Fuckin' Drunk Driver!

The BBQ Pit
1

I just got a call from the store manager, a thoroughly nice guy, he got hit, HEAD ON by a drunk driver tonight…

an uninsured drunk driver…

the important thing is that he was able to walk away with just minor bumps and bruises, his car, however, an '07 Mazda 6 gave it’s life to save him…

raises a candle in tribute to a nice car farewell, little Zoom-Zoom, we hardly knew ye…

okay, now the details…

the stupid bitch (SB) came around a blind corner, on ice-slickened roads, doing a good 60 MPH, the manager (let’s call him Stark) was travelling at about 35ish (posted speed limit), the stupid bitch struck him head-on

Holy FUCK!, he just sent me photos, the entire front end of his car is GONE!!!, he says that the entire superstructure of the car, from the passenger cell all the way back to the rear bumper are wrinkled, distorted, and mis-aligned, SB hit him with such force that it almost knocked off his rear bumper…

I’m actually quite impressed at how his car held up, it withstood an almost 100 MPH impact, with almost no deformation of the passenger cell…

the SB was driving a Saturn SL series (the silver thing in the background), Stark was able to exit his vehicle unharmed, SB had to go to the hospital, her passenger was making up excuses the whole time, Stark is obviously shaken and shocked, after the impact, he actually ran out of his car, as he thought it was going to catch fire (the smokelike particles from the gas inflating the airbag freaked him out), her passenger tried to make some half-assed excuse about missing her turn, or something

I’m actually iChatting with Stark right now, he’s physically okay, a little sore, mentally he’s very shaken up, right now he wants me to bring over my freind, Mr Mossberg, and go Drunkie-Huntin’, obviously the rage talking right now

SB is in a world of hurt, a hospital stay, drunk driving, speeding, and she has NO insurance, and NH, IIRC, is a mandatory insurance state, she’s just so fucked, she won’t know what to do…

The important thing is Stark is okay, he walked away from the collision with a few bruises and a lungful of airbag smoke, but he’s okay, cars are things and can be replaced, on the upside, maybe he’ll get a new '08 Mazda 6 out of the deal

I think part of the reason I’m so enraged about this, is Stark’s a nice guy, and I actually consider him a freind, he’s (so far) the only person I know that has been personally hurt by a drunk driver

IF YOU CHOOSE TO DRINK, DO NOT DRIVE

2

Sounds like, all things considered, the right people are going to pay for this. Your friend is ok, he’s insured, and SB is in a world of hurt. He even gets a new car out of the deal. Better it never to happen, but still…

3

Sure, he’ll get a new car out of it. His insurance will cover 85% of what it’s worth, and he’ll have to foot the rest of the bill, assuming he doesn’t have GAP or uninsured motorist coverage. Even if SB does have to foot the cost, it’s not going to be an easy process to get the money out of her.

Drunk driving is so fucking stupid. It costs $10 to catch a cab home, and $30 to pay the parking ticket on Saturday morning if you drove downtown in the first place, compared to 100 times that amount on a lawyer, 100 times that in fines, not to mention the loss of property and life. There’s basically no justification for it in any way, I honestly don’t understand your, “but still…” comment.

4

Well, I was going for the “best results from a bad situation” angle, but I recognize your points.

5

Damn! I need to get a Mazda! What a safe car!

In addition to suing, your friend should attend her drunk driving hearing.

6

Yep, that’s a Five Star frontal impact rating right there, very impressive

He’s heartbroken about the car, he loved that thing, but I told him “Stark, the car did it’s job perfectly, it sacrificed it’s life to save you, cars can be replaced, people can’t”

7

Good on him to be able to walk away from a wreck like that. Too often, it isn’t that way. My uncle (of whom I have very fond memories) was killed by a drunk driver near London - also a head-on collision.

8

Chilling pictures. So often, the victim doesn’t just walk away…your friend dodged a bullet on this one for sure. Terrifying. Thank God he’s ok.

9

Your friend is lucky to be alive. Once all the adrenaline wears off, maybe he’ll feel that luck and not feel the need to go SB-hunting. I would think she’s in custody?

I had a 2nd-grader cousin who was killed by a drunk driver while waiting for the bus to go to school at 8 in the morning. (1986)

I witnessed and testified in court against another guy who nearly hit me while passing me going at least 65mph in a 35-zone, then struck a truck at an intersection about 1/2 mile ahead. He lived, his passenger died. The other struck vehicle’s driver was ok. (1993)

SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving) was popular in my high school. We had 2 students die in alcohol-related accidents when I was a freshman. (1984)

I take drunk driving very seriously and am outraged by the behavior. I’ve seen enough death from alcohol for more than my lifetime, and hope no one else has to say the same.

I must say I’ve never had a problem finding a ride, taking a cab, walking, designating a driver. It’s never ruined the fun of whoever wasn’t drinking, because the lives of our friends are more important than getting drunk and driving!

Your friend will have his day in court, will be able to face this bitch, and I hope she gets prison time!

10

Damn, that really f’ing blows. I don’t know what they do in cases where the other person doesn’t have insurance. I do know that NH isn’t a mandatory insurance state, however, or at least wasn’t when I was there a few years ago. Christ, people need to wise the fuck up, or at least have friends that are smarter than they are.

11

What’s the deal in your state with personal injury compensation, and uninsured drivers compensation? I know in NJ, you have to have pretty serious injuries, such as broken bones, in order to sue for pain & suffering. However, we also have coverage such that our own insurance company will pay such damages if the at fault party is uninsured or under-insured.

12

Poor car.

Your friend is going to be a lot more sore tomorrow.

13

Prison sentence for uninsured drunk driving! Apply directly to the forehead!

14

Yeah, it’s almost like drunk people are not exercising good judgement.

And therein lies the problem. All sober people know it’s a bad idea to drink and drive. But by definition, drunk people are not sober. Logic simply does not apply.

15

Some drunk people. My reflexes get bad and my thinking gets slower but I don’t make any decisions I wouldn’t make when sober, only decisions I couldn’t make when sober due to repression. The couple times I was behind the wheel and unfit to drive (due to miscalculating how long alcohol’s in my system the day after rather than trying to drive home that night,) I turned around the best I could and went back as soon as I got onto the road.

16

Holy crap, that’s extremely frightening.

I’m really glad he is okay, and I’m pretty impressed by the Mazda. If I were your friend I’d be sending a thank you letter to Mazda’s US office right now, that car really did its job.

I can imagine he must be a bit in shock still. And it’s difficult enough to get back behind the wheel after a minor accident, I don’t know how I’d recover from something that traumatic.

17

Well, yeah. Not all drunks completely abandon logic. It’s just the ones that do that are the problem.

Several years ago I knew a rather attractive woman. We’d usually meet in a bar. One night, she asked me for a ride home, and there was a sort-of promise that if I did, good things would happen. Alcohol plus the promise of hot monkey sex can add up to some powerfully poor decision-making skills. And it was only a few blocks, so what were the chances of anything bad happening?

But I’d long since made the decision that once even a drop of alcohol got into my system, my car was fully off limits. It was painful to tell the attractive woman “Nope, I can’t do it.” But maybe I saved lives that night.

18

Well, I’ve been in that situation but in reverse (where she offered to drive,) but unlike you I accepted it. But to be fair I wasn’t fully drunk at the time :slight_smile:

19

Apparently she had to get rushed to the hospital, but I imagine once she’s medically released, it’ll be off to the Straight-Bar-Motel for her, at least I hope so…

Sorry to hear of all the misfortune you’ve witnessed due to alcohol consumption/drunk driving, it doesn’t have to happen

IMO, SB should be charged at the very minimum, with assault with a deadly weapon in addition to her DWI and speeding charges, she made the conscious decision to get behind the wheel when she was intoxicated, she has to live with the consequences of her actions, Thank Og no one was seriously hurt or killed, but her behavior was inexcusable, and she needs to pay the penalty

20

Ludovic and tdn, my hat’s off to both of you for being able to make responsible decisions while still drunk. Maybe your idea of drunk and my idea of drunk are different, though. You mean, while drunk, you’ve *never *made a decision that, when sober, made you slap your forehead, cringe with shame, and swear that you’d never, ever drink again? Pissing in the fish tank at the office Christmas party? Calling an ex-girl friend a 3 in the morning? Telling a stripper that you’re really in the CIA?