Author Topic: Learn from my mistake... (Read 14173 times)

M0T · « **on:** 2006-06-30 14:57:51 »

Last night I went out with some friends, I had the intention of driving home so I didn't drink much, just a couple of beers that were bought for me (bottles not pints). Then at 3am we left, however just before leaving my mate got me a drink which for some reason I decided to chug back.

I got in my car and drove home. About 5 minutes from my house I started feeling drunk, but thought I'd be alright because it was 3am and I was almost home. As I drove down the road a stone flicked up and smashed one of the glass panels that make up the roof of my car. In the shock I clipped a pedestrian crossing and punctured a tyre. This also caused the fuel cutoff to fire. I tried to restart the car, but couldn't get it going and started feeling properly drunk. I had no idea what the drink I had was but it was very strong. At this point another car pulled up behind me and offered to help, I explained everything and said I was just going to try and push the car off the road and come back to it tomorrow. We put the car on the side of the road and I just had a quick look under the bonnet. I then sat in the car for a moment to collect all the stuff that was nickable. At this moment the police turned up.

One of the people that had helped me move the car had thought it was stolen because of the glass panel and had informed them. The police came up to me and started questioning me, and then said it was routine to administer a breathalyser. Probably also to do with the fact that I stank of beer due to a girl pouring it over my head earlier, because I sat down tired for a bit. I failed the breath test, which I knew I would.

I was then arrested and taken to the police station where I was put in a cell to await another breath test on a more sophisticated machine. The whole time I was getting drunker and drunker. I then failed the second test and was placed in a cell until the morning, police cells are cold places. The next morning I was taken to the front desk where I was given the following charges:

Drive With Excess Alcohol
Use Vehicle Without Insurance
Use Vehicle Without Test Cert
Drive Not According to Licence.

The bottom 3 will be dropped on production of all my documents at the local police station. However the top one requires me to go to court and I will be banned from driving for 12 months, I will also face a large fine.

So people please learn from my error, if you are intending to drive don't drink at all. Especially don't knock one back just before leaving. I think had I not had that one I would have been under the limit and was probably ok when I set off, but hindsight is 20/20.

Jedimark · « **Reply #1 on:** 2006-06-30 18:23:45 »

Ouch, that sucks but I guess you should never drink and drive!
And yeah, prison cells are nasty... I've spent the night in them before, did you sleep at all?

M0T · « **Reply #2 on:** 2006-06-30 19:08:29 »

No I couldn't sleep.

I was too annoyed with myself for being such a fool.

MagiMaster · « **Reply #3 on:** 2006-06-30 23:14:34 »

By "clipping a pedestrian", what exactly do you mean?

Synergy Blades · « **Reply #4 on:** 2006-06-30 23:35:13 »

Heh, not actually hitting a real life pedestrian that was crossing, rather one of these.

RPGillespie · « **Reply #5 on:** 2006-07-01 00:30:59 »

Quote from: Synergy Blades on 2006-06-30 23:35:13

Heh, not actually hitting a real life pedestrian that was crossing, rather one of these.

OH

, I though he hit a person (pedestrian) that was crossing the road...

Otokoshi · « **Reply #6 on:** 2006-07-01 02:14:11 »

I'm just glad it only turned out the way it did for you, and not worse. What you did wasn't a mistake, it was absolutely irresponsible and stupid. This just gets me heated because someone close to me died at the hands of a drunk driver. Things could have ended up a lot worse.

Quote from: M0T

I then failed the second test and was placed in a cell until the morning, police cells are cold places.

You know what is even a colder place? A coffin in the ground. You could have put someone in one, if not yourself. Consider yourself lucky.

Sorry if I came off mad. I just really hope you have actually learned from this. I'm sure hindsight is 20/20, but this is just common sense. Unfortunately studies have shown drunk drivers tend to repeat this "mistake" over and over. Please don't be one of them.

Emerald Weapon · « **Reply #7 on:** 2006-07-01 02:44:42 »

Quote from: Otokoshi on 2006-07-01 02:14:11

I just really hope you have actually learned from this.

I think he did. He wouldn't have posted it here in the first place if he considered it to be "shitty" and not care about what could have happened too.

@ M0T:This just sucks. Hard.

There's also no need to repeat over and over how stupid and irresponsible this is. (Otokoshi pointed it out). So, I won't. I just want to say that I hope you can forget about it, but also learn an important lesson from it at the same time.

Nothing serious happened and that is what matters.

zero88 · « **Reply #8 on:** 2006-07-01 04:17:07 »

Quote from: RPGillespie on 2006-07-01 00:30:59

OH , I though he hit a person (pedestrian) that was crossing the road...

lmao I thought that at first, too. I was thinking, "I wonder where the charge for hitting a ped's at?"

But yeah man, that blows.Â

Covarr · « **Reply #9 on:** 2006-07-01 06:08:18 »

This is why I don't drink. Well, that, and the fact that I'm only 17, and live in the US.

M0T · « **Reply #10 on:** 2006-07-01 14:47:04 »

Pedestrian crossing = little raised concrete island in the middle of the road, pedestrians cross to the middle, then can cross the whole way. I have hit them quite a few times with similar effects on the car.

MagiMaster · « **Reply #11 on:** 2006-07-01 17:55:49 »

Quote from: M0T on 2006-07-01 14:47:04

Pedestrian crossing = little raised concrete island in the middle of the road, pedestrians cross to the middle, then can cross the whole way. I have hit them quite a few times with similar effects on the car.

Ah, that makes much more sense. I thought you meant something more along the lines of this!

sfx1999 · « **Reply #12 on:** 2006-07-02 00:16:28 »

I was in a car that clipped a kid. The mirror hit him in the face. The guy he was with wasn't paying attention and pushed the kid out. Fortunately, he only lost a couple of teeth and needed stitches. The car company gave them money and raised the drivers rates, even though the man stated ON A POLICE REPORT that he pushed the kid out.

I hate insurance companies.

mirex · « **Reply #13 on:** 2006-07-02 08:10:07 »

MOT: thats just too irresponsible. You should not drink at all or use any other kind of mind-changing stuff when driving.

ChaosControl · « **Reply #14 on:** 2006-07-02 11:45:26 »

MOT: I know you're probably tired of hearing how irresponsible it is but it IS!

I once got hit by a drunken-driver which resulted in a broken leg and permenant head-trauma.
Now the shithead who did it has to give me money every month for probably the rest of his life.

It had such an impact on me that I first didn't want to drive out of fear.
I hope you just learned from it.

Sad Jari · « **Reply #15 on:** 2006-07-02 11:57:15 »

Quote from: mirex on 2006-07-02 08:10:07

MOT: thats just too irresponsible. You should not drink at all or use any other kind of mind-changing stuff when driving.

And no doubt, you also want to have Sleep Police, to make sure everyone sleeps well?

Becase, surprise surprise, being tired can affect your performanceÂ more than being drunk at the DUI-limit used in many countries.

Alhexx · « **Reply #16 on:** 2006-07-02 20:12:33 »

Quote from: M0T

(...) I didn't drink much, just a couple of beers (...)

So, what's your definition of "drinking much" ?

You should not even think about driving a car after having more than one beer...
...at least that's the way I do it.
My driving license was too expensive to play games like that.

- Alhexx

MagiMaster · « **Reply #17 on:** 2006-07-03 00:22:22 »

Quote from: Alhexx on 2006-07-02 20:12:33

Quote from: M0T
(...) I didn't drink much, just a couple of beers (...)
So, what's your definition of "drinking much" ?

Y'know, like that Simpsons episode where Marge asks if Homer has been drinking, and he replies, "Nope! ...well, ten beers."

M0T · « **Reply #18 on:** 2006-07-03 00:56:11 »

4 bottles of cheap low strength beer over 5 hours. Was fine until I drank whatever it was I was given before I left. I just wasn't in my right mind, when I left my friends they didn't want me to drive home. It wasn't because they thought I was drunk it was because they thought I was going to do something stupid like kill myself.

zero88 · « **Reply #19 on:** 2006-07-03 03:55:29 »

Quote from: Sad Jari on 2006-07-02 11:57:15

Becase, surprise surprise, being tired can affect your performanceÂ more than being drunk at the DUI-limit used in many countries.

That's probably very true, but the fact remains that if any mind-altering substances are present in your system, you probably shouldn't drive. I mean, in the case of alcohol, it will always be my stance that never, under any circumstances, will I drive after knocking back a few; or even one or two (yeah, I'm only 18, call the police). Of course, if you've only drunk a few over a period of time, and you have a high tolerance for it (which, aside from the mystery drink that was received, that's all M0T had), then you'll most likely be fine.

In the case of being sleepy, the AC or opening a window usually solves my problems

.

Sad Jari · « **Reply #20 on:** 2006-07-03 04:27:26 »

Quote from: zero88 on 2006-07-03 03:55:29

I mean, in the case of alcohol, it will always be my stance that never, under any circumstances, will I drive after knocking back a few; or even one or two (yeah, I'm only 18, call the police).

This is all well and good.

The problems start when you try to enforce zero tolerance with a law; instead of getting everyone to drive totally sober, you'll get people driving in various states of intoxication simply because they won't even try to follow a law that is totally unreasonable.

There are lots of people, me included, who drink beer at meals. I intend to drive now and in the future too - regardless of the law - after the one or two beers I drink with my meal (for my bodyweight three is almost exactly at the limit, I don't really even notice any effect from two). Then there are for example people from Southern Europe, who really like using wine with food and the almost stereotypical Germans with their beer.

And people who just like to occasionally eat for example business meals at restaurants; usually these meals do include alcohol.

With a zero tolerance by law you would require all these people to change their habits, or just ignore the law. Which one do you think they'll pick?

While the goal might be admirable, one is better off by setting a goals that are actually attainable, instead of the ones that would be "just great".

That of course has nothing to do with your personal choices, and if you want to use zero tolerance with yourself, that's great.

M0T · « **Reply #21 on:** 2006-07-12 10:20:58 »

Right, just got back from court. I was fined Â£243 and banned from driving for 20 months reduced to 15 on completion of a driver awareness course.

Jedimark · « **Reply #22 on:** 2006-07-12 13:53:35 »

Yikes! I bet insurance will be a bitch when you start driving again!

MagiMaster · « **Reply #23 on:** 2006-07-15 02:36:33 »

Wow, this sucks. I will never drink and drive. Ever.

Threesixty · « **Reply #24 on:** 2006-07-18 21:55:28 »

I'm not going to preach....no sense in it.
I'll go the other way instead....

You should have refused the breath test.....
It's an automatic go to jail card. But, if you pass that sobriety test. There is a huge chance that a lawer can reduce the charges to a PI or altogether. Whole point of this is to keep that DWI off your record. Although...it may not be the same outside the US.... I don't know.

I don't drink, never have. But, I have family who work at lawer's firms and that's just the way it turns out. Those are the circumstances that slip through.Â Also, I'm told, they usually have a camera trained on you while in the car. It's best to just sit still and keep quite on that trip to jail....

Of course, if you're totally drunk... it's not going to matter. Now, will it....
The camera sees everything....