I pit the mutherfucker who killed my boss yesterday

[yahwc]

@Loach

Not true at all. Fatal accidents are investigated just as much as a murder would be. I have never seen a fatal accident which did not involve an autopsy, including one car, one person accidents.

Perhaps, but that doesn’t imply anything about how these things are reported in the press.

For example, suppose there is a fatal accident where it’s the drunk who gets killed. An autopsy is done, including a toxicoligy report. So a week or two later, it comes out that the dead driver was drunk. Will the news stations report it? Possibly, but it it’s nowhere near as attention grabbing as the scenario where the drunk survives the crash and is arrested.

[Loach]

@yahwc

Perhaps, but that doesn’t imply anything about how these things are reported in the press.

For example, suppose there is a fatal accident where it’s the drunk who gets killed. An autopsy is done, including a toxicoligy report. So a week or two later, it comes out that the dead driver was drunk. Will the news stations report it? Possibly, but it it’s nowhere near as attention grabbing as the scenario where the drunk survives the crash and is arrested.

No argument here. Somethings make better stories and sell more papers.

[Ghanima]

When I was in Germany (about 15 years ago) drunk driving was taken extremely seriously. The legal limit was lower than in the US. You could lose your license with a single violation. There were also other penalties. My friends there wouldn’t even touch a drop if they were driving. But in the US it is quite acceptable for the “designated driver” to have a couple drinks.

My best friend’s father was killed by a drunk driver when we were about 9 years old. He went on a business trip and never came back. The body was so mangled they had to have a closed casket. It made an incredible impact on her life. She now works for MADD, trying to prevent people from going through what she and her family had to go through.

I don’t think young people understand the reality of drunk driving. They are still experiencing the “bulletproof” attitude of teens well into their 20s. I look back on my own drunk driving and wonder what the hell I was thinking. Now that I’m older I cringe to think of the condition I was in when I got behind the wheel sometimes. Now I feel nervous when I switch from contacts to glasses because my depth perception gets a little funny. Not to mention when there’s kids in the car.

[Cat_Whisperer]

@casdave

There is something of a culture of acceptance of drunk driving in the US.

You might not think that, but come over to the UK and you will find out the differance.<snip>

Canada’s halfway between - we’re a nation of hypocrites about drunk driving. We say that we don’t tolerate it, and we have fairly stiff laws (over 0.08% BAC or refuse to take a breathalyzer, lose your license immediately), but having a few (or more) drinks and then driving is done all the time here.

I think we not only need to change our attitudes towards drunk driving, but towards driving period. Tens of thousands of people seriously injured and killed every year is absolutely unacceptable, and I don’t understand why everyone doesn’t get that.