my zed under repair

[mystik]

this is the same note that i posted to my facebook acct. i just don't wanna write another individual one.



i never thought it could happen to me

i was on my way home at three in the morning from a night of bachelor fun. "everything is fine," is what i thought, "just another night home."

what happens? car slams right into me... dead-on. next thing i know, some cop is helping me out of my car because i was knocked unconscious. the airbags had deployed and i must have been out for a good few minutes because i do not remember a damn thing and all i CAN remember are a buncha cops making sure everyone is ok.

even I tried to make sure everything was ok. EVEN MY CAR.!! but no... my precious baby is all funked up. (INSERT REALLY SAD FACE HERE). it's gonna take a few weeks to a month to fix everything... and that's IF I AM LUCKY there isn't any damage to the frame. i'm stuck with a rental for some time now! sucks!!

but... that's not the [sad] point! as soon as the crash ended, the cop took a breathalyzer test on me, and took me to the drunk tank where i was held for about a good nine hours. all chained up and stuck to a chair.

overall... the experience sucks, and it's definitely a life lesson, too. i have seen some friends in the past go through this type of stuff, and i feel their pain. i didn't at first, i just understood their frustrations. but now, the pain is felt and it is real.

i hope you all think twice about drinking AND driving. as cliche as that may sound... it's legit.

ironically, the other car may have slammed into me, but regardless of who's fault it is... they took me in because i was under the influence. bummer*

 

[mmm-five]

Will you insurance be invalidated due to your intoxicated state?

I prefer the 'none for the road' option, but I'm sure with different biologies & metabolisms it's possible to be over the limit even if you stopped drinking 12 hours ago.

 

[mystik]

insurance is still covering it.

 

[Mattt]

DUI still seems to be more socially acceptable in the US than in the UK.

If you'd taken a cab home, the Zed would be fine.

 

[mystik]

it's not as socially acceptable as you may think. i'm not sure how strict it is in other places in the world, but over here, if it's your first DUI offense, it's a misdemeanor with a fine of a few thousand dollars, plus a restricted license to get to and from work/school (the basics to live) for a few months. there's also community service to do, as well.

---------------

i'm not trying to justify my actions. i should have just not driven, like i usually do. but, the one time i thought i could get home safely, i was wrong. and usually that's the way it goes!

as others are telling me... "brace yourself. it's only gonna get tougher now."

 

[AlanJ]

UAE - any alcohol in you body whilst driving - 3 months in the slammer (and thats not a nice place to be.....). MYSTIK, sorry to her of your crash, it's a brave man that can openly admit their error in such an open 'forum' - hope the end result in terms of ban/fine/car damage is not too bad for you.

 

[lazerium]

In the UK it generally means a 12 month ban for a first offence, then when you get your licence back the insurance premiums are so high as to make driving something like a Zed almost impossible.

If you're involved in an accident or its a seconf offence its quite possible to get a spell in prison too.

 

[Tweed]

I'm with mmm-five on this... I'm a big guy, so it takes a fair amount of alcohol for me to feel any effects, but prefer no alcohol at all if I'm driving. Even if I have to drive the next morning.

When I was at school, two friends were killed by a driver who'd been drinking... They were just walking on the pavement and the pickup swerved, cleared a not-inconsiderable ditch and hit them both. The thing got so much air, a third girl with them felt it brush her hair as it hit her two friends.

Another friend (a young mum, her daughter was just a baby) was killed by the drunk driver of the car she was travelling in and a friend of a friend's 14 year old son was killed by a drunk driver pinning him to another car.

I'm glad you're not seriously hurt (and I sincerely hope no-one else was) but you'll get no sympathy from me.

 

[Darkman]

Not good, but very brave of you to make such a statement. I'm with tweed, its not worth the risk. 1 pint of high stength beer can put you over the limit in the UK which a lot of people seem to forget; plus if you get caught twice, the second time you have to pass a medical to prove you are still not a risk, this means being virtually tee total to get your licence back.

 

[GAZA62]

DONT DRINK AND DRIVE :thumbsdown:

Never take my car out in the evening i like a drink i take the bus or a cab.

 

[mmm-five]

DONT DRINK AND DRIVE :thumbsdown:

Never take my car out in the evening i like a drink i take the bus or a cab.

That's easy to say, but do you drive first thing the following day?

Alcohol is metabolised at a set rate no matter who the person is who is drinking it.
Some people may 'feel' less effect from it, and some with actually have less effect from it, but the measure of blood alcohol doesn't take ability into accoount.

The rate at which a human metabolises alchohol is about 1 unit per hour, and we know a half pint of 'average' abv beer/cider/lager or a 125ml glass of wine is equal to 1 unit.

So if you go out at 7pm in the evening, drink a bottle of wine or have 4 pints of strong lager and come home at 11pm, then you've had about 12 units.
This means that your body will not have metabilised all the alcohol until 11am and you will not be below the limit until 8:30am.
I'm usually in work by 7:30am, so I need to stop drinking at 10pm and/or have less to drink.

 

[GAZA62]

DONT DRINK AND DRIVE :thumbsdown:

Never take my car out in the evening i like a drink i take the bus or a cab.

That's easy to say, but do you drive first thing the following day?

Alcohol is metabolised at a set rate no matter who the person is who is drinking it.
Some people may 'feel' less effect from it, and some with actually have less effect from it, but the measure of blood alcohol doesn't take ability into accoount.

The rate at which a human metabolises alchohol is about 1 unit per hour, and we know a half pint of 'average' abv beer/cider/lager or a 125ml glass of wine is equal to 1 unit.

So if you go out at 7pm in the evening, drink a bottle of wine or have 4 pints of strong lager and come home at 11pm, then you've had about 12 units.
This means that your body will not have metabilised all the alcohol until 11am and you will not be below the limit until 8:30am.
I'm usually in work by 7:30am, so I need to stop drinking at 10pm and/or have less to drink.

No if i have a heavy night i will not drive next day if i do it will be around 3pm onwards unless i have had a really heavy night.

Never realised it clears that quickly take last night had 8 bottles of Bud in doors stopped drinking at 10pm had a ruby then got up had a full English and never drove until after midday i think so i would hope i was OK unlike last Sat night i had 9 pints of Fosters down the local followed by a ruby but never drove Sunday.

Do feel sorry for people that get caught out this way as they may not have had a lot the night before and think they are OK my brothers mate lost his license this way

 

[mmm-five]

1 x 330ml bottle of Budweiser (the 5% variety) is equal to about 1.5 units - so you'd had 12 units before you went to bed.
You stopped at 10pm and would require 12 hours before all the units are out of your system - which would be 10am, or 9am for the legal driving limit.

However, there is a small spanner in this working out because the alcohol is also metabolising whilst you're drinking, so those 12 hours should really be from when you STARTED drinking.

I use the FINISHED drinking time to be safe and to make the time calculation easier to understand.

There's a handy tool here that I've used before, and I once used something similar to work out I'd had 47 units on a night out (4pm to 6am) a long time ago

 

[czechT698]

yeah, I never drive during the other day since I always finish about at 6o clock in the morning and I am totally wasted School can wait

 

[mystik]

you folks are all so diligent about not driving when drinking


Good job*

 

[Mattt]

UAE - any alcohol in you body whilst driving - 3 months in the slammer (and thats not a nice place to be.....).

In theory yes, in practise they can't be arsed "too much paperwork".

 

[mikedav]

it's not as socially acceptable as you may think. i'm not sure how strict it is in other places in the world, but over here, if it's your first DUI offense, it's a misdemeanor with a fine of a few thousand dollars, plus a restricted license to get to and from work/school (the basics to live) for a few months. there's also community service to do, as well.

It's definitely more tolerated in the US and Canada, almost considered a worse form of speeding...? Especially in rural areas where traffic levels are so low and distances so large, people always seem to drive to the bar (in my experience anyway). Hell I've been in cars where distances between friends houses were measured in terms of the beers consumed on the way - but that was in Northern Ontario where everything is a 1 mile x 1 mile grid and there are no other cars on the road anyway....the guys who live up there have a shock when they try to behave the same way in Ottawa or Toronto.

In the 70's and 80's drink driving was more prevalent here, but there was a big crack down in the 90s. Since then it's been pretty serious, as said 12 month ban instantly for your first offence and the majority of people would consider it a big no no these days.

 

[Lucy]

Just don't drink! Simple! I go out quite a lot and it's very rare that I drink alcohol when I do. When I occasionally do i might have 4 or 5 drinks at the most. And I certainly don't drink it when I'm at home.The last few times I've been out I have drove and drank water all night. I don't need a drink to enjoy myself. I have my friends for that. I have better nights out when I'm completely sober! And you don't have to worry about getting a taxi home. Though it may help that I'm as mad as a box of frogs anyway, but still, there is no need for alcohol. It's bad for your health, you lose control of yourself and your inhibitions, it makes you feel ill. People get addicted to it which causes a whole load of other problems, and you can die because of it. What is actually good about it?

Anyway, I'm sorry to hear about your accident! Glad you are ok and you are very brave to admit that you had been drinking to the forum. Hope it gets sorted quickly for you.

 

[cj10jeeper]

Mystic - credit to you for coming on forum and telling the story. I feel sorry for you and the car, but at the same time - well you know :thumbsdown:

I'd say in the UK they have really clamped down drink driving these days. Convictions have dropped from 100k in the 90's to 80k in 2006, which given the never ending awareness, number of tests, campaigns, etc. is catching more of a dwindling group. Of course a few hard core, typically middle aged guys who take a drink at lunchtime or 'chance it' and young guys who are 'fireproof' are what remains. I reckon you're more likely to be hit by someone under the influence of drugs these days.

 

[lacroupade]

Mystic - credit to you for coming on forum and telling the story. I feel sorry for you and the car, but at the same time - well you know :thumbsdown:

I'd say in the UK they have really clamped down drink driving these days. Convictions have dropped from 100k in the 90's to 80k in 2006, which given the never ending awareness, number of tests, campaigns, etc. is catching more of a dwindling group. Of course a few hard core, typically middle aged guys who take a drink at lunchtime or 'chance it' and young guys who are 'fireproof' are what remains. I reckon you're more likely to be hit by someone under the influence of drugs these days.

And it isn't just drunk drivers...something like 60%+ of all pedestrians involved in an RTA are found to be under the influence. I have zero sympathy with them and I'll tell you why....

A few years ago a young lad in his early 20s, who wasn't a heavy drinker, went on the lash with his mates from work on a cold, wet December day. They were at it most of the day and into the evening, and around 8pm, with the young lad seriously drunk by now, they fell into a taxi in the middle of town to find somewhere to eat. But just as they were about to set off, the lad jumped, or rather fell, out of the cab saying he had "something to do".

His mates did nothing. Nobody persuaded him to get back in, nobody stopped to make sure he was going to get home alright.

They carried on drinking and eventually went home.

Meanwhile, the lad wandered out of the town centre and somehow, despite being paralytic, managed to stagger some four miles along an unlit country road to the motorway. When he got there, instead of carrying on across the junction roundabout to the other side, safely OVER the motorway, he was last seen by CCTV staggering down the off-ramp into the darkness - by now it was 10pm and raining on an unlit section of busy motorway.

I almost don't need to tell you the end do I, but I will.

It would appear from witness statements that he stood for a while in the middle of the inside lane - the police were already on their way to the scene as several people had reported seeing him. But before they could get there, he waiting until a small hatchback approached in the centre lane and then started to run across the road. Because he was wearing dark clothes, and it was a dark, wet night, the driver did not see him in time to stop....the car struck him and he was thrown into the windscreen, hit his head on the roof and was thrown over the top of the car on to the central reservation. He was killed instantly.

Despite the windscreen being shattered, and the extreme shock, the woman who was driving somehow managed to get the car on to the hard shoulder where she called the police. Her daughter, who had been asleep on the back seat, had been thrown forward by the impact, and although uninjured was, like the driver, severely traumatised when she realised what had happened.

After thorough investigation the police determined from the circumstances and details of the accident that the car had been travelling at 65-70mph, but that had it been travelling approximately 10mph faster or slower, then the pedestrian would almost certainly have gone through the windscreen, seriously injuring or killing the driver in the process.

The driver was/is my wife and I can't begin to tell you what she went through after this traumatic event. The coroners hearing was one of the most painful things I've ever had to sit through, especially listening to my wife break down as she related what had happened, and the cold account given by the police, including the fact that the lad was nearly four times over the legal limit.

I also found it incredibly difficult, and still do, to rationalise the grief of his mother and girlfriend, sat directly opposite me, while all I could feel was intense loathing for the 'victim', who through his own stupidity and selfishness nearly took the lives of my wife and daughter, as well as wasting his own.

So take a good long look at this picture of her car and think about it next time you are tempted.....