How life pans out

I don't condone the actions of a drunk driver. There is never an excuse.

The thing that gets me in these situations is the unfortunate timing of events. Just to be delayed at home by 2 minutes for the cyclists and they would be here now.
 
Kinda reminds me if this story, except this one is another cast iron example if why the judge should be fired.

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Facts: she's a bad mum, her kids live with her grand parents she only sees them once a week

She was serving a 40 month ban for a previous drink and drug driving conviction

She was given 12 months jail suspended for two years after she wept while pleading that children would be 'impacted' if she went to prison

Ward was tested for drugs and gave eight micrograms of a by-product of cannabis per 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit for Cannabis is 2mg.

She had a string of previous motoring convictions including drink driving in 2018, driving whilst disqualified later that same year, and drink and driving in 2019.
 
@physichull there's a girl called Erin Omoss who was 17 and ploughed her vehicle into a lamppost, I think, back in 2007. The story really affected me at the time since she was so young, but being drunk and foolish she killed herself by mistake, obviously thinking she'd be fine behind the wheel. Looking back, I even posted about it here in 2007 so it's obviously something that affected me since I posted about it then and it regularly comes back to me, so I concur with your thinking.
 
Lysander said:
I think some people are missing the OP's main point, which is how someone we can know for years can do something so drastically unexpected and seemingly out of character.

We think we know some people but there is so much that goes on behind closed doors that we don't see or could ever comprehend, and most often an anecdotal account from the main party will be very subjective and one-sided.
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There was a work colleague who I knew did something absolutely horrific. The first I learned was when watching the news and it appeared. Never forget sitting there stunned, and as Lysander summarises, you can never ever comprehend.

There are people who after a drinking session, wont think twice to drive home or to a club etc; a mate did this years back and killed three people, a student had a head on and killed four (he survived) - This is all back in the nineties.

The Paramedic who made that fateful decision to drive following a skin-full, there is a possibility of a ruling of extenuating circumstances which could lesson the charges, although for the victims family it is very little consolation, and ultimately, many destroyed lives.
 
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MookJong said:
In the future people will probably look back and gasp that you could get into a car and start it drunk.

I can only hope that technology finds a way to detect if someone is unsuitably fit to be in control of a one ton killing machine.
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Probably? Not probable, it's an obvious certainty (unless we have WW3). Much the same as we 'look' back and gasp that we were once all caveman, running marathons to exhaust and kill animals to eat.
 
my grandfather was killed by a drunk driver back in the 1970`s and i was born in the early 80`s so never even met him because of the actions of the driver.
the effects touch so many people forever in incredibly horrible ways
 
physichull said:
For the past two weeks I’ve been completely unable to stop thinking about an incident that happened a couple of weeks ago, close to where my parents live and where I grew up.

Essentially, somebody I knew from school (going back over 15 years now), who wasn’t a friend of mine, but he was in many of my classes, got behind the wheel of his dad’s car a couple of weeks ago, went for a drive, veered off to the wrong side of the road, hit a cyclist, ploughed through a field and came to a stop in somebodies front garden.

Some more facts from the story:

• He’d been in the pub all day drinking;
• He had an argument with his wife as he had been cheating on her;
• After the argument, he got the keys of his dads car and was intending to drive to see his mistress;
• He’s got kids and has been a paramedic for many years;
• He was over the drink drive limit when he had the “accident”;
• The cyclist was killed instantly.

The whole incident is deeply saddening for the cyclists family and I’ve just not been able to shake this from my mind.

I guess my main point is that I do a fair bit of road cycling and I think this is why this story really hit home with me, how fragile life is.

But also how I can’t help but think that this sort of behaviour from that individual was so out of character from what he was like as a kid in school. I’ve got absolutely no sympathy for his situation, what he has done is dreadful and he is currently released under investigation, assuming the police can charge him I'd expect a lengthy sentence, but it really shook me about how life pans out for people, particularly from people you would least expect it from. Just a seemingly ordinary guy, an admirable career, family and kids - just the person you would least expect this from.
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This would deeply affect me too, for many reasons I won't go into here.

What my 36 years have taught me is that some people are, unfortunately, not able to be 'saved'. It doesn't matter how much you or others try. Their life, on the outside, can look fantastic. Good job, loving wife, children, own own home etc. This will never be enough for some.

Some would blame it on the drug being used, whether it alchohol, hard drugs, or some other harmful substance. I often think it's more the person's mind - if it wasn't alchohol in this case, it may well have been another destructive habit.

I have absolutely no sympathy for the driver, deserves a very lengthy prison sentance. I have huge sympathy for the victim and their family, and for the driver's family. Truely horrible.
 
I dont really understand the whole drunk driving thing? I would never contemplate it, especially if I was off my face. I have never been in such a state that I thought it was a good idea to drive a car off my face, but then I am not a complete idiot when I am drunk.
 
physichull said:
For the past two weeks I’ve been completely unable to stop thinking about an incident that happened a couple of weeks ago, close to where my parents live and where I grew up.

Essentially, somebody I knew from school (going back over 15 years now), who wasn’t a friend of mine, but he was in many of my classes, got behind the wheel of his dad’s car a couple of weeks ago, went for a drive, veered off to the wrong side of the road, hit a cyclist, ploughed through a field and came to a stop in somebodies front garden.

Some more facts from the story:

• He’d been in the pub all day drinking;
• He had an argument with his wife as he had been cheating on her;
• After the argument, he got the keys of his dads car and was intending to drive to see his mistress;
• He’s got kids and has been a paramedic for many years;
• He was over the drink drive limit when he had the “accident”;
• The cyclist was killed instantly.

The whole incident is deeply saddening for the cyclists family and I’ve just not been able to shake this from my mind.

I guess my main point is that I do a fair bit of road cycling and I think this is why this story really hit home with me, how fragile life is.

But also how I can’t help but think that this sort of behaviour from that individual was so out of character from what he was like as a kid in school. I’ve got absolutely no sympathy for his situation, what he has done is dreadful and he is currently released under investigation, assuming the police can charge him I'd expect a lengthy sentence, but it really shook me about how life pans out for people, particularly from people you would least expect it from. Just a seemingly ordinary guy, an admirable career, family and kids - just the person you would least expect this from.
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You really can't predict people's actions based on previous behaviour. A mate of mine from way back once butted me in the pub, as he was in a terrible state, emotionally. He just blew up after a deep conversation about his personal circumstances. I'd never have expected that from him, but there you are. I just sucked it up as I knew it was so out of character.

People under strain behave in unpredictable ways. I'm not excusing it, it's just the way it is.
 
To share a quote from my dad after he had his driving licence banned for drink driving:

'Well I've done it right because I've been doing it all these years and only just got caught'.

I think it was all the way until I was 22 when I simply blindly crossed roads at pelican crossings after the light turned red, and a driver just went straight through and barely missed me after I started to cross.

Both cycling and pedestrians are never safe.
 
Dave2150 said:
Probably? Not probable, it's an obvious certainty (unless we have WW3). Much the same as we 'look' back and gasp that we were once all caveman, running marathons to exhaust and kill animals to eat.
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Detect the percentage of alcohol vapour in the cabin of the car will probably be first way... (and expect drunks to open all windows and turn on blowers) before better ways get developed..
 
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