Re: Drinking & driving

"Silk" <me@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:41t1a3F1g46aoU1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> David Knowles wrote:
>
> > Yesterday evening four of us had a very pleasant meal at a village pub
near
> > Scarborough. I had two pints of Stella and did the driving, about 56
miles
> > or so in total.
>
> You are joking? That's about 6 units of alchohol. Unless you are a
> hardened drinker and/or a big fat ***, I'm having a good guess you
> would be well over the limit for driving.
>
> I would often drink a pint of normal lager in a pub before driving home,
> but I was aware that my driving style changed - taking more chances and
> driving faster than normal - so now I don't drink at all when driving.
> If I drunk 2 pints of Stella, I would feel very noticibly pissed, but
> then I'm not what you would call an experienced drinker, or a big fat
> *** for that matter.

Ah good evening Silk, I trust you are well. :-)

No, I'm not joking. On that evening my drinking was done over a period of
between two and three hours, and it was combined with a fairly substantial
and leisurely meal. All very pleasant in fact.

I can assure you I am neither a hardened drinker, nor a big fat ***.
Average height and weight and fairly slim would probably be a fair
description. As to whether or not I would have been over the limit that
evening, I simply don't know, but it's a fair question.

To be honest I do not think my driving style is appreciably affected by the
moderate drinking that I do. In any event, with regard to the safety
implications does it not depend on what type of driver we are anyhow? In
this case, as some of you may be aware, I tend to have a fairly exuberant
style at times, but this does not mean wild and reckless. Even though I may
sound quite frivolous in my approach to driving, nothing is neglected and I
make sure that safety is properly accounted for.

I appreciate that some people take a very stern line with regard to drinking
and driving, maintaining that no alcohol at all should be consumed prior to
driving, but the law does not require this. The law simply requires
compliance with a limit. May we therefore consider this comparison:

a) A person whose normal driving yields a safety rating of 98%, but which
falls to 95% during the periods where he has consumed some alcohol.
b) A person who never drinks and drives, but whose safety rating is always
90%.

The figures quoted are not accurate (obviously) but are simply being used to
illustrate a principle. Actually, the 98% figure would be worryingly low,
and I'm sure most of us will be very much closer to 100%, but never quite
there obviously. I mean, at anything appreciably less than 100% we'd be
having shunts - or at least panic stops (like Silk, by his own admission,
in his pre-IAM days) quite frequently!

The question I am asking you to consider is - Which driver do you reckon
presents the most serious problem in terms of safety? The one who sometimes
reduces his safety level for brief periods by virtue of his drinking, or the
one who never even reaches that lower standard at any time?

Just take care my friends, as I do.
Dave.




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