Drink Driving Is Always Wrong, Even If You Have A Funny Excuse

Driving whilst intoxicated, be that through alcohol or other substances, is always wrong. Everybody knows that, and it is only because of a certain sense of grandiosity that automatically comes with being under some sort of influence that some of us think we can get away with it. Unfortunately, nine out of ten times we do get away with it, which makes it more likely for us to do it again. And then, there is that one out of ten times you do get caught. From reports supplied by the police and insurance companies, there have been some truly hilarious excuses as to why people felt they were well within their rights to be behind the wheel at that time. Let’s take a look.

The Official Excuses

In a survey performed by the AA (Automobile Association, not Alcoholics Anonymous), five excuses were most commonly used when asking people why they would consider getting behind the wheel after they had a drink. Hence, these are not people who got caught, but rather those who – anonymously of course – would consider it. Their excuses were:

• That they only had a short journey
• That they ate a meal, which soaked up any excess alcohol
• That their last drink was some time ago, so their blood alcohol percentage will have dropped
• That there is almost no traffic
• That they won’t get caught anyway

The Funny Excuses

There are some seriously funny excuses out there as well. Unfortunately, drink driving is never a laughing matter, and the responses that were given by people who did get caught are perhaps only funny because of their sheer stupidity. For instance, the most commonly heard “funny” excuse for drink driving is when people say that it is impossible that they are drunk; after all, they had been chosen as the designated driver.

Other excuses included an admittance that they are over the limit, but at least not as much so as their other friends. Surprisingly enough, there are many drivers who are truly shocked when they are arrested, because they believe they can “hold their drink”. Although they may perhaps be less drunk than someone else who has had the same amount of alcohol, their blood percentage would still be exactly the same, making them just as drunk and with just as much inhibited mental reflexes and capacity as anybody else.

There is never an excuse for getting behind the wheel when drunk. There are different rules in different countries in terms of how much you can drink, and you must consider these laws. Unfortunately, understanding what that percentage means in terms of how many drinks you can have is very difficult and it is generally the best policy to simply drink nothing at all if you are the designated driver. The reality of drink driving is not only that you risk a big fine and the loss of your license, but that you can cause very serious injury or even death to another human being.

Ben Bernardo is a renowned author and expert in all things law related. When getting the latest information on driving offences, Ben visits www.olliersmotorlaw.co.uk.

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