This. If you’re drunk enough to have to sleep in your freaking car, your body is going to take a while to metabolize all that alcohol. Unless you sleep for several hours solid, you’re not “sleeping it off”, you’re just “sleeping it down a bit”.
How many times have you gone to bed shitfaced, only to wake up a couple hours later feeling 100% better - until you stand up and walk around a bit? Then you realize you’re still drunk. Well, in a car, you don’t really walk around - you slide into the driver’s seat, start it up and start driving. You don’t have any cues that you’re still impaired, until you miss a turn, or hit the wrong pedal, or take a second too long to brake.
I’ve gone on some major benders in my time. But I’ve never, never gotten into a vehicle, unless it was a cab, or was driven by a designated driver. The few times I’ve needed a place to crash, I’ve crashed with a friend, or I bit the bullet and gotten a hotel room.
Sorry to sound like a public service announcement, but anyone who says they can “sleep it off” safely whilst in a car is most likely just another douchebag waiting for a DUI, or worse.
This is probably true. But, the way the laws are, it is still possible for someone not doing anything wrong to be royally screwed over. I don’t think a “zero tolerance” policy is the right approach.
When I did Drivers’ Ed back in Alberta (10 years ago), they made sure to impress upon us that the law had recently been changed so that the police can charge you if you’re drunk with the keys anywhere near your vehicle. Apparently one of the factors in this was the number of people who turned out to be “just going to get their coat.” They made a big deal out of the fact that it would then be up to the (potential) driver to show that they did not, in fact, intend to drive.
DUI’s are a cash-cow for State, County, and City treasuries. They’re going to keep this up for a long time.
Also, why don’t the law officers just park outside of a pub and pick and choose? Or maybe they do!
DUI’s are a cash-cow for State, County, and City treasuries. They’re going to keep this up for a long time.
Also, why don’t the law officers just park outside of a pub and pick and choose? Or maybe they do!
A douchebag I worked with many years ago described going on a road trip while high. He “came to” to realized he had missed the turn on the hghway and was 3 hours out of his way. 200 miles, and we’re talking winding 2-lane with rocky ditches not nice straight interstate. True, this was drugs not alcohol (or mostly drugs) but… If this is the sort of behaviour you can see from the truly pickled minds, and this is what you might meet on the highway, then common sense says to not let an impaired person anywhere near a car with the means to start it, no matter what their intention is when they first arrive there.
Because generally, the police need reasonable grounds to suspect you are DUI or it has to be a “stop everyone” checkpoint. Reasonable grounds usually in a “stop everyone” thing is talking to you and observing evdinece of impairment or smelling alcohol.
Targeting a bar may expose the police to racial profiling accusations depending on what sort of bar it is; plus a business that pays city taxes will not like its patrons hassled; after all, will I go to a bar on XYZ Street if the police are always hassling people coming out of the parking lot? Or go to the next town where it’s quieter? I don’t care if I am sober, I don’t want the cops pulling me over and probably looking for any excuse to hand me a ticket - taillight, forgot my license, improper stop sign, etc. Not to mention the delay of being constantly pulled over. Just ask anyone frequently stopped for DWB - you can be as clean as you want, it’s still not fun.
I remember some time back when I was a pump jockey, some guys that were high and drunk came in driving a RWD car with a flat back tyre (they wanted me to repair it). As they left I was on the phone to the cops - they got picked up a little later (after having hit and run two parked cars). Luckily they didn’t hit any pedestrians. I made a statement to the cops that got them jail time (so far as I know)
As regards checkpoints.
We had “stop everyone” checkpoints in New Zealand, and we have “ring fencing” here in Singapore (in ring fencing a checkpoint is set up on EVERY road leaving popular nightspot clusters) The only complaints I have heard in either place is from people that habitually drive over the limit.
Almost without exception, everyone else is supportive of getting drunks off the road.