way, if someone is too afraid to call their parents they know they can find somebody on the list, at anytime. There is no excuse for drunk driving.

Tybalt.both of my parets drank ,my father to death,I do not drink,my husband and I smoke,only one of my sons do,most of my aunts are heavy,none of their childern are,My mothers weighs 95 pounds,both her daugthers are over 150.
I am biplor,none of my sons are,I don't think you are born biologically predisposed to any addiction,s
IMO

lol, not all smokers are bad, I myself have been smoking for very many years. I am not lacking will power, I have quit before and infact I just quit for almost a year LAST year, it's just that I LIKE to smoke. I have no desire, at all to quit, I even smoke outside as it is, cause I think it's rude to make others have to deal with 2nd hand smoke, and I also don't smoke where it is prohibited.


I'm far from fat or drunk. ;) I only drink a whole whopping 6 times a year, if even, and most the time it's not to the point of real drunkeness. Plus I will never ever drink and drive, and I never get in a car with someone who has been drinking. And I do everything in my power to prevent someone whom I know is drunk, from driving.

Driving drunk is a disgusting and selfish thing! You could avoid killing or maiming people, but yet you choose not to.

Sherral: Do you mean Bipolar?? I don't know what Biplor is! :)
I am bipolar as well, and yes, you can technically be born with it, it can be hereditary, but that's not to say that everyone who is bipolar and has offspring, that their offspring will have it.
I don't know if my daughter does, and so far she seems to be fine!
So here's one bipolar lady that is NOT born addicted to alcohol, though I will not deny that I come from a long line of alcoholics. If anything that would probably have the most effect on me, not being bipolar.

Even if you are born with a predisposition to alcholism or drug addiction that does not mean you have to be a addict or a drunk. It just means you have to watch yourself.

My siblings and I had both parents who smoked, a father who was a drunk and a mother who was bi-polar and did drugs. Both parents where overweight. About half of us kids still smoke, about half of us drink, and I am the only one over weight. We are all bi-polar, but we all choose to take our meds and do the best we can.

So you can't help the cards you were delt, but you can choose how you play that hand.

The people who think drunk driving is a right are not alchoholics -- they are a bunch of selfish jerks.

jude

Neither of my parents smoke or drink. All three of my brothers have or have had problems with alcohol and/or drugs. One brother and I smoke and one brother chews.

I drink very litte and have never done drugs. Mark has had drug problems, off and on, for many years. He smokes, off and on, too.

I don't completely buy the heredity thing.

Drinking alcohol gives a feeling of stimulation. In reality, alcohol is a depressant, and it slows down brain function.

A person under the influence of alcohol loses control over the ability to speak, move and think. Typically, i feel that drunk drivers possess these syptoms.

A person driving on the road after consuming alcohol will take a longer time to see a problem and reacting to it. With vehicles traveling around town at around 60 feet per second, fractions of a second can make all the difference.

Alcohol impairment whilst driving is definitely a road hazard.

i feel that if one must drink, don't drive, and vice versa.

Cheers! :beerpals:

yes anglezOO whats what I meant[ bipolar],so I spelled it wrong!:D

:onfire: I just read that Drinking and driving in Montana article, I am speechless those people are not just morons, they are criminals to say the things they do.

I completely disagree with drinking and driving, MY father has been an alcoholic for years and on March 17 of this yr I got a phone call from him, saying that I needed to pick him up from the hospital. He had started drinking at 10 am and i got the phone call at 7 pm. The thing about my dad is that he does not drink every day but when he does go out he can't have just one. Thank God the street he pulled out onto from the bar was not busy at that moment although he did knock over a utility pole and hit 2 parked cars, no one was in them and only he was hurt a little. He is now on probation for one yr and has to attend one AA meeting a Wk for a year, and if he doen not comply he has to serve 30 days in jail. I had been waiting for that phone call for at least 10 yrs and I am only 25. So I can say that 100% completely that I disagree w/ drinking and driving because the next time he does this ( and that is a possibility he is still drinking and driving despite a suspended license) he could injure or even kill someone. Please don't drink and drive and please don't put your families though that, children should not have to take care of their parents.

Death of an Innocent

I went to a party, Mom. I remembered what you said. You told me not to drink, Mom, so I drank soda instead. I really felt proud inside, Mom, the way you said I would. I didn’t drink and drive, Mom, even though the others said I should.
I know I did the right thing, Mom. I know you are always right. Now the party is finally ending, Mom, and everyone is driving out of sight.
As I got into my car, Mom, I knew I’d get home in one piece, because of the way you raised me – so responsible and sweet. I started to drive away, Mom, but as I pulled out into the road, the other car didn’t see me, Mom – and hit me like a load.
As I lie here on the pavement, Mom, I hear the policeman say “The other guy is drunk,” Mom, and now I’m the one who will pay. I’m lying here dying, Mom. I wish you’d get here soon. How could this happen to me, Mom? My life just burst like a balloon. There is blood all around me, Mom, and most of it is mine. I hear the medic say, Mom, I’ll “die in a short time”.
I just wanted to tell you, Mom, I swear I didn’t drink. It was the others, Mom. The others didn’t think. He was probably at the same party as I. The only difference is he drank – and I will die. Why do people drink, Mom? It can ruin your whole life. I’m feeling sharp pains now. Pains just like a knife. The guy who hit me is walking, Mom, and I don’t think it’s fair. I’m lying here dying, and all he can do is stare.
Tell my brother not to cry, Mom. Tell Daddy to be brave. And when I go to heaven, Mom, put “Daddy’s Girl” on my grave.
Someone should have told him, Mom, not to drink and drive. If only they had told him, Mom, I would still be alive. My breath is getting shorter, Mom. I’m becoming very scared. Please don’t cry for me, Mom. When I needed you, you were always there.
I have one last question, Mom, before I say “Good-bye”. I didn’t drink and drive, so why am I the one to die?


. . . by Eugina Depasse

Cassandra - I have always loved that - it is so moving.

Ontario is trying to legislate that if you have 2 DUI convictions you lose your license for life. I agree with that. I also like the new thing that they have that if you have a conviction you have a breath-a-lizor plugged into your car in order to start it. You also have to breathe into it occasionally when you are driving.

Originally posted by adymarie
Cassandra - I have always loved that - it is so moving.

Ontario is trying to legislate that if you have 2 DUI convictions you lose your license for life. I agree with that. I also like the new thing that they have that if you have a conviction you have a breath-a-lizor plugged into your car in order to start it. You also have to breathe into it occasionally when you are driving.

Yes, I agree with it too. I read an article about it in the Toronto Star, the breathylysers. I guess they are making it so that you have to breath into it right away when it "asks" or else lights will flash on your car. They are doing this because people were using balloons and pumps that would register no alcohol.

We used "Death of An Innocent" for a dramatic reading at school, but we had to edit some of it because the school thought it was too graphic. :rolleyes: It's okay to watch action movies, but when a group tries to do a presentation about something meaningful, suddenly "blood" becomes a bad word.

Originally posted by Tybalt
Her date was drunk, ran a red light, and t-boned another car. He staggered away unhurt. She died in my grandmother's arms after struggling for her life for three days. She was sixteen years old. I think the penalty for a DUI death should be death. Alcoholics are treated with such kid gloves in the US, it is a national shame.

Well, this is a touchy subject for everyone, because everyone has a story to tell about someone they knew who was hurt or killed by a drunk driver. But I think that a lot of people know someone who was caught DUI and who had the sh*t scared out of them. These people will never drive drunk again (and I have several friends who fall into this category). And because of their stories, I won't either.

As for alcoholics being treated with kid gloves, I've had a much different experience than you have, and in my own immediate family. Besides getting in trouble with the law, the alcoholic I'm thinking of got in trouble with the family and was threatened with being committed-that finally drove them to rehab and sobriety. Kid gloves have nothing to do with what happened.

The unfortunate & cruel truth of the matter is that in 90% of drunk driving accidents if there is an injury or fatality it will be the innoccent. The ones who were at the wrong place at the wrong time. I agree that drunk driving laws are way to low here. My uncle was a drunk driver, he would get busted for it at least 3 times a month. He never lost his license, luckly he never killed anyone, & his only accidents where self smashes but it could so easily have been different.

Sadly, contrary to popular belief, there is no statewide open container law in Colorado. It IS, however, generally illegal to drive with an open container..... since almost every municipality has an open container law on their books. Technically, though, on the Interstates inbetween municipalities, it would be legal to drive with an open container AS LONG AS you are not 'impaired' (BAC of 0.10% or more).

Unfortunately it is only a misdemeanor to drive while impaired here. At least, until you're a repeat offender. The penalty does go up... not enough in my opinion. Then, of course, as a habitual offender - a class 5 felony - your license is revoked, and you're given jail time of up to 3 years.

Now, if the JUDGES would just sentence these people the way they're SUPPOSED to be sentenced, maybe it would help a bit. :(

No one wins when someone drinks and drives.