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Drunk Driver hits family in Oregon (they were WALKING)

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divergrrl

divergrrl

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Last night, around 7pm....this JERK hit a family that lives a few doors down from one of my friends...(she knows the mom). She said when she was driving home last night, all she saw was all the cops, emergency crews, and the "little red wagon" and wanted to throw up.

Stuff like this makes me want to scream. WHY?

http://www.katu.com/news/8960842.html

Good news is...dad is now stable, they will all survive.
 
Oh, I hope that family comes out of this ok. Things like this sicken me as well...WHY in this day and age, would someone possibly think it's ok to get behind the wheel after drinking? I don't understand it. A few drinks vs. a probable jail sentence or worse, killing someone? Blech. My heart goes out to this family.
 
There is no good answer to WHY. There is just not.

It seems everyone who drinks will have to have their family or loved ones injured, damaged, hurt, or killed by a drunk driver before they are convinced that it is real. A close to home tragedy is all that will make drinkers realize the wake it leaves behind.

Those of you who live in Europe, isn''t it true if you get caught drinking and driving you NO LONGER qualify to drive...forever?

Why will remain.

DKS
 
You lost me DKS...drunk drivers are the fault of every drinker? I''m a social drinker, but I NEVER drink & drive. One drink & that''s it if I am operating a vehicle. If I want to "tie one on" we get cabs, or have friends who live within walking distance over, etc....our New Years Eve party was a neighborhood party where no one had to drive to get here.

You can drink and still be responsible. Just don''t drive. Its that easy. I never do. My DH never does, we don''t let our friends drink & drive...I''ll risk making them mad by confiscating keys.

The family are all recovering, Thank God, I have a little boy & I can''t imagine anything like this happening to him. I walk him in a stroller almost every day!
 
I''m assuming DKS means drunk drivers, not just drinkers...right, DKS?
 
Oh...Ok.

I certainly think that the first DUI should be the LAST.
 
divergrl, that sucks...I hope your friend''s neighbors are alright.

It''s funny, people are so okay with alcohol consumption in this country, but a little pot and they go nuts. Alcohol causes way more devastation and seems almost acceptable in some weird way.
 
Date: 8/8/2007 12:08:43 AM
Author: door knob solitaire
There is no good answer to WHY. There is just not.


It seems everyone who drinks will have to have their family or loved ones injured, damaged, hurt, or killed by a drunk driver before they are convinced that it is real. A close to home tragedy is all that will make drinkers realize the wake it leaves behind.


Those of you who live in Europe, isn't it true if you get caught drinking and driving you NO LONGER qualify to drive...forever?


Why will remain.


DKS
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I am French and my parents were hit very badly by a drunk driver many moons ago. His license was revoked. BUT about a year later, my dad saw him again and he almost hit my dad one more time.
In France, your license works on a system points, DUI makes you lose 6 points. Your license has 12 points to begin with.
In my parents' case, they went to court and fought so that he had his license revoked. Oh and it was a hit and run too.
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People ran after him and hold him until the cops arrived. It was very stupid of his part considering his car was dead and he was running at foot (too easy to trace a car in France).

Anyway, i am blabbering sorry.
I have no empathy for drunk drivers. They destroy lives.
 
You know, not to blame the media for drunk driving or glorifying things or whatever....BUT. I just watch "The Holiday" this evening (Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law) and noticed that cocktails abounded in this movie and not one time did they show someone driving the affected person home. It was more: Jude Law''s character gets drunk at a pub in London, 40 miles away from cottage Cameron Diaz is staying in, and then JL''s Char. magically appears at her "rented" cottage and spends the night...how did he get there actually? Who knows? In the same movie, Cameron Diaz lands in England, finds her cottage lacking certain amenities, drives to "town" in her Mini, and proceeds to carry around a bottle of uncorcked wine while guzzling it through the shop. The cashier actually asks her "having a party tonight?" and she says, "oh YEAH." She''s by herself, and the movie doesn''t show anyone driving her butt home even after that bottle of wine she so blatantly turns upside down to drink from before she comes to the checkout. WTH? Obviously, I at 30 can discern that this is Hollywood drama, but will the average 17-19 year old realize that? I doubt it, because they lack the utter experience we "older" and more knowledgeable folks have.

Ohhhhhhh, I swore I would never get involved like this on PS. But here I am on top of the soapbox, and now I''m just gingerly stepping on down. Thanks for listening.
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DG sorry about your neighbors.
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I agree that the media should do more to send out the don''t drink and drive message. So should our public figures (politicians and stars) AND the courts. I really think its just so prevasive that no one treats this as a serious issue until personally affected, and that''s just pathetic.

Stepping off my box too.
 
Date: 8/8/2007 2:51:21 AM
Author: Gypsy
DG sorry about your neighbors.
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I agree that the media should do more to send out the don''t drink and drive message. So should our public figures (politicians and stars) AND the courts. I really think its just so prevasive that no one treats this as a serious issue until personally affected, and that''s just pathetic.

Stepping off my box too.
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Right...don''t mean to "use" you Gypsy, but since we seem to be in agreeance over this fact...

I have heard that movie studios are at least in talks over not showing movie stars smoking in movies. Especially movies that are geared towards the 18-24 market, which i think we all know is actually the 12-16 yr. old market, right? I can remember trying to quit smoking at age 19 and seeing movies that were definitely geared toward my age group where the stars of the movie were smoking. Made me want to go rightout and smoke, seriously. And that''s the G''s honest truth.
 
Date: 8/8/2007 12:08:43 AM
Author: door knob solitaire



Those of you who live in Europe, isn''t it true if you get caught drinking and driving you NO LONGER qualify to drive...forever?


DKS
Click to expand...

In Ireland it depends also. We have random breath testing over here now so the garda (cops) don''t need an excuse to pull you over anymore, they can give you a breath test anytime they like. This seems to have cut down on a huge amount of people drink driving. If you fail the test, you''re arrested and taken into the station for another test. Then depending on how over the limit you are, if you crashed etc, that seems to determine how long you lose your license for. The random breath testing is a good idea though.
 
I just HATE hearing about stuff like this. It''s a preventable tragedy. I''m glad they will all survive. I hope they have quick recoveries.
 
I think the answer to "WHY" is because our laws seem to tolerate it. First, second, and 3rd DUI offenses are usually just a slap on the wrist. Pay a little fine and go on your way. The Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan things are big deals, but please! A couple of weeks in jail for a 2nd DUI offense???

I would support a mandatory 6 month jail term for a 2nd offense. At least a year for a 3rd, plus forfeiture of your vehicle to the state. That''s right, the state should seize your car and sell and give the proceeds to rehab programs.

For whatever reason, state legislatures (and by inference the voting public) seems to think DUI is no big deal. Until someone gets killed, then we''re happy to act outraged and send someone to jail. In Arizona we have an aggravated DUI law - if you''re something like 2x the legal limit, then there''s mandatory stiffer penalties. Turns out that judges have routinely been ignoring the law and giving lighter penalties! I really don''t get it at all.
 
I should add that I''ve always felt pretty strongly about this. But recently a friend of mine had his wife and 2 kids killed instantly by a drunk driver. The drunk, as usually seems to be case, was just fine. In fact he jumped out of his car and fled the scene (he was caught by the police while fleeing).
 
Well, its all over the news this morning...

guy is a dental anesthesiologist, and he was under the influence of PRESCRIPTION DRUGS. He's 35, and a father as well. WHATEVER!


That town is sooo small & so tightly knit, he'll have to move, no one will want to speak to him ever again---there are too many families. He deserves serious jail time. I don't care if I am being a crank about it, that could have been ANYBODY'S family. You think its safe to take your family for a walk after dinner in the summer? Apparently not.

I am simply disgusted. That family is so lucky that dad is recovering...they could have lost him.

Here's a video from this morning's news update on the f-ing loser...

http://www.kptv.com/index.html
 
My heart goes out to this family. I have no tolerance for this...NONE. My brother''s friend was killed by a drunk driver while (correctly) crossing the street when they were 8 years old. 2 years later my friend was killed by a drunk driver a week after we graduated high school. Guess what...in both cases the incidents happened during the day, and in both cases the driver had multiple DUI offenses. It makes me sick. Don''t even get me started on the celebs these days...
 
Date: 8/8/2007 11:15:19 AM
Author: divergrrl
Well, its all over the news this morning...

guy is a dental anesthesiologist, and he was under the influence of PRESCRIPTION DRUGS. He''s 35, and a father as well. WHATEVER!
Click to expand...
Question - did the prescription say not to operate machinery while under the influence of the prescription drug? Kinda an important thing to know. If it did, he is seriously a jackass. If it DIDN''T...the pharmacist is a jackass. Either way, someone here is a jackass.
 
To clarify my previous post: All drunk drivers BEGIN with just ONE drink. So the term/phrase/word drinkers is what I meant to use. Those who don''t drink aren''t part of the problem. Anyone who partakes in drinking need to realize how close they are to a disaster.

But this guy had other issues and it wasn''t exactly just driving that did the damage...looks to me like he fell off a hillside...or plunged down a hill. This is an example of drunk or impared plunging. Yes, he was impaired with some substance...but the damage may have been avoided if the city had enforced guard rails protecting the pedestrian traffic below. This was an accident just waiting to happen whether an impaired driver was involved or not. A tiny little concrete parking block...and a curb was all that was required to keep 5000 lb of vehicles from this upper level parking area? Whew...would not want to be part of this city planning board.

Impaired driving is not always chemical or drug induced. I think cell phone use should be classified as DUI as well. You are driving under the influence of another distraction...but it is definitely an influence that is also responsible for deaths. Remember the cheerleaders last month? Head on with a semi? Wasn''t text messaging involved?

Responsibility whether it be from one glass, electronic, makeup application, or weather is what I am a referring to.

DKS
 
Date: 8/8/2007 2:29:37 PM
Author: door knob solitaire


Impaired driving is not always chemical or drug induced. I think cell phone use should be classified as DUI as well. You are driving under the influence of another distraction...but it is definitely an influence that is also responsible for deaths. Remember the cheerleaders last month? Head on with a semi? Wasn't text messaging involved?

Responsibility whether it be from one glass, electronic, makeup application, or weather is what I am a referring to.
Click to expand...

You could argue the same about a mother distracted by her crying baby in the back seat. Distractions are a part of driving and a good driver knows how to handle them. (and no, I am not trying to say a good driver can put mascara on while driving, but you know what I mean...)




Bottom line the guy shouldn't have been operating a vehicle and unfortunately an innocent family was hurt.
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Pepper,

I totally agree with you. Your point well taken.

What I should have said was...It shouldn''t be Drink responsibly...IT SHOULD BE DRIVE RESPONSIBLY. In my opinion...I don''t believe the two should ever mingle. Period.

DKS
 
Right now I''m in the middle of a huge political row on this subject.

One of my colleagues has just been given an 18 month ban for drink driving. She was caught on the way back from an official function.

She is in charge of Health Care and this includes drink-driving campaigns.

I have also found out that she has lied to all of us and the public by saying she couldn''t get a taxi as another of my colleagues offered her a lift home thinking she was drunk.

This woman doesn''t think she needs to resign as the person in charge of Healthcare and our leader has made some very stupid comments in the Press.

I am just so angry. I have said I won''t support her if the press call me and if there is a vote of no confidence by the other side I will not vote for her. They are muttering about group loyalty and the local party whips are threatening me with suspension. I told them that was fine by me - I''d rather be in the paper for sticking to my principles and being suspended from my party than back a drink driver.

I''m so glad to see all your comments about drink drivers, as round here there seem to be a lot of people with no brains or morals...
 
Pandora...that sounds like a heck of a mess. It would be most difficult to stand...while those around you are towering and posturing. But it sounds as if you are determined to. I salute you.
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It would be wonderful if our city offices were held primarily by people like you, than the ones that are.

What is the old saying...??

If you don''t stand for something, you''ll fall for anything.

Keep standing...and take an umbrella and some muck boots...cause it sounds like the weather is going to get nasty at your office, you are probably going to be knee deep in something.
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DKS

You continue to use the term "drink driving"...I have never heard of that before...but most poignant...and perfect for this discussion. I shall tuck it away in my arsenal...and use it as ammo. I seem to be famous for dropping ATOMIC bombs around here.
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Whats one more? You guys will just have to learn to get down in the bunkers...cause no one is safe from DKS!!!
 
As FI is going into med school I have often wondered about driving while extremely tired as a kind of DUI. THey make truckers bunk in extra hours if they haven''t slept enough, so it is clearly an issue. People who fall asleep at the wheel make up a huge percentage of accidents i think.


I''m a little too libertarian to think we should legislate against it, but I think that it should be made less socially acceptable to drive when exhausted. but that would require changing our culture of no-sleep, ever, you can sleep when you are dead,etc
 
Date: 8/8/2007 8:17:16 PM
Author: door knob solitaire

You continue to use the term ''drink driving''...I have never heard of that before...but most poignant...and perfect for this discussion. I shall tuck it away in my arsenal...and use it as ammo. I seem to be famous for dropping ATOMIC bombs around here.
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Whats one more? You guys will just have to learn to get down in the bunkers...cause no one is safe from DKS!!!
Click to expand...

Is ''drink-driving'' a UK term? It''s very common usage over here - what is the terminology in the US?

It will be a big mess here. I went into politics because I have strong opinions on certain issues, but constantly come up against people who feel that Party loyalty is more important. For me, if my Party''s view stopped being a good match for my values I''d either join another that was or leave and be independent.

I''m seen as a maverick within the Party and tend to go out on a limb for what I believe is right. It makes me few friends and I''m unlikely to be reselected in 3 years time.

The current arguement seems to be that they all like this woman and so she should stay. My arguement is that yes she''s a generally nice person, but she is now a criminal and commited a crime which put other people''s lives at risk and so we need to take personalities out of the equation and look at the cold hard facts.

I lead a rebellion earlier this year over another issue and they accused me of ''blackmailing'' them into backing down and going with what I wanted. I think this time will be the last nail in my coffin, but there we are...
 
What I meant in the Drink Driving exchange...is I have always heard it said...Drunk Driving...meaning more than one drink...

I think the conversation and responsiblity of the drunk driver begins with the DRINK DRIVER.

Chicken and the egg...which comes first? Is a drunk a drunk at the first drink...or is a drink just a drink until it is drunk?

DKS
 
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