DDD- Designated Drunk Driver
April 8th 2010 01:37
Last night I was watching 'How I Met Your Mother', and a scene where Ted is boasting about being the designated drunk driver got me thinking about a suggestion that was made to me recently. It goes a little something like this: Every person in a vehicle with someone who is found to be over the legal BAC limit should be held equally responsible in the eyes of the law. Therefore, if the driver receives a 12 month driving ban, then their passengers do also. It’s a massive leap I know, but just hear me out.
I am 23 years of age and therefore fit into the category of people in Australia most likely to get behind the wheel drunk. What’s more, according to statistics if I were a 23 old male, I would be almost a sure thing to drink drive. Interesting to note that Tasmanian men are driving drunk a lot – boredom perhaps? Go do some hiking or something. So as a 23 year old female who attends functions with alcohol most weekends, I have witnessed quite a number of incidents of drink driving among my other wise very sensible friends. The years since my 18th birthday are scattered with memories of drink driving incidents and tragedies. Everyone my age knows someone that has been affected by drink driving; and my conclusion is: the decision to drink drive is very rarely made alone. Here is how it usually plays out. There is almost always a group of people who need to get somewhere but no one wants to drive. In fact, often there is more than 1 car load of people, but if you’re breaking the law anyway what difference is a bit of overcrowding going to make? And while we’re at it, seatbelts! Please - who needs them? Eventually 1 person cracks under the pressure or is convinced by the group of being the closest the sobriety and offers to get behind the wheel. This person is regarded as the hero. For this person, losing your license is the best case scenario. Killing yourself, someone in the car or another motorist is obviously the worst. For the passengers, being killed is something to consider, but very rarely is, and that’s it! All other possible consequences are none of their concern; not because they were responsible enough to catch a taxi. They were more than happy to partake in the drink driving, but were too afraid of the consequences to volunteer themselves as driver.
I think a lot of people consider drink drivers to be of a certain demographic or type of person. I can guarantee that nearly every person aged 18-24 has been involved in or witnessed the organisation of a drink driving expedition, which is no surprise. But that is not where it ends. The highest proportions of daily drinkers in Australia are those over 60, and I just know that my Nana car pools everywhere. I don’t dare to think that my cute, knitting clothes for the Red Cross in her spare time Nana is doing beer bongs at bowls and then getting behind the wheel, but nevertheless I think that it is more than possible the oldies and drinking simply to pass time and then driving without much consideration of their BAC. It would seem that drink driving is on for young and old, but let’s not forget that there is a generation in the middle somewhere that is not completely faultless. A whopping 52% of men aged 35-54 have admitted to driving over the limit, and taking alternate routes in order to avoid booze buses. The TAC and the Police must be pulling their hair out wondering how on earth to curb drink driving. Stronger penalties for everyone, I say!
I personally believe that my proposed equal responsibility law should be all encompassing. Everyone over the age of 18 should be slapped with the same penalty as a drunk driver. It has been pointed out to me however, that there are some obvious flaws. Certainly, a parent caught drink driving with their unsuspecting child and friend is obviously a case where the crime would not fit the punishment. Still, I’m sticking to my guns. I envision society’s outlook on drink driving to shift over time. Eventually a child’s friend in such a situation would feel comfortable asking the parent if they had been drinking; and on the flip side, the adult would rethink that third glass of wine knowing that they could potentially relegate themselves and 2 innocents to the bicycle lanes for the next year.
I have been accused many times in my life of being idealistic and can see that my solution, or rather my friend’s solution to the drink driving problem probably creeps into that familiar idealistic territory. Victoria however is on its way to its worst road toll in 5 years, so I am not ready to dismiss the idea totally. Perhaps the compromise starts with P Platers. I am not condoning drink driving by anyone, but it is obvious that a lack of experience on the roads combined with alcohol contributes to the high frequency of P Plater drink driving incidents and tragedies. Let us therefore impose an equal responsibility law solely on these drivers and their passengers, to begin with. It might not cure P Platers of drink driving, but then again it might? I know that it would make me more conscious a driver’s level of sobriety.
The old adage ‘All for one and one for all’ just doesn’t have the same ring to it when it’s ‘All for one and one for all – except if you get caught by the police, then you are on your own’. Does it?
I am 23 years of age and therefore fit into the category of people in Australia most likely to get behind the wheel drunk. What’s more, according to statistics if I were a 23 old male, I would be almost a sure thing to drink drive. Interesting to note that Tasmanian men are driving drunk a lot – boredom perhaps? Go do some hiking or something. So as a 23 year old female who attends functions with alcohol most weekends, I have witnessed quite a number of incidents of drink driving among my other wise very sensible friends. The years since my 18th birthday are scattered with memories of drink driving incidents and tragedies. Everyone my age knows someone that has been affected by drink driving; and my conclusion is: the decision to drink drive is very rarely made alone. Here is how it usually plays out. There is almost always a group of people who need to get somewhere but no one wants to drive. In fact, often there is more than 1 car load of people, but if you’re breaking the law anyway what difference is a bit of overcrowding going to make? And while we’re at it, seatbelts! Please - who needs them? Eventually 1 person cracks under the pressure or is convinced by the group of being the closest the sobriety and offers to get behind the wheel. This person is regarded as the hero. For this person, losing your license is the best case scenario. Killing yourself, someone in the car or another motorist is obviously the worst. For the passengers, being killed is something to consider, but very rarely is, and that’s it! All other possible consequences are none of their concern; not because they were responsible enough to catch a taxi. They were more than happy to partake in the drink driving, but were too afraid of the consequences to volunteer themselves as driver.
I think a lot of people consider drink drivers to be of a certain demographic or type of person. I can guarantee that nearly every person aged 18-24 has been involved in or witnessed the organisation of a drink driving expedition, which is no surprise. But that is not where it ends. The highest proportions of daily drinkers in Australia are those over 60, and I just know that my Nana car pools everywhere. I don’t dare to think that my cute, knitting clothes for the Red Cross in her spare time Nana is doing beer bongs at bowls and then getting behind the wheel, but nevertheless I think that it is more than possible the oldies and drinking simply to pass time and then driving without much consideration of their BAC. It would seem that drink driving is on for young and old, but let’s not forget that there is a generation in the middle somewhere that is not completely faultless. A whopping 52% of men aged 35-54 have admitted to driving over the limit, and taking alternate routes in order to avoid booze buses. The TAC and the Police must be pulling their hair out wondering how on earth to curb drink driving. Stronger penalties for everyone, I say!
I personally believe that my proposed equal responsibility law should be all encompassing. Everyone over the age of 18 should be slapped with the same penalty as a drunk driver. It has been pointed out to me however, that there are some obvious flaws. Certainly, a parent caught drink driving with their unsuspecting child and friend is obviously a case where the crime would not fit the punishment. Still, I’m sticking to my guns. I envision society’s outlook on drink driving to shift over time. Eventually a child’s friend in such a situation would feel comfortable asking the parent if they had been drinking; and on the flip side, the adult would rethink that third glass of wine knowing that they could potentially relegate themselves and 2 innocents to the bicycle lanes for the next year.
I have been accused many times in my life of being idealistic and can see that my solution, or rather my friend’s solution to the drink driving problem probably creeps into that familiar idealistic territory. Victoria however is on its way to its worst road toll in 5 years, so I am not ready to dismiss the idea totally. Perhaps the compromise starts with P Platers. I am not condoning drink driving by anyone, but it is obvious that a lack of experience on the roads combined with alcohol contributes to the high frequency of P Plater drink driving incidents and tragedies. Let us therefore impose an equal responsibility law solely on these drivers and their passengers, to begin with. It might not cure P Platers of drink driving, but then again it might? I know that it would make me more conscious a driver’s level of sobriety.
The old adage ‘All for one and one for all’ just doesn’t have the same ring to it when it’s ‘All for one and one for all – except if you get caught by the police, then you are on your own’. Does it?
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