# Ever operated heavy machinery while drunk or on meds? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 16, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-operated-heavy-machinery-while-drunk-or-on-meds/609693 "2012-01-16T14:31:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diamonds02](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Diamonds02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diamonds02)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-operated-heavy-machinery-while-drunk-or-on-meds/609693/1 "2012-01-16T14:31:55Z")
You know how med bottles warn you that pills may impair the ability to operate heavy machinery… Have you ever done so, to see what it would be like? Or doing it while drunk or high?Like hopping on a tractor in an impaired state? Smoke a blunt and whip out a chainsaw? I haven’t other than riding my bike drunk. It was hard to stay balanced obviously. One of my cousins admitted to riding a snowplow while intoxicated when he was a city maintenance worker. Another guy who worked for the same city, would get high (shrooms I think) and then get in a buldozer. Yes, this is pretty reckless behavior, but it doesn’t mean it isn’t fun, or at least tempting or funny if you’re a bystander. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-operated-heavy-machinery-while-drunk-or-on-meds/609693/2 "2012-01-16T19:50:46Z")
How old are you again?? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-operated-heavy-machinery-while-drunk-or-on-meds/609693/3 "2012-01-16T19:56:08Z")
I haven’t but could with no problem even being on the morphine I take everyday. I couldn’t the first month or so when I began taking the morphine for it made me a bit loopy and very very tired. However, I have been taking it for years now and can say that it affects me no differently than someone taking an asprin. Once your body gets used to a drug the feeling of being high is no longer an issue. Anyone have a front end loader they would let me play with?😃 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-operated-heavy-machinery-while-drunk-or-on-meds/609693/4 "2012-01-16T19:59:19Z")
No, but give me a drawbridge and I’ll make an exception. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-operated-heavy-machinery-while-drunk-or-on-meds/609693/5 "2012-01-16T21:20:32Z")
Sure. And by “heavy machinery” I mean my penis. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-operated-heavy-machinery-while-drunk-or-on-meds/609693/6 "2012-01-16T22:07:29Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > No, but give me a drawbridge and I’ll make an exception. I have never, to my knowledge, typed out LOL in my life. So, if you will, imagine that I did so here. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-operated-heavy-machinery-while-drunk-or-on-meds/609693/7 "2012-01-16T22:17:19Z")
Heavy machinery includes passenger vehicles. Minivans, Honda Fits, Chevy Luminas and the like. Are you including these? Also, does “meds” or “drunk” include non-prescription or illegal drugs? ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-operated-heavy-machinery-while-drunk-or-on-meds/609693/8 "2012-01-16T22:19:16Z")
Well, there was that time somebody left the top off the lithotine and I inhaled and almost got clobbered by the lithography press. And the time I surfed the net while drunk and had to spend the next few months clearing spyware off the computer. ---
**Author:** ![Diamonds02](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Diamonds02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diamonds02)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-operated-heavy-machinery-while-drunk-or-on-meds/609693/9 "2012-01-17T14:24:00Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > How old are you again?? 😕 Never too old to hear about funny stories. > [@chiroptera](#): > > Heavy machinery includes passenger vehicles. Minivans, Honda Fits, Chevy Luminas and the like. Are you including these? > > Also, does “meds” or “drunk” include non-prescription or illegal drugs? Yes, they do count as heavy machinery, but I’m not interested in hearing any stories related to drinking and driving for obvious reasons. Yeah, I’m including non-prescription or illegal drugs. > [@KRC](#): > > Well, there was that time somebody left the top off the lithotine and I inhaled and almost got clobbered by the lithography press. And the time I surfed the net while drunk and had to spend the next few months clearing spyware off the computer. Awesome! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Scholar\_Beardpig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@Scholar\_Beardpig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scholar_Beardpig)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-operated-heavy-machinery-while-drunk-or-on-meds/609693/10 "2012-01-17T15:03:42Z")
When I was 16, I drove a cherry-picker around the block after a night spent robo-tripping. I was unbelievably sick afterwards, but at the time it was amazing.