I am so angry ... a drunken driving rant ... sentencing held

Re: I am so angry ... a drunken driving rant ...

The key, I think, is making the decision ahead of time, written in stone: "I am not going to drink tonight." Or, "I am not going to drive tonight." Because once you decide to play it by ear, it is inviting disaster.

 

Re: I am so angry ... a drunken driving rant ...

Man, you really get it. I remember your thread well.

Unfortunately, there were some guys on there who felt they could mess around with the legal limit, almost bragging that they know exactly what they would blow on a breathalyzer at any given moment.. bragging that one drink would not impair them in the slightest, which we all know is utter bullshit.

If you read this board, you'll frequently see people making light of drunk driving-- drunk driving which people die from. I don't get the 'emotional disconnect' (phrase Double Down recently used in a post somewhere).

Rosie, I'm so sorry.

 

Re: I am so angry ... a drunken driving rant ...

Mr. Whitman - Great post. The key is learning from your mistake, and it sounds like you have.

The other key point is deciding to be a man and walk away from the immature "falling-down drunk days." You decided to grow up - good for you.

 

Re: I am so angry ... a drunken driving rant ...

Eh, I'm too jaded in my role of cops/courts reporter. I've found most people who do this just don't give a shit. It's all about them, all the time. It never occurs to them that they could end lives, because it's more important to party. And it will keep on happened, because people do not change.

I know of a girl from my wife's hometown that kept getting busted with either DUI or minor consumption. Heard rumors that her dad provided. The girl just didn't care. It was all about living life and partying. Then she was involved in a one-car rollover that killed two of her friends. Still only got slapped with minor consumption. People don't change.

 

Re: I am so angry ... a drunken driving rant ...

I'm so sorry, Rosie

 

Re: I am so angry ... a drunken driving rant ...

Rosie, late to the party, but all the best from here.

Irresponsibility and alcohol is a dangerous combination. Nothing wrong with enjoying a few, but please, please have enough sense not to get behind the wheel afterward. It's not that difficult.

 

Re: I am so angry ... a drunken driving rant ...

Been on vacation the past two weeks and haven't been around here, so I'll offer belated condolences to Rosie on her loss.

I'm like Dick; there were plenty of nights during my drinking days when I drove home when I had no business doing so. I just thank the good Lord I never hurt anyone when I did.

I also thank God for 6 years, 3 months and 7 days of sobriety. There is nothing in my life that I am more proud of than that. Just take it one day at a time, Dick, and you'll be fine.

 

Re: I am so angry ... a drunken driving rant ...

I'm extremely sorry on your loss, Rosie.

If people want to damage their own lives, then that's fine. However, when a drunk driver takes away the life of an innocent bystander, that's when the line is permanently crossed. After seeing all of the stories of heartache and despair caused by alcohol-related incidents, drinking a bottle of beer truly seems like a waste of time.

 

Re: I am so angry ... a drunken driving rant ...

I'm so sorry about your family's loss, Rosie.

I'm going to direct my sister to this page. Two years after her boyfriend got a DUI, he's still blaming the cops who pulled him over because "they" ruined his job opportunities since he's a truck driver. Despite having that DUI, he's still gone out and driven after drinking from what I've heard, and while my sis seems to be bothered by it, I don't think she understands the seriousness of it. Maybe reading your post Rosie, both of them can realize the magnitude of his actions and that it's not all about him when it comes to driving under the influence. I don't want to have to make a post like yours about my sister, and I appreciate you sharing your story.

 

Re: I am so angry ... a drunken driving rant ...

Thank you all for your condolences, thoughts and prayers.

Wednesday, I just hit the wall, so to speak. I had the day off and wound up not doing a single, solitary thing on my massive to-do list - I slept half the afternoon away.

Peytons Place, it's unreal how many people I hear complain that their troubles are strictly a result of the cops being out to get them. The cops are not the ones who forced those drinks down your throat. The cops are not the ones who decided to get behind the wheel. The cops are not the ones who drove over the centerline, then the fogline, then the centerline again.

I truly hope and pray that your sister and her boyfriend will realize the seriousness of this, that it's not a game and yes, people really do die - dead, dead, dead - from driving under the influence of alcohol or other mind-altering substances.

The suspect jailed in her death has a hearing Tuesday. I believe it will be the hearing after Tuesday's where he will have the opportunity to plead on the charges. I'm just hoping this won't drag on too long - that he pleads guilty and gets the book thrown at him.

*sigh*

 

Re: I am so angry ... a drunken driving rant ...

The blaming of the cops I don't get. I can understand how you can be pissed about how the cops treat you during the stop or at the station. I certainly was, and I think that my anger was justified.

However, blaming the cops for the fact that you were pulled over, brethalyzed, and arrested? That just doesn't add up to me. At all. If they let you keep swerving down the road, and you kill somebody, that's on them. Once you pass that .08 threshold, you have nothing to bitch about. It's on you.

 

Re: I am so angry ... a drunken driving rant ...

Don't even have the keys on you. Put them in the trunk. Only fail safe way to prevent a DUI arrest. Keys in your pocket? Good luck preventing the cuffs on your wrists.