# Alcoholic neighbor driving around **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 2, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128 "2011-06-02T20:56:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/21 "2011-06-03T14:15:56Z")
One thing I’d suggest for the OP is to write down all the pertinent information beforehand - license plate, make and model of car, color of car, name and address of neighbor, brief, physical description of neighbor, etc. Have all that info on a pad next to the phone, so when you call, you have it right there in front of you. You won’t have to wrack your brain for answers, and if you get nervous, you can just read from the pad and don’t have to think. They will probably ask your name, but you are allowed to tell them you’d prefer to remain anonymous. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/22 "2011-06-03T14:37:17Z")
Driving while drunk is against the law almost everywhere in the world, even if you don’t cause an accident. This is because driving drunk kills people. Call the police. Drunk driving killed more people in 2001 than terrorists did. It’s a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/23 "2011-06-03T15:06:43Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > I agree with calling the police, but you also should say something to her the next time you see her in a drunken condition, **Elbows** is right, it’s useless to talk to her when she’s drunk. If you want to talk to her, wait until she’s sober. She won’t remember anything you told her otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/24 "2011-06-03T15:13:40Z")
Don’t talk to her. Call the cops on her ass. You can talk to her after they’ve got her off the road. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/25 "2011-06-03T15:20:14Z")
What I would do is tell her “the next time I see you driving drunk, I’m calling the police.” And then do it. I think just doing it without even saying anything to her is wrong, but you can’t let her get away with endangering peoples’ lives and property. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/26 "2011-06-03T15:25:59Z")
**Feyrat** , you’ve heard the unanimous decision. You need to turn her in. So are you going to do it? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/27 "2011-06-03T15:45:28Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > **Feyrat** , you’ve heard the unanimous decision. You need to turn her in. So are you going to do it? Unanimous? I don’t think so. I you’re too pussy to tell her to her face she’s a big smelly dangerous drunk than you have no business tattling to the cops. She’s an old woman for Christ’s sake. What’s she gonna do, get drunk and beat you up? Mind your own business people, or man up. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/28 "2011-06-03T15:52:05Z")
Since you’re going to have to live with this neighbor make sure you call the police anonymously. You can’t be assured the police won’t bring your name into it. And you don’t want an mean old drunk after you, after she gets her driving privileges revoked ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/29 "2011-06-03T16:14:23Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Unanimous? I don’t think so. I you’re too pussy to tell her to her face she’s a big smelly dangerous drunk than you have no business tattling to the cops. She’s an old woman for Christ’s sake. What’s she gonna do, get drunk and beat you up? > > Mind your own business people, or man up. This advice is beyond foolish. If she were just getting drunk and wandering around her yard, no big deal, but she is getting behind the wheel of car and driving around. She has already nearly hit people and other cars. This woman is a tragedy waiting to happen. How would you feel is she hits and kills a toddler or an elementary school child walking to school? ---
**Author:** ![Soliloquy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Soliloquy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soliloquy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/30 "2011-06-03T16:33:49Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Unanimous? I don’t think so. I you’re too pussy to tell her to her face she’s a big smelly dangerous drunk than you have no business tattling to the cops. She’s an old woman for Christ’s sake. What’s she gonna do, get drunk and beat you up? > > Mind your own business people, or man up. Old women, particularly ones with violent ex-husbands, can have weapons in their homes, just like young ones. Why take a chance? I’ve been in more fights with drunks, regardless of age, than anyone else. She’s not your friend. No intervention required. Not your job. However, if I were you, I’d stop helping her out by letting her use your phone and such. It could lead to badness. I understand wanting to help, but some people are beyond your help. She sounds like one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Feyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/fbc32d/32.png) [@Feyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feyrat)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/31 "2011-06-03T16:50:55Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > **Feyrat** , you’ve heard the unanimous decision. You need to turn her in. So are you going to do it? Of course I will. I believe I implied that in my second post, so I’ll be explicit here: yes. I don’t really appreciate everyone acting like I’m horrible for having been confused or uncertain about this, but I understand the sentiment nonetheless. The next time I see her I will be sure to call. On the other hand, I will not be confronting her personally, and I do not believe she is a mean drunk or will come gunning for me if I did. I don’t even think she’d trample my flowerbeds. I just don’t think it would be helpful for me to do so, and I don’t feel comfortable doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/32 "2011-06-03T16:57:42Z")
> [@Feyrat](#): > > On the other hand, I will not be confronting her personally, and I do not believe she is a mean drunk or will come gunning for me if I did. I don’t even think she’d trample my flowerbeds. I just don’t think it would be helpful for me to do so, and I don’t feel comfortable doing it. Confronting her personally is not the important bit. The important bit is _stopping the potentially deadly drunk driving_. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/33 "2011-06-03T17:04:13Z")
Please let us know how this goes. The thought of yet another drunk driver out there endangering others makes me a little crazy. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/34 "2011-06-03T17:12:16Z")
Getting nabbed for drunk driving could be the first step in being able to turn her life around. Or not. But at least you could possibly the save the lives of others or even her life by getting her DUI problem handled. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/35 "2011-06-03T17:12:17Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Unanimous? I don’t think so. I you’re too pussy to tell her to her face she’s a big smelly dangerous drunk than you have no business tattling to the cops. She’s an old woman for Christ’s sake. What’s she gonna do, get drunk and beat you up? > > Mind your own business people, or man up. That’s silly. If you know your neighbor is a wife beater or muderer or arsonist and you’re afraid to confront him, does that mean you shouldn’t go to the police? People should only alert the law when they’re not afraid of the criminal? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/36 "2011-06-03T17:33:15Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > [W]ait until she’s sober. She won’t remember anything you told her otherwise. > [@Mosier](#): > > What I would do is tell her “the next time I see you driving drunk, I’m calling the police.” And then do it. > > I think just doing it without even saying anything to her is wrong… Yes, and I’d do it in writing, so that, after she gets out on bail, she can look back at it and see it as an artifact of her drunken consciousness, rather than you punishing her. Just maybe it will lead her to sober up. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/37 "2011-06-03T17:34:29Z")
> [@Feyrat](#): > > The next time I see her I will be sure to call. > > On the other hand, I will not be confronting her personally, and I do not believe she is a mean drunk or will come gunning for me if I did. I don’t even think she’d trample my flowerbeds. I just don’t think it would be helpful for me to do so, and I don’t feel comfortable doing it. Am I the only one here that thinks this is a dick move? First tell the old lady that you would allow her to continue to drive drunk and if she does it again, then it’s on her. But give her the chance to stop it. Her life is already in the toilet without tacking on an unneeded DWI conviction just because you don’t have the nerve to confront her. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/38 "2011-06-03T17:38:37Z")
Call the cops immediately. This woman needs help. Have you thought about how you will feel if she hits or kills someone while driving drunk? ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/39 "2011-06-03T18:03:19Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Am I the only one here that thinks this is a dick move? First tell the old lady that you would allow her to continue to drive drunk and if she does it again, then it’s on her. > > But give her the chance to stop it. Her life is already in the toilet without tacking on an unneeded DWI conviction just because you don’t have the nerve to confront her. Do you think that she somehow doesn’t realize that drunk driving is wrong and dangerous? ---
**Author:** ![Feyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/fbc32d/32.png) [@Feyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feyrat)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128/40 "2011-06-03T19:03:55Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Am I the only one here that thinks this is a dick move? First tell the old lady that you would allow her to continue to drive drunk and if she does it again, then it’s on her. > > But give her the chance to stop it. Her life is already in the toilet without tacking on an unneeded DWI conviction just because you don’t have the nerve to confront her. I disagree. Isn’t it already on her not to engage in illegal behavior? How does giving her a warning or not change that? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-neighbor-driving-around/584128.md?page=3)