DUI and Death on Harrison

[Anonymous]

With Uber, it is really hard to understand why anyone is driving drunk these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With Uber, it is really hard to understand why anyone is driving drunk these days.

Because teenagers are stupid. Their brains are still malformed.

[Anonymous]

I was a young adult with an undeveloped brain who drank a lot and I never drove impaired. IT WAS EASY. This “mistake” and “accident” thing is so stupid. It’s a “mistake” or “accident” like he had picked up a gun.

I don’t care about the parents, they can just live with the shame forever. But the “kid” is an adult who needs to go to jail for at least a few years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a young adult with an undeveloped brain who drank a lot and I never drove impaired. IT WAS EASY. This “mistake” and “accident” thing is so stupid. It’s a “mistake” or “accident” like he had picked up a gun.

I don’t care about the parents, they can just live with the shame forever. But the “kid” is an adult who needs to go to jail for at least a few years.

Just so we know, what did you do when you drove your friends somewhere, drank, and then everyone was ready to go home at 2am? Did you call your parents, and then go pick up your car together the next day? So your parents knew what you were up to? Just checking whether you had supportive parents and/or figured out how to live with the fallout.

[Anonymous]

I'm so grateful these selfish drunks didn't kill anyone other than in their own vehicle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These kids were home from college on fall break. Many lives were ruined for stupid mistakes. It could have been anyone.

That’s not at all true and your attitude and language are really dangerous and immoral. Seriously. It’s not a “stupid mistake,” a “stupid mistake” is an inexperienced driver taking a turn a little too fast, or something like that. Driving when you’ve been drinking is pre-meditated, intentional, and well-informed reckless endangerment. Getting in the car with a drunk driver if you’re a college student in NOVA is also really bad and not a “stupid” “mistake.” You’re only responsible for your own death, but you’re also endorsing the driver in a way. The alternatives are very accessible. Call an Uber. Get a bus. Nobody was in distress with no alternatives in Arlington.

When you call this a “stupid mistake” you contribute to a culture that tell kids that it’s not a big deal. It IS a big deal and it’s completely unnecessary. You can drink yourself stupid without hurting anyone. Deciding to drive is a very, very, very different matter.

Just to be clear, this accident happened at 2am and the last Arlington county bus stops a bit after midnight, so I don't think that was a realistic option.

FWIW, I do think getting in a car with a drunk driver is a stupid mistake, and one that many teenagers (and non-teenagers for that matter) have made before. I see what you're saying about it being a kind of "endorsement," but I also recognize that the decision making of these kids might have been impaired all the way around. Yes, parents need to talk to kids sensibly about alcohol. But kids don't have fully developed pre-frontal cortexes. Combine that with substances that further impair thinking and you are going to get some bad results.

I will post some statistics on teen DUIs here:
In 2022, 19% of alcohol impaired drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes were age 15-20.
In 2022, 29% of alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes were age 21-24, the highest percentage compared to other age groups.
https://teendriversource.research.chop.edu/teen-crash-risks-prevention/rules-of-the-road/impaired-driving#:~:text=Be%20a%20role%20model.&text=In%202022%2C%2019%25%20of%20alcohol,compared%20to%20other%20age%20groups.

This site also notes that teen drivers are less likely than adults to drink and drive, but their crash risk is substantially higher when they do, even with low or moderate blood-alcohol levels.

In 2021, 23% of high school students nationwide reported drinking alcohol at least once during the past month.

The site advises parents to listen and be responsive to their kids' concerns, which are often practical. "Although it may be difficult to hear, encourage teens to share potential unsafe scenarios where parents may need to help. These can include being asked to ride home with someone who is impaired or driving while impaired....Teens need to know that they can always call their parents for a ride home instead of getting in a car with an impaired driver or driving themselves without being punished. Parents themselves can be the reason for teens saying "no" to peers to avoid unsafe situations." Teach your kids to come up with a code word/phrase that alerts parents to come in a and get them rather than being in an unsafe situation. "This code word or phrase could be anything, such as 'How is Aunt Julie feeling?' that signals that teens need help ight away. Parents can respond with, 'Not well, I need you to come home. How about if I pick you up now?'"

https://teendriversource.research.chop.edu/driving-alone/setting-house-rules/develop-a-code-word

Seems like calling to ask about Aunt Julie wouldn't have worked here at 2am, but think about these issues and discuss them with your kids and let something good come out of this. Having open lines of communication when kids come home from college - be ready for 1am texts etc -- can only be a good thing.

Uber accounts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sheer stupidity of driving drunk.

Two weekends ago, I witnessed a non fatal, single driver DUI accident on my street. It was very upsetting. Driver went to jail. Car totaled all air bags deployed. I had to call rescue.

It was a mistake. You can't know when you are too drunk to drive.

[Anonymous]

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/potomac/dad-at-party-that-led-to-n-potomac-fatal-crash-pleads-guilty/65-32267104

$5 K for the parent who let the kids drink in MoCo.

The driver was sentenced to 4 years. Didn’t do all of it. Talk around the area is that he is basically unchanged by this experience.

[Anonymous]

Apparently no seatbelt for the now deceased passenger - he was ejected. Poor guy didn’t stand a chance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sheer stupidity of driving drunk.

Two weekends ago, I witnessed a non fatal, single driver DUI accident on my street. It was very upsetting. Driver went to jail. Car totaled all air bags deployed. I had to call rescue.

It was a mistake. You can't know when you are too drunk to drive.

Oh FUUUUUCCCKKKK that. Drinking and driving is a deliberate choice. There are a multitude of options these days. Including not drinking at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sheer stupidity of driving drunk.

Two weekends ago, I witnessed a non fatal, single driver DUI accident on my street. It was very upsetting. Driver went to jail. Car totaled all air bags deployed. I had to call rescue.

It was a mistake. You can't know when you are too drunk to drive.

Tell it to the judge. Enjoy prison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sheer stupidity of driving drunk.

Two weekends ago, I witnessed a non fatal, single driver DUI accident on my street. It was very upsetting. Driver went to jail. Car totaled all air bags deployed. I had to call rescue.

It was a mistake. You can't know when you are too drunk to drive.

Tell it to the judge. Enjoy prison.

This is so idiotic. I am not a DCUM teetotaler, I like drinking and have definitely overindulged. Not once have I gotten behind the wheel of a car with anything more than maybe one normal beer consumed over a meal in my system. If you want to drink, plan your transportation accordingly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sheer stupidity of driving drunk.

Two weekends ago, I witnessed a non fatal, single driver DUI accident on my street. It was very upsetting. Driver went to jail. Car totaled all air bags deployed. I had to call rescue.

It was a mistake. You can't know when you are too drunk to drive.

If you can’t know , which is a BS excuse, then you make a choice while sober to either drink that night and make an alternate plan to get home or drive and not drink at all.

[Anonymous]

From a news source:

At the time of the crash, Bare's vehicle had five people inside. One was taken to an area hospital with minor injuries and was since discharged. The other two passengers were evaluated at the scene by paramedics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was a young adult with an undeveloped brain who drank a lot and I never drove impaired. IT WAS EASY. This “mistake” and “accident” thing is so stupid. It’s a “mistake” or “accident” like he had picked up a gun.

I don’t care about the parents, they can just live with the shame forever. But the “kid” is an adult who needs to go to jail for at least a few years.

Just so we know, what did you do when you drove your friends somewhere, drank, and then everyone was ready to go home at 2am? Did you call your parents, and then go pick up your car together the next day? So your parents knew what you were up to? Just checking whether you had supportive parents and/or figured out how to live with the fallout.

I am not the person you are responding to but what we did in our day was 1) sleepovers or 2) designated drivers and the designated drivers didn't drink. Not a drop. We took turns.

It sounds like what you were suggesting is these kids have no other choice but to drive to a party where they know they plan to drink to excess, do drink to excess, and then drive all their friends home at 2am. Because otherwise their parents would be mad at them. But maybe I read that wrong.