Mikey dodges another DUI bullet

[DougS]

I can't find it, but it was on twitter that BOTH Michael and the morotcycle driver was intoxicated below the lower limit. So do we get dual outrage?

[FS_Amy]

Depends on who Twittered it.  I haven't seen anything in the local media about the motorcyclist being intoxicated, but if that's the case, yes, then they both share the blame for being ignorant of the safety of others.

[scott b]

WSOC has reported the biker had a also had a couple of drinks...

http://www.wsoctv.com/sports/21395996/detail.html

[Tyyrus]

He's he not used to having the option of turning left or right.  He calls in Patrick Carpentier to handle those situations for him. 

Roflmbo...ya just have ta love that common sense approach ! 

[skool]

but if that's the case, yes, then they both share the blame for being ignorant of the safety of others.

So, Amy, what almighty knowledge do you posess that allows you to know that this ACCIDENT wouldn't have happened had neither party had a drink that night?  By all the laws of NC, and the USA, and our society, both parties were perfectly capable and able to operate a motor vehicle on the streets of Mooresville.  Is it your dislike for Mikey, alcohol or both, that fuels your argument that he is dumber than a bag of hammers?

[FS_Amy]

So, Amy, what almighty knowledge do you posess that allows you to know that this ACCIDENT wouldn't have happened had neither party had a drink that night?  By all the laws of NC, and the USA, and our society, both parties were perfectly capable and able to operate a motor vehicle on the streets of Mooresville.  Is it your dislike for Mikey, alcohol or both, that fuels your argument that he is dumber than a bag of hammers?

I don't hate Mikey, nor do I hate alcohol.  I was a biology major.  I know what alcohol-just ONE drink, which is BELOW our legal limit (which I would LOVE to see changed but that's a whole other story) does to the drinker's reaction time and judgment, even though the drinker FEELS fine and like (s)he can "handle" it.  It takes at least one hour for one drink to clear the system.  So, three beers, three hours until the body is able to perform at its best, ergo, one should not be driving until three hours after that third beer.  Legally able does NOT equal "capable."  Both Michael and the biker did not have the reaction time or judgment that they would have with no alcohol in their system-physiological fact.  Does that guarantee that the accident would not have happened if both were sober?  No, but it decreases teh odds dramatically.  Alcohol WAS a factor in the crash, as the police have stated.  Drinking and driving is a choice; it isn't unavoidable or necessary.  Yes, I happen to believe that it one of the most irresponsible and selfish choices that a human being can make, because that driver KNOWS he or she could kill someone, but they don't care as long as they get where they are going.  Just because society accepts something doesn't mean it is right.  We once accepted segregation and before that, slavery.

[skool]

And if a frog had wings, he wouldn't bump his ass every time he jumped!!!!

Bottom line here is this. Both drivers are legal. You cannot prove that alcohol caused the crash just as I cannot prove that it wasn't a contributing factor.
You believe what you want, but Im not going to judge either driver's character cuz you know what? Sometimes Sh%t just happens.

But then again, Im dumber than a bag o hammers too.

[Tyyrus]

Bottom Line  , Waltrip with his History of Drinking and Driving Should be more Responsible !  Still have not heard the Injury of the Motorcyclist ?  Hopefully it was not too serious , but rather observation for better safe than sorry precautionary reasons. Personally I try not to imbibe when driving will be required. When you require your licence for
your job , even when its part time for this Old-Timer , common sense dictates %#$ does happen and should the "Other Guy" cause the accident or incident and your found DUI your insurance is Void also ...really not worth it to take the risk ! Much cheaper in the long run to call a cab or get a DD .

[20forLogano]

has anyone talked on their cell phone when driving?  Causes roughly the same lapse in judgement as alcohol at .06 with a 6"5 200 and something lbs human. 

[skool]

Bottom Line  , Waltrip with his History of Drinking and Driving Should be more Responsible !  Still have not heard the Injury of the Motorcyclist ?  Hopefully it was not too serious , but rather observation for better safe than sorry precautionary reasons. Personally I try not to imbibe when driving will be required. When you require your licence for
your job , even when its part time for this Old-Timer , common sense dictates %#$ does happen and should the "Other Guy" cause the accident or incident and your found DUI your insurance is Void also ...really not worth it to take the risk ! Much cheaper in the long run to call a cab or get a DD .

oh nevermind!

[Tyyrus]

oh nevermind!

  Ditto !

[Busch Babe 899]

has anyone talked on their cell phone when driving?  Causes roughly the same lapse in judgement as alcohol at .06 with a 6"5 200 and something lbs human. 

I agree. I don't...there are no phone calls that are so important that they can't wait for me to pull over and answer, or call back if necessary.

It's actually illegal now to talk on a phone in many states without a hands-free setup in use, and some states are considering laws against that, too, because it still distracts you, although I think if you can talk to someone in the car while driving, you can talk on a phone hands free while driving....

And Governor Ahnold was in the media recently chastising his wife because it's his law in California, and his wife was caught recently in photo several different times driving while holding a phone up to her ear. Poor Ahnold was SO red in the face....LOL

And texting while driving? That's just moronic, and has caused may accidents also. Tried it once...never again. It distracts too much.

As for the drinking and driving? I have driven many times with just one drink, inbibed in over a period of time (not shot or chugged!) in my system...if I plan to drink more than that, then I call a cab or use a DD. Because I did have one friend in HS paralysed in an accident involving alcohol. AND in that same time, 4 teens were killed when they were t-boned on the way to a party....alcohol involved also. So I've seen what can happen, and choose not to take the chance.

And people need to keep in mind as this cold and flu season encroaches, cough medicines and decongestants and other meds of the season can also affect your reflexes and judgement. Believe me, a few years back, when that older guy in the BMW in Florida rounded the corner at a high rate of speed (too high for the parking lot we were in) just as I was backing out of a parking spot, and bounced off my rear bumper, when HIS insurance company called me to question me about the incident, one of the questions they asked me was if I had taken anything prior to driving, specifying cough or cold medicines. I denied it, as I had taken nothing, and had had nothing to drink....it was his fault for whizzing around the corner in a parking lot; there was absolutely NO damage to my truck (just a white paint smear from his little Beamer convertible's fender on the rear bumper that buffed off) and I wasn't taking the blame, no matter what they tried. So I KNOW in a court of law, those things can be brought into play, too. The people making the rules know this, too. That's why it says on a Nyquil bottle "Use caution while operating machinery" or something to that effect.

[FS_Amy]

has anyone talked on their cell phone when driving?  Causes roughly the same lapse in judgement as alcohol at .06 with a 6"5 200 and something lbs human. 

True-and yet talking on cell phones is illegal in many states while driving with .06 BAC is still legal in all of them.  Things that make you go hmmmmmm.....

[Tyyrus]

Excellent points BB ! how many people take prescription medications and then drive , when they know that the medications in some cases may interfere with the safe operation of a motor vehicle.  I have had relations who have had their license suspended and the hoops they had to go through to have them reinstated and the increase in their car insurance was a painful reminder of the consequences. Fortunately no accident occurred during these laps in judgement. I remember well the days when officers would follow you or drive you home prior to zero tolerance in Canada !  But again as the Title of this thread indicated Waltrip once again dodges the DUI Bullet...sooner or later someone shall pay for his selfishness ! 

[Busch Babe 899]

I remember those days, too, back when I was younger and stupider.....in my bartending days. That was just as athey were beginning to talk about charging people who serve liquor if someone walks out their doors and gets into a vehicle impaired and causes an accident. Don't think I'd want to be a bartender now....I followed a Saturn today who was weaving in and out of his/her lane, just a couple of times, but enough it made me wonder if he/she had been drinking, or was texting...it was after dark, so I couldn't see what he/she was doing. Scary, though.