Don't Drink and Drive!

[nicolac34]

Since we arrived in WA I've been pretty shocked by the attitude towards drinking and driving. Seems common place among so many people I've met. Sure they have their 'booze buses', but do people heed the warning? Doesn't seem like it.

 

Today a work colleague is very upset. We asked why. Her 30 year old friend has just been killed in a car accident, she was a passenger, the driver had been drinking and lost control of her v8 supercar.

 

She leaves behind a 7 year old son with no father in the picture.

 

So unnecessary and avoidable.

[gpo1971]

I agree. It's rife in WA.

Said in another thread, driving on a Friday night is like running the gauntlet.

 

Driving standards in general are shite. They should make the tests harder and not let 18 yr old lads drive round in Formula 1 cars.

[Quinkla]

Driving standards in general are shite.

I'm not sure about that. It's more that drivers are competent at driving in a very different way with different social norms. I find drivers in Australia quite unforgiving and unaccommodating. People tend to have an obsession with speed limits, sticking to them religiously regardless of anything else that is going on around them. I suspect that's a product of inflexible enforcement rather than lack of driving ability.

[gpo1971]

I'm not sure about that. It's more that drivers are competent at driving in a very different way with different social norms. I find drivers in Australia quite unforgiving and unaccommodating. People tend to have an obsession with speed limits, sticking to them religiously regardless of anything else that is going on around them. I suspect that's a product of inflexible enforcement rather than lack of driving ability.

 

Maybe. But I think driving about 2 feet from the back of your car flashing you to go quicker, weaving all over the freeway, not getting in the correct lane then swinging across 3 lanes at the last minute to exit the freeway, stopping traffic while you indicate to push in a line because you can’t be bothered queuing for 2 minutes, indicating left, right or not at all with no consistency at roundabouts, very little indication in general etc. etc. are all signs of shite driving.

I travel to work on normal roads now as I would do anything to avoid driving on the freeway. Above all else, I can’t hear myself think because of the bloody stupid exhausts everyone has.

[Quinkla]

I think driving about 2 feet from the back of your car flashing you to go quicker, weaving all over the freeway, not getting in the correct lane then swinging across 3 lanes at the last minute to exit the freeway, stopping traffic while you indicate to push in a line because you can’t be bothered queuing for 2 minutes...

All this requires skill. It is discourteous driving, but it is not shite driving. But if you stuck to a British driving style of leaving big gaps between cars, not weaving, accommodating all the other cars then you would just be carved up by other people who are playing by a different set of rules. And you'd be liable to cause an accident because you wouldn't be behaving in the way that other drivers expect you to behave.

[gpo1971]

All this requires skill. It is discourteous driving, but it is not shite driving. But if you stuck to a British driving style of leaving big gaps between cars, not weaving, accommodating all the other cars then you would just be carved up by other people who are playing by a different set of rules. And you'd be liable to cause an accident because you wouldn't be behaving in the way that other drivers expect you to behave.

Mate, I think we have different interpretations of the words "skill" and "shite".

[blossom]

All this requires skill. It is discourteous driving, but it is not shite driving. But if you stuck to a British driving style of leaving big gaps between cars, not weaving, accommodating all the other cars then you would just be carved up by other people who are playing by a different set of rules. And you'd be liable to cause an accident because you wouldn't be behaving in the way that other drivers expect you to behave.

They do all that was listed with NO SKILL in SA, which is how come there are so many accidents. And maybe SA is different to where you are, but plenty of people speed here.

 

Back to the op, it really is shocking. Nobody here seems too ashamed when they tell you they have lost their licence for drink driving too. Another person I knows cousin was killed on the roads on Tuesday. It happens far, far too often here. I only know of one person (personally) who has lost someone through a car accident in the uk. Here I can't even keep count. Very sad.

[Melbkitty]

I find that people I know in Melbourne are very conscientious when it comes to drink/driving - many have phone apps to estimate their BAC if they choose to drive to the restaurant or pub and have 1 or 2. I don't think you get away with drink/driving for long here as there are booze buses & police everywhere.

 

I passed my driving test here in Vic & I HATE driving - I only have 5 demerit points (on my Ps) & continously have drivers up my a&*se on the motorway encouraging me to speed. It's really scary & I feel like I'm in a death trap every day - I sometimes take the train just avoid the stress.

[nicolac34]

I find that people I know in Melbourne are very conscientious when it comes to drink/driving - many have phone apps to estimate their BAC if they choose to drive to the restaurant or pub and have 1 or 2. I don't think you get away with drink/driving for long here as there are booze buses & police everywhere.

 

I passed my driving test here in Vic & I HATE driving - I only have 5 demerit points (on my Ps) & continously have drivers up my a&*se on the motorway encouraging me to speed. It's really scary & I feel like I'm in a death trap every day - I sometimes take the train just avoid the stress.

 

That's the thing though, I think people DO get away with drink driving over here, I know people who've been caught over the limit and get told to 'wait 30 minutes' and then be on their way. Most think nothing of going out drinking all day and then switching to water an hour before they want to drive and think that is sufficient. I wouldn't trust any app to estimate whether I could drive, I just wouldn't drink in the first place.

 

I also hate driving here, used to love it in England, now I avoid it where I can.

[Guest Ptp113]

I agree. It's rife in WA.

Said in another thread, driving on a Friday night is like running the gauntlet.

 

Driving standards in general are shite. They should make the tests harder and not let 18 yr old lads drive round in Formula 1 cars.

They should be driving pommy buzz boxes instead!

[Bibbs]

It's the issue with having a rubbish taxi system, combined with expensive pubs so people socialise at others houses.

 

People wont use buses, and the trains are limited.

 

It's why the wife and I spent ages looking for a house near a train station. I'm constantly out in the city and never have to worry about getting home.

 

The driving is just different here. Less attention to other cars, more attention to speed.

 

But then I was out 'hooning' on a race track yesterday, practising my driving.

[Incata]

What is a booze bus? Never encountered one before.

[Quinkla]

What is a booze bus? Never encountered one before.

It's a bus run by the police that has blood alcohol testing facilities inside it. This saves the police the hassle of taking drink driving suspects to the police station for sample analysis following administration of a hand-held test.

[Love Shoes]

Apparently it's rife where we are, on the spot random breathalyser tests are the norm here, I have been stopped four times since last year and my oh 8 times, twice last week, one at 7.30 and and then last Saturday when he was taking me to work still 8.30 am, another night he got pulled over on the way to Coles then on the way back from Coles by the same officer ....who didn't breath test him that time because he remembered my oh ........ We asked the officer last week if it was purely random or whether our car had been owned by a convicted drink driver ..... the reply .... Random .....

 

I think it's a good idea, keeps the roads safer, maybe other countries should do on the spot / random alcohol testing .....

[Quinkla]

I think it's a good idea, keeps the roads safer, maybe other countries should do on the spot / random alcohol testing .....

Not sure I agree. I think it fundamenally changes the relationship between the citizen and the state if the state is able to stop citizens at will. I would prefer the requirement of reasonable suspicion of the commission of an offence before the state has the power to stop a citizen from goingabout his or her lawful business.

 

Remember guys, the state belongs to us, not vice versa.

[Paul1Perth]

I agree. It's rife in WA.

Said in another thread, driving on a Friday night is like running the gauntlet.

 

Driving standards in general are shite. They should make the tests harder and not let 18 yr old lads drive round in Formula 1 cars.

 

Don't think it's any worse or better than anywhere else. I know as a youngster, before breath tests and stops by police became the norm I and the guys I hung around with were terrible. The difference between being the driver or not on the weekend was whether you had 6 pints or 10. I was driving back from a place we used to go to a lot at fiveways roundabout on the way to Sheffield and I'd had probably 6 pints. My mates in the back had more and were both asleep. We had to drive through Chesterfield to get back home and driving in there were cops all over the place. Not unusual for that time of night there had been a mass brawl which had spread over a few streets and onto the road.

 

The cops were there trying to bring it under control. I got stopped by a cop as the road in front was still closed. I literally had to concentrate to keep focus but I was lucky in that he was more interested in the guys brawling.

 

Not proud of it and I never had an accident due to drinking, more by luck than judgement. Just seemed that everyone was doing it those days. (60's 70's). People used to drive a couple of miles to the welfare have a few pints and drive home. They could easily have walked.

 

My son, 24, is pretty conscientious about drinking and driving. I've never known him do it and we've said we will take him and pick him up, no matter what time it's going to be, rather than him drink and drive.

 

I've driven plenty on Friday nights, mostly dropping off and picking up my son and not really noticed it any worse than any other time. Only accident I've had here was a young kid ran into the back of me as he was too busy watching a girl jogger on West Coast Highway. I knew as I had seen the same girl and had to stop pretty quick myself. Looked in the mirror and saw the young guy still looking out the side window, thinking he's not going to stop.

 

I think you stand a pretty good chance of getting caught here if you drink and drive. There are a lot of booze buses and police about. A lot of the youngsters jobs depend on them being able to drive and I really don't know that many who would take the chance.

 

Sorry about your friend OP.

[paul1977]

Maybe. But I think driving about 2 feet from the back of your car flashing you to go quicker, weaving all over the freeway, not getting in the correct lane then swinging across 3 lanes at the last minute to exit the freeway, stopping traffic while you indicate to push in a line because you can’t be bothered queuing for 2 minutes, indicating left, right or not at all with no consistency at roundabouts, very little indication in general etc. etc. are all signs of shite driving.

I travel to work on normal roads now as I would do anything to avoid driving on the freeway. Above all else, I can’t hear myself think because of the bloody stupid exhausts everyone has.

For once I think we're both going to agree on a point.. The driving standard is shocking.. I've been tail-gated on the inside lane of a two lane road

[Paul1Perth]

All this requires skill. It is discourteous driving, but it is not shite driving. But if you stuck to a British driving style of leaving big gaps between cars, not weaving, accommodating all the other cars then you would just be carved up by other people who are playing by a different set of rules. And you'd be liable to cause an accident because you wouldn't be behaving in the way that other drivers expect you to behave.

 

Have things changed that much. I had to drive from Manchester to the South Coast on work trips quite often and we wanted to get down and back as quick as possible. My memories of it was you got in the outside lane on the motorway, drove as close to the guy in front as you could and as fast as you could, usually that was as fast as the guy in front would let you go, nothing to do with speed limits, specially in hire cars.

 

One trip I had a nearly new car the windscreen wipers would only work for a few strokes at a time then pause and it rained the whole way down. The guy in the passenger seat got through about 60 fags on that trip.

[Love Shoes]

Not sure I agree. I think it fundamenally changes the relationship between the citizen and the state if the state is able to stop citizens at will. I would prefer the requirement of reasonable suspicion of the commission of an offence before the state has the power to stop a citizen from goingabout his or her lawful business.

 

Remember guys, the state belongs to us, not vice versa.

 

i agree with a lot of what you say ..... At first I thought it was a pain in the arse, and still do to a certain extent, especially when you haven't been on the pop, and are just going about your business not causing harm to anyone ......but thinking along the prevention is better than cure line, it does deter ...... Hooning is a problem here and as my Australian colleague said " it can be quite feral here at times, so breath tests are a good thing " her words not mine ...... After I had mentioned oh being stopped at 7.30 on his way to work .....

[northernbird]

Since we arrived in WA I've been pretty shocked by the attitude towards drinking and driving. Seems common place among so many people I've met. Sure they have their 'booze buses', but do people heed the warning? Doesn't seem like it.

 

Today a work colleague is very upset. We asked why. Her 30 year old friend has just been killed in a car accident, she was a passenger, the driver had been drinking and lost control of her v8 supercar.

 

She leaves behind a 7 year old son with no father in the picture.

 

So unnecessary and avoidable.

 

She was also a disqualified driver. She has been charged this morning with driving over 0.05, driving while disqualified and causing death by dangerous driving.

[Quinkla]

Hooning is a problem here

Then stop people when they are hooning.

[Paul1Perth]

I find that people I know in Melbourne are very conscientious when it comes to drink/driving - many have phone apps to estimate their BAC if they choose to drive to the restaurant or pub and have 1 or 2. I don't think you get away with drink/driving for long here as there are booze buses & police everywhere.

 

I passed my driving test here in Vic & I HATE driving - I only have 5 demerit points (on my Ps) & continously have drivers up my a&*se on the motorway encouraging me to speed. It's really scary & I feel like I'm in a death trap every day - I sometimes take the train just avoid the stress.

 

Not to be too sexist here but a lot of women seem to get too nervous driving. My SIL in the UK wouldn't come and pick us up at the airport as "she is scared to drive on motorways". She's in her 40's and has been driving for years but tries to stick "to roads that she knows". My wife has a friend here and she's the same. Won't drive on the freeway and drives to our place for my wife to then take them to Karrinyup or somewhere shopping.

 

Quite like driving here and the UK. Found it frustrating in the UK recently on holiday. Too much traffic to get anywhere very fast. One long queue from where we used to live near Stockport to get anywhere. Here we went down to Augusta a few weekends ago and I hardly had the cruise control off once out of Perth. Just set it to 100 and go.

[paul1977]

What needs to be changed is not the amount of breath test but the punishment for DD.. It's very weak... Just take the E plate for example.. E plate means I've been done so many times for DD that the judge still let's me drive to and from work so it doesn't effect my life to much.. Then you can drive on you rego so your insurance doesn't get affected

[Melbkitty]

Not to be too sexist here but a lot of women seem to get too nervous driving. My SIL in the UK wouldn't come and pick us up at the airport as "she is scared to drive on motorways". She's in her 40's and has been driving for years but tries to stick "to roads that she knows". My wife has a friend here and she's the same. Won't drive on the freeway and drives to our place for my wife to then take them to Karrinyup or somewhere shopping.

 

Quite like driving here and the UK. Found it frustrating in the UK recently on holiday. Too much traffic to get anywhere very fast. One long queue from where we used to live near Stockport to get anywhere. Here we went down to Augusta a few weekends ago and I hardly had the cruise control off once out of Perth. Just set it to 100 and go.

 

I'm quite nervous as I'm still a relatively new driver, not because I'm female. I don't see why I should speed or feel pressured to move lanes before I feel it is safe because some idiot behind me prefers to drive over the speed limit or needs to get home to his meat pie ASAP. As a P Plater I have only 5 demerit points & I refuse to give in to that pressure.

[blossom]

We don't have an e plate in SA.

But yes, the punishment should be more.

Driving tests should be far more in depth than they seem to be here (who's bright idea was log books?).

 

The dangerous drivers seem to be in three groups here in SA (from my observation). Middle aged men, who simply don't seem to know how to drive, p platers who just have too much confidence and not enough sense, and Asian people (sorry, not racist at all, but of about 50% of the dodgy driving I see here is Asians).