My friend who got the DWI is making us all learn the hard way how this goes. I was really surprised by the comments. I guess I'm the only one who has driven when I shouldn't. Got it, everybody. I guess my readers who are all magically fertile in their 40s also have never driven after a couple drinks.
Anyway, my friend doesn't even go to court until next week. She has to be there all morning, and she has to stay there until noon, so she has to take a whole day off work/school. Pretty much nothing is going to happen. They still have to get all the evidence and so on.
The lawyer said she should expect to go to court for 4-5 more times until anything happens. WTF?
It looks like the total bill will be more like 10K. Holy crap. How is anyone supposed to afford that?
The whole process is very scary, and boy I have never been more happy to blow $15 on a cab.
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17 comments:
I've drive when I shouldn't. I'll own it. Hey trolls, I'm someone else you can flame - I'M NOT PERFECT.
Also I'm fat, just to add insult to injury. //threadjack.
There's a difference between driving after 1 or 2 drinks which should leave you under the limit, and having so much to drink you get a DWI.
Where I live the general, well advertised, rule is a woman can have one standard drink in an hour and expect to be under the limit, which is a Blood Alcohol Content of 0.05. Obviously it differs by your body composition etc but if you have ANY more than that you should not drive. Oh, and we know what a standard drink is - FYI a normal glass of wine is TWO standard drinks.
What's the limit where you live? A quick google for texas shows me it's 0.08. So you're more lenient but she still got done.
In response to your, "I guess I'm the only one who has driven when I shouldn't" - no, you're probably not, but if you've driven when you KNOW you shouldn't, then yeah, I judge you.
How is anyone supposed to afford $10K on a DUI case? Maybe the cost of the case is that high to DETER people from driving drunk.
The more posts you write, the more definitive it becomes that you spew a lot of crap. You are seriously a tool. Your first paragraph on this post is the most ignorant and egotistical thing you've ever written yet. Allow me to shed some light on this: there ARE, in fact, people who take drunk driving very, very seriously. These are the people who have NEVER driven while intoxicated. These are the people who may or may not have had a loved one injured or killed by someone (probably a lot like you) who only think of themselves and think the whole world revolves around them. These are people who don't have to spend $10K to fix their stupidity.
I really can't believe how insanely trivial you make this situation sound. The point here isn't the $10K plus time she will have to spend to fix her idiotic mistake. The point here is that she should thank her god that she didn't kill anyone. And really, not everything can be valued monetarily. If you're really surprised by the comments you received in your previous post and the fact that some people really do NOT drive drunk astounds you, you really must be as stupid as you write yourself out to be. Sheesh.
I wasn't around when this DWI post happened. But I'll be the first to admit I was stupid a couple of times. It was only a couple of times, but it only takes once to irrevocably change your life.
I was lucky to not get caught. And when I woke up the morning after each one (there were two) I was incredulous that I could have been so stupid. I was only tipsy each time, but I grew up in Alaska and read way too many "Drunk driver kills" articles.
After that, I made sure to only have one hard alcohol drink, or two beers, if I'm driving. And then I still have to wait one hour before getting behind the wheel.
Still, as abhorrent as drunk driving is, I think most of us have done it. It's just that we think if it's only a buzz, or we were only tipsy, it wasn't that big a deal.
I don't understand the "magically fertile in their 40s" comment, but I have never driven after a couple of drinks.
I've never driven under the influence either
But that's more because I don't drink :) AND I didn't have my license until I turned 25
You're not alone. There have been more than a few times that I never should have been behind the wheel of a car. Call it youthful indiscretion, but still stupid. I never got into trouble but I was just a very lucky girl. It's definitely not something I would do now. Before going out my husband and I talk about who gets to have a drink and who the designated driver is going to be. It's been that way for the past 10 years or so.
I'm really sorry about what your friend is going through, but she should be glad that it's only going to cost her money and not someone's life. I know that a lot of people get self rightious about such things, and I don't mean to, but with drunk driving things could have turned out a lot worse.
I have not driven when I shouldn't. In fact I always drive the speed limit. Sorry if that makes others feel like they have to justify their behavior.
Regardless, I have friends that have. And while I love them and they are still my friends, I did not once feel remotely sorry for them.
Perhaps those who brush it off with -oh everyone does- should realize that attitude is exactly what perpetuates people thinking it's no big deal.
Or maybe google drunk driving accident survivor images.
I'll also say that, 'trolls' are no more or less anonymous then everone else on here.
I won't have any drinks and drive. I have in the past and it was a miracle that I didn't get arrested. The last and final time I was driving my mom home from a family party. I knew I shouldn't have been driving but did anyway. Then we came up on an accident. Drunk driver with her car around a telephone pole. Not sure if she (or anyone else for that matter) survived but I can tell you that the car certainly didn't. That was the LAST time I drank and drove. I regret and am ashamed that I put my mother's life at risk. What an idiot I am! That is unforgivable.
What's funny to me is that when I am offered a drink and I decline saying that I am driving... the most common response is... "Just one won't hurt" or "it's only wine/only a beer/just one shot". Either way... doesn't matter. No drinking and driving for me. It's not worth it in my opinion.
All your readers aren't perfect, but most who speak up on a DWI post will be those who feel really strongly about not driving after drinking to the point of the legal limit.
Just because a lot of people do it (and they do) does NOT mean it is ok.
Have I? I think yes, 2 times, when I was very young and incredibly incredibly stupid. I would not do it these days. So I do call anyone (including myself) who drives while intoxicated stupid. Sorry.
This means sometimes we just don't go out because a cab is too expensive and neither of us wants to stay at a club or bar or party for hours and be sober. (Sometimes you just aren't in the mood and it isn't fun unless you can at least have a few drinks.) Usually we take turns. But neither of us will drive after drinking. Though it seems your chances of getting caught in L.A. are slim.
So yeah, 10k sucks and what a pain in the butt to have to go to court. And now she's not allowed into Canada. But really? What do you expect people to say?
This is just another example of people sacrificing liberty for security. Some people (me) drive just fine after having a few drinks. If you're smashed, then you shouldn't drive, but the truth is that I drive better after four or five rum and cokes.
It's offensive that I have to risk ponying up several thousand dollars because some people can handle their booze and make poor decisions. And all in the BS name of saving kids. Life is a risk. You take a chance leaving the house every day. Grow up.
I have no sympathy for drunk drivers, because they don't think about others before they get behind the wheel. I've seen some scary drunk drivers on the road, doing stupid things, and they're laughing while doing it.
However. I have had a glass of wine during dinner, followed by lots of water, food, dessert and talking, before driving home. When I go out for dinner with friends, it's usually a few hours, because we like to just relax and unwind. If I know i'm going to be drinking more, I just won't drive. I'll either cab it, or the non-drinking friend will drive.
How about all those women who think it's OK to put on their make-up while driving? Or people who text, or talk on their cell phone? What about people who didn't get a good night's rest, or just got into a fight and get into their car all emotional and teary-eyed and take it out on the road? They're just as dangerous in my belief, as a drunk driver.
These posts are very timely. I am going to a party tonight that is about 20 miles from my house. I plan to have 2 drinks while I am there because I have no DD. But I will be there from about 5 to at least 11. There are people on this thread that will judge me for that.
Face it, Dog, everyone judges. I will also be packing a bag as the hostess has invited me to stay the night if I wish.
Love most of your blogs but on this one I must agree with Gina. It's supposed to be a terrible thing if you get a DWI for you as the drunk driver.
I cannot imagine waking up from driving drunk, having injured or killed someone. How do people survive the guilt and shame? Do you even want to?
Your friend got off LUCKY beyond her ability to dream of good luck and should say a little prayer of gratitude every time she writes a check for such an EASY way out of a self-inflicted injury. She didn't have to do this and if money buys her out of the problem, she must otherwise be living right.
When I was growing up in the mid-60s to end of the 70s, it was totally typical for adults to drink and drive. People still laughed about DWIs. You guys in your 20s grew up in a very different world and I cannot believe someone in your age cohort still does this.
I will admit to it as well, and DWI is indeed very expensive. I was never pulled over for it, but my father was several years ago, and he paid out well over 10K, and it took several months before the case was resolved.
I'm sure I've driven several times with a BAC of around .05, which is legal in my state. At the time, I thought I was perfectly capable of driving safely, and I was never in an accident or stopped by police, so maybe I was.
I wouldn't do it now, because I'm older and and less risk-tolerant, but it is true that statistically most serious drunk driving accidents happen at considerably higher BAC levels than .05.
I've driven much more dangerously from lack of sleep than I ever did from alcohol, though, and I watch people every day who drive just as recklessly from fatigue, low blood sugar, or distractiions like cell phones or conversation, as they would from three glasses of wine with dinner.
I've also been in several accidents. Not one was caused by a drunk driver, but by people following too closely, driving with bad brakes, and ignoring blind spots while changing lanes.
I wonder if the huge push to reduce drinking and driving isn't making people forget that the point is to drive SAFELY. You rarely hear the kind of harsh judgments against drunk drivers applied against people who choose to fast and drive or drive home exhausted from their second job at 2 AM, or fail to check their tire pressure. Those people are all just as dangerous as the lady who had two glasses of wine with her dinner, but they mostly get a pass.
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