I’m of the opinion that this thread belongs in The Pit.
Cajun Man
for the SDMB
It’s statements like these that I have a problem with.
This statement is a little different. And one that I get behind, really. IMO, driving is a priviledge, not a right, and I think this guy has lost it.
So, hyperbole aside, maybe we’re really not that far apart on this.
But the fact is that if this guy has that moment of clarity, it’s a good thing. Good for him, us, the country and life as a whole.
If not, there ain’t shit we can do about it but accept it or fume and make ourselves sick.
Today, and just for today, I’m looking at the hopeful possibilities. Makes me feel better, anyway.
Rhubarb, I’m also going to have to disagree with you. You see, this past October, I had to take a morning off from work to go to court to testify against a different 20 year old who was driving drunk. This guy crossed the center line of a busy two-lane road on a perfectly clear June evening, and ran into a mini-van containing a family of five who were going out for the evening. All three kids in the van were under six. No one was killed, but the mother of the family, who was riding in the passenger seat, had her hip shattered in the accident and will need a hip replacement. I was two cars behind the kid. I started a thread in MPSIMS the morning after I saw it, and I had to dredge up the memories before going to court. It was not a pleasant experience. Because the kid decided to go with a plea bargain, I didn’t have to testify. He’s spending this Christmas in jail, followed by a nine-month long rehab program. If he washes out, he will go back to jail. This was his first conviction, the first time he was stopped for DUI. Even tbough he was in contact with the family he hit, even though the father, who was driving the car and who works with recovering addicts, was in contact with him, the first time he apologized to them was after his sentencing. He was seen drunk after the accident.
I hope this kid as well as the one in the OP had the proverbial “moment of clarity”. On the other hand, I’ve known enough alcoholics and recovering alcholics and other addicts to know it won’t necessarily happen. I still remember one young man who told me, “Oh, I’ve hit rock bottom, and I bounced.” Here’s a fundamental rule of addiction and severe mental illness: if you bounce, it’s not rock bottom.
I hope having his necked saved and facing a judge will get it through to the kid in the OP that what he was doing was damned dangerous. I hope the kid I had to testify against realizes his desire to use alcohol, cocaine, and valium (he apparently used the valium to bring himself down from the cocaine high) nearly cost a family their lives and, as it is, did damage it will take years to heal. Religious person that I am, I’m praying for it. Cynic that I am, I’m not betting on it.
At the risk of sounding harsh, if you’re drunk and driving, to me, you have decided to put your pleasure ahead of other people’s safety and lives. If that’s where your priorities are, so be it.
The kid in the OP was lucky. I hope it’s the wake up call he needs. If it isn’t, I hope that when that wake up call comes, it doesn’t involve innocent people being hurt.
By the way, when I witnessed the accident I mentioned, I was on my way to a bar to have a drink with former co-workers. The reason I was drinking colas that night and would have been even if I hadn’t seen what I had is because I knew I had a longish drive home and I don’t believe in endangering myself or others. That’s also why I’ve taken Greyhound to another city rather than driving myself and spent the night on a friend’s couch. It’s also why the new cell phone I’ve acquired will not be answered while I’m driving. If that sounds hard-nosed and tight-assed so be it. Believe me, I’ve been called worse!
Respectfully,
CJ
What I said was a direct response to your question of why you should care about someone who . . .
I was pointing out that it is not untenable to love those who do not “deserve” to be loved. There are reasons to at least attempt to do so. Safety from potential acts of those who have previously done harm is not the only criteria to use to decide your basic question of why you should care.
Perhaps you should not. Some do, however. And some find the entire attitude of such things as the Darwin Awards to be mean. Being mean can become habitual.
Sorry for the late reply
Tris
“It is when I struggle to be brief that I become obscure.” ~ Horace ~
I’ll raise my hand high. I’ve never drank and drove in my entire life, and I’m 29.
I agree with Reeder and Duderdude. I’m tired of hearing about innocent lives taken by stupid young drunks.
They do a lot. Just look at the runner up section: the guy with the weather balloons survived, didn’t he? After all, if you replace a fuse in your car with a live bullet and it doesn’t shoot your bollocks off you’re not going to advertise it 
I never drove drunk, and I was an active alcoholic for 10 years.
I’m sure all of the people who have lost loved ones from drunk driving (and I include myself in that group*) aren’t comforted by “Oh, he/she was young and foolish, anyone could have made that mistake”.
Sorry. Doesn’t cut it. If you get caught drinking and driving, you should lose your license for life. That’s it. We trusted you with 2,000 lbs. of steel and glass, and you just proved you’re not responsible enough to handle it. No more soup for you. So, no more license, no more insurance, and you’re name goes into a national database of fuckwits that any car dealer and insurance agent can access.
Drive drunk again somehow? How about a nice penalty? Um, let’s say 10 years in prison (I’ll go with attempted murder) and a $100,000 fine. Fine cannot be avoided by declaring bankruptcy.
That’s all just pulled out of my ass, but it has to be better than the slap on the wrist mentality we have going on now.
*A very good friend of mine from high school died just after graduation while drinking and driving. He was one of the nicest guys you could hope to meet, but drove drunk all the time (I personally took his keys twice). He rolled a car with himself and three friends in it. The police originally thought there were only three people in the car (all of whom were thrown out, since none were wearing seatbelts), until they righted the car and found him underneath. I’m sorry he’s gone, and sorry for his family, but the roads are safer with him dead. The three friends recovered from their various injuries, although one lost his left arm just below the elbow, and another will never walk without a limp.
<Raises hand>
I was never that stupid.
I’ve scraped too damn many dead bodies off the concrete that were killed by DWI drivers. I halfway agree with Reeder because I equate drunk drivers with people who open fire on other people in crowded areas. The fact that they didn’t kill or wound anyone else is immaterial; they tried to. And yes, I think they did it deliberately. No one drives drunk unless they want to. No one shoots into crowds unless they want to. Both exhibit a total, callous disregard for human life.
<raises hand>
In UK though Drunken Driving is considered only slightly more socially acceptable than owning kiddie porn, due in part to some excellent advertising campaigns by the government.
I don’t think I would agree with this. Let’s not forget that shitty drivers kill people all the time when they are stone-cold sober. Did they do it deliberately? After all, no one drives shitty unless they want to.