Drinking and driving is among a number of risky choices that can be made. The fact that other risky behaviors exist that are not dealt with to the same level of condemnation does not mitigate the decision of driving after drinking.
Given that:
1) people respond differently to the use of drugs/alcohol,
2) there is an inherent need to generalize when making public policy decisions (i.e., looking out for common good rather than satisfying each individuals needs)
3) many folks are impaired after 4-5 beers (or less) at being able to accurately assess the level of their own impairment
I am glad we have laws that essentially take the guess work out of this decision. Basically, the idea is don't drink and then drive.
I'd be opposed to laws lowering the drinking age. I was 18 when laws were 18. I am glad my 18 year old daughter and her friends do not have easy access to alcohol.
I agree that there are other risks that should rise to a higher level of importance and attention in a collective look at public safety.
You make very good points. TP for level headed argument.
I understand the public policy, and I'm not so opposed to it. It would be great if laws in general could be applied less ham-handedly, but I understand this isn't Utopia. My 2nd post was more in response to the other posters here, not the policy itself. I just feel people condemn drunk drivers on the same level I would condemn a serial rapist. They are judging disporportionately harshly compared to other crimes. The absolute vitriol and judgement here is astonishing to me. It strikes me as extremism, which when coupled with judgement I believe is socially very dangerous.
You can tell how serious I take this because I made it through an entire post without any smart-mouthed comments and quite a few big words...
While I think your last post definitely came off a little...well, ignorant, for the lack of a better word...I do agree with you to a point. I absolutely agree that there is an unbalanced public response to certain offenses (although I don't think the general sentiment against drunk driving is anywhere close to rapists, or similar crimes...but I get the point), but I definitely do not think the problem is that people are responding too negatively to drunk driving. The problem is that there are other incredibly risky behaviors, which put others in similar danger that are overlooked.
Let's face it, the data is pretty conclusive that having a blood-alcohol level higher than the legal limit definitely impairs you, and makes it exponentially tougher to operate a vehicle (or other machinery for that matter) in a safe manner.
I'll preface this by saying I wasn't offended by what you said, and I'm not trying to be combative now. But my 2nd post, comparing drunk driving to other similar risky driving practices, was my response to what I thought was other people's ignorant posts on the subject. If I drink and drive, I am not choosing to endanger someone else's life. I am making a decision that I am competent to drive. And frankly I don't trust a complete stranger to make that decision for me. As in all aspects of life, some people will make bad decisions. That's how it is. But saying everyone that does this thing you don't approve of is a terrible person sounds like bigotry to me.
And I think the fact that many of the people who vocally and with much fire and brimstone condemn drunk drivers are now handing out TPs to eachother for not drinking puts a bit of a shadow across the argument. If you don't drink, that's cool. It's a healthy decision, like eating oat meal or avoiding red meat. But if you are giving out these TPs for pure morality, then that means you think drinking is wrong. And I don't think this should be a debate about morality, but public safety. So to be fair, I think you're bringing some baggage into the discussion.
To oversimplify this a little bit... it's my decision to drink. And if I ever get on the wrong side of the law, I'll take my punishment without argument. But I will not be judged by a group of people who don't know me at all, don't know the situation I might be in, and aren't familiar with the circumstances that even could put a person in that situation.
Poll
Topic: Have you driven drunk? Answer honestly... (Read 64185 times)