woolybanana Posted July 4, 2009 Author Share Posted July 4, 2009 My original query was about being in charge of a vehicle. Specifically a camping car. One can imagine a situation where one might be pulled up for the night in a small village site and have perhaps an extra glass, then go for a little wander with the dogs last thing, and be had up because the keys for the vehicle are in one's pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceni Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 At the risk of being boring I will return to the original subject.What does the law state about the location of the vehicle in which the drunk is sleeping it off ? If it does not have to be on a public road then we are all at risk while drunk at home with car keys or hot wiring tools in our possession.As for fair or unfair, forget it - you are talking about the law. Extent of drunken-ness can be measured and those higher up the scale can be puinished more severely and sometimes are.John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 [quote user="Tony F Dordogne"]It's not perverse at all, it's the law and that's all there is to it. If you're so drunk that you have to sleep it off in the back of the car, it's likely to be 24 hours before you're actually legally able to drive. So you wake up, still well over the limit but feeling better and decide to drive away when you're still over the limit. [/quote]To decide to "sleep it off' in the back of the car does not necessarily imply that you are "drunk". it may simply mean that you are aware that, because you have had a drink or two, you should not be driving, hence, as its late at night you decide its best to sleep somewhere, rather than walk the streets all night. The obvious rejoinder will be "why not get a taxi home or even a bus?", possibly book into a local hotel for the night. As I remember NCE in my response above, none of those things was an option.Sleeping in the car actually indicates (and indicated) a responsible attitude towards drinking and driving which should be praised, not pilloried.In respect of waking up next morning, feeling better but still being over the limit, - how many people drink copiously in the comfort of their own home, safe in the knowledge that they are not going to drive anywhere, yet get up next morning and happily drive to work, smuggly unaware that they too are still over the limit. The only drivers that I know who are conscious of this aspect are professional truckers who regularly get stopped and tested in the morning after a night stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 [quote user="Tony F Dordogne"]Surely this isn't a debate about being drunk and driving but about drinking and driving?[/quote]I see nothing 'blindingly obvious' nor anything at odds with what I have said, in any case I think you are playing with words. I think for the majority the terms 'drunk and driving' and 'drinking and driving' are synonymous and both imply driving whilst over the prescribed limit.Your personal view, influenced possibly by your occupation in a former life and a recent tragic experience which you wrote about here, seems to be that you drink or you drive but not both but that is not the law else the limit would be zero which we know it is not. Others therefore, myself included, mindful that there is a limit, and with respect to their own known tolerance of alcohol, gathered in my own case from having been stopped and bagged in UK on numerous occasions with wholly negative results, will exercise their choice to partake in moderation.A glass of wine does not automatically turn an individual into a crazed lunatic ![quote user="Tony F Dordogne"]It's not perverse at all, it's the lawand that's all there is to it.[/quote]Well it might be but is it your contention that the terms 'The Law' and 'perverse' are oxymoronic ?From reading law reports in the Times 'perverse' is a word which crops up regularly in appeal decisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 [quote user="Sunday Driver"]So, we're back to decisions made by drunks...[;-)]Having taken the entirely responsible decision not to drink, then proceeded to ignore that decision and drink sufficient alcohol to exceed the legal limit, would a subsequent and equally responsible decision not to drive be at risk of a similar change of mind?[/quote]Winston Churchill got the UK through WW11 quite well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceni Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 But WC probably did not have to drive anywhere.John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 People manage to have accidents when sober - check out the facts only one death per two million miles of drunk driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:Uz2Y6SvY2pkJ:www.ias.org.uk/resources/factsheets/drink_driving.pdf+drunk+driving+deaths+per+mile&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ukInteresting facts in this article.Regarding Alcohol & Drug use in fatal accidents.51.2% were under the legal alcohol limit17.4% were over the limit& 17.2% had illicit or medicinal drugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now