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Drink Driving Punishment


trekkie_ram

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Random thought I had months ago, and it recurs so I want to play Devils Advocate. Ignoring the logistical impossibility of implementing what I'm about to say, hypothetically consider the following:

 

If you drink drive, why are you banned from driving? Surely you are showing that you cannot be trusted to make a rational judgement after consuming alcohol, and therefore the correct punishment should be a ban from drinking alcohol?

 

Additional question: If I was found to be drunk on a push bike, what would my punishment be?

 

And no, I haven't been drink driving - lol.

 

 

Edit: Apparently I was given a thesaurus for Christmas.

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I could drink 10 pints and not have a fight. But I couldn't drink 10 pints and drive a car straight. So I shouldn't be allowed to drive a car.

 

Re being drunk on a bike - unless you're cycling in a dangerous way, you're fine - there's no legal limit for cycling (correct me if I'm wrong)

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the offence of driving while over the limit doesn’t apply to cyclists. (RTA s.5)

To commit the offence of riding while unfit, the statute says that you have to be under the influence of drink (or drugs) to the extent that you’re incapable of having proper control of the cycle. If you’re capable of some sort of control, but wobbling and weaving around, then you’re probably not capable of proper control, and you’re probably committing the offence.

In the wobbling and weaving scenario, even if you weren’t convicted of riding while unfit, you could be committing the offence of cycling without due care and attention. (RTA s.29)

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Interesting Trekkie, I'm sure I've read somewhere that if caught in a certain country (can't remember which one) the penalty is a bit of a combination of a driving and alcohol ban! I'll have a dig later...

I think the way we look at it in this country, is that driving is a privilege and you lose that if you put others at risk by driving a car (basically a weapon) whilst impaired through drink or drugs.

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Interesting Trekkie, I'm sure I've read somewhere that if caught in a certain country (can't remember which one) the penalty is a bit of a combination of a driving and alcohol ban! I'll have a dig later...

I think the way we look at it in this country, is that driving is a privilege and you lose that if you put others at risk by driving a car (basically a weapon) whilst impaired through drink or drugs.

 

I like the comparison of a car with a weapon.

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I like the comparison of a car with a weapon.

 

I have always looked at it that way. I think it is often taken for granted that it can be a killing machine. All in all I think the standard of driving is shocking but that I put down to the general selfish nature of people these days.

I like idea though, ban them drinking and ban them from driving. The worst thing I have done when drunk is delete people from facebook!

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I have always looked at it that way. I think it is often taken for granted that it can be a killing machine. All in all I think the standard of driving is shocking but that I put down to the general selfish nature of people these days.

I like idea though, ban them drinking and ban them from driving. The worst thing I have done when drunk is delete people from facebook!

 

I love how inoffensive honking your horn is in some countries (UAE comes to mind, but I'm certain there are lots of examples), even the horn sounds friendlier.

 

People use it to say, "look, here I am" or "please make a gap", rather than "why have you cut across my lane d***head??" - I must admit I used mine for the latter earlier today. To join the A47 from Kings Lynn, they've built a flyover to go west, but people would rather follow the signs for the flyover, and then cut right across the roundabout to avoid it! They're willing to risk a collusion because they don't trust a sign and a flyover that's probably been there for at least a decade!

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Right Trekkie, here's one but it's just a recommendation at the moment, I've definitely seen it enforced somewhere in the world.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/03/09/us/new-mexico-alcohol-sales-dwi-convicts.html

 

If cars had these fitted it would solve almost all cases! Obviously cost & hygiene are minor obstacles.

 

I had another driving thought earlier:

Can headlights and windscreens be built so that you aren't blinded by oncoming traffic at night?

Obviously let the view of the road etc through so you can actually drive. You also want to know that cars are there, so a reasonable amount of light should get through, but can some of the headlight light be filtered? I'm thinking along the lines of a 3DTV, where you can have two people with different 3D glasses watching different things on the same screen.

 

Did that makes sense?

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