“Tis the season”…. again
There’s an ad on television that shows a young man, angry because he got arrested for a DUI. As he sits on the bus stop bench he recites all the fines he has to pay, as well as his license being suspended, insurance being cancelled, and so on.
I get the point the commercial is trying to make, but maybe they should have showed a picture of him behind bars while they showed another shot of a young person in a hospital critical care bed, with tubes coming out of everywhere. With a family torn with grief waiting just outside while their daughter is in a coma, because of the drunk guy complaining about the fines he has to pay.
Or what if the young man was the one on the hospital bed getting ready to take his last breath, or to come out of a coma only to be paralyzed the rest of his life. What does that do to his family and friends?
Drinking and driving, driving and drinking, it all comes out the same. It’s just a matter of time before you,
Get caught,
Crash,
Injure yourself,
Injure someone else,
Kill yourself,
Or kill someone else.
No matter how you throw the drinking and driving dice, these are the only dice that will come up showing. It’s just a matter of time. And you can avoid all this havoc and grief by doing one little thing.
Be RESPONSIBLE.
The other night my sergeant called for an assist with an intoxicated subject who had ridden his bicycle right in the path of the sergeant’s car. I arrived and it was obvious the guy was wasted. I estimated his blood alcohol level to be at least .20. (.08 is when you get arrested in California.) Because he was unable to care for himself and had almost been struck by a vehicle, we detained him for “drunk in public.”
The guy seemed nice enough, and was causing no problems so we decided to send him to the local detox center for the night, as compared to booking him at the county jail. While doing his paperwork at the station I saw that his license was suspended for a previous DUI and for not having insurance. I asked him about this and I felt like I was listening to the kid on the commercial.
He had been set up. It wasn’t his fault. He hadn’t been drunk. The cop had it in for him – the system sucks. Yada yada yada. I told him I respected the fact that he was on a bike instead of in a car, but that even when not driving, you can’t get wasted to the point you can’t care for your own safety. He agreed to stay at detox overnight and I drove him over there and got him checked in.
10 minutes after I left, the intake worker at detox said a carload of guys had shown up and the subject had left with them. Apparently the friends of the subject were pissed off that we had “arrested their buddy” and my sergeant tried to explain to them we hadn’t arrested him, and that he would be spending the night at detox to sober up.
These brain surgeons decide they are going to “rescue” their buddy and they drive to detox and snatch him away. After I got the call of the great escape, I drove to the guys’ house in hopes he would be stupid enough to return there. After waiting 20 minutes or so, this old beat up truck lumbers up the road and prepares to turn in his driveway. That was tough to do with a police car blocking the driveway in the shadows. I’ll never forget the look on his face when I turned my lights on. Talk about having your hand in the cookie jar and getting caught! While I was putting him in handcuffs, a car pulled up slowly and crashed into the front gate of the property. One of the guys that had gone to the detox center for the great escape!
The guy we had tried to do a favor for, was now under arrest for his 2nd DUI, driving on a suspended license, and no insurance. His blood alcohol level was .22 and I towed his car for 30 days at his expense. His buddy that drove up? His blood alcohol level was .26
2 people went to jail, 2 cars got towed, and 2 idiots could have killed themselves or someone else all for being nothing short of stupid.
This is season for family parties, company parties, and Christmas parties. Be responsible not only for yourself, but for your guest and each other. Many people will drink that normally don’t, and their low tolerance will get the better of them. Don’t let your friends get “ripped” and if you see that starting to happen, call it a night!
There will be more cops out looking for you.
There will be DUI checkpoints.
There will be something wrong with your car causing a cop to pull you over.
Trust me, it will happen. Or worse.
Party host; keep in mind that liability rolls downhill…. If a guest of yours goes out and kills someone or causes serious injury and it is determined you negligently served him alcohol knowing he was impaired, you could lose everything you own in a wrongful death lawsuit. And being stupid and saying “I didn’t know” won’t cut it in court. You had better know!
At parties, offer bottled water, soft drinks, and non-alcoholic beverages as well as the alcohol you are serving.
Make sure No One drives away from your house intoxicated. Keep the keys, call a cab, do whatever it takes. Be honest with your guest and invite everyone to have a great time but for those without designated drivers you’ll appreciate their drinking responsibly so that everyone gets home safe.
Partygoers. You have the most responsibility here.
Don’t drink on an empty stomach.
Don’t pound the drinks. Space them out. A good ratio is one drink, 2 bottled waters, one drink, 2 bottled waters…yeah, you’ll be going to the bathroom a lot but you’ll be glad you did when the cop gives you a field breath test on the way home and he tells you you’re OK to go.
Have and use a DESIGNATED driver! Do you know how many designated drivers I’ve arrested in 14 years? The concept is great but it is only as good as you make it. When you are a designated driver, you almost become a cop for the night. You are making sure your friends and family will get home safe and not end up in a coma. You are making sure no innocent people become victims. It is an important role and one you must take seriously.
Don’t be too proud to call for a cab or someone else for a ride home. Don’t figure “I can make it”. Be responsible. It’s so easy!
In our book we spell out completely the do’s and don’ts of DUI’s but here is what you can look at for the first time offense in California.
$1,200.00 fine
Suspended license for 4 months.
Mandatory alcohol school. > $700.00
Sky rocketed insurance cost, if you can find anyone to insure you.
Booking at the county jail.
And when you seek to have a lawyer represent you? Add on a minimum of $3,500.00
Merry Christmas huh? All because you had a few too many beers at the company Christmas party. The one person who is most responsible is the one who holds the glass or bottle up to their mouth, and that my friend is you.
Do me a favor. Imagine walking down a sterile clean corridor to a room. Imagine entering the room and smelling that hospital smell. You look at the bed and you see the unconscious form of that person you love so much, laying on the bed. Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister, Child, Wife, Husband. The sound of the ventilator is rhythmic as it forces your loved one to breathe. The monitors with their little green bouncy lines, signal the heart beat is still there. The I.V bottles, tubes, and needles dripping medications into the body of your loved one. You squeeze the hand and say in a broken whisper, “I love youâ€â€¦ and as expected, there is no response.
Was it worth the thought “I can make it”?
Was it worth not calling a cab?
Was it worth not spacing out the drinks?
Was it worth not being responsible?
Or,
Was your life and the life before you on the bed, not even at the party? Struck by a drunk driver while you were on the way home from Christmas shopping. Struck by the kid on the park bench complaining about all the fines he has to pay…
Be responsible, the life you save could be your own…………………….
Jim Lambert
