Drink Driving Insurance

mattyprice4004

steve1500 wrote: »

What I was hoping for was a few constructive answers NOT "I hope they bleed her dry"

Having a friend that suffered life-long injuries as a result of an idiot like your daughter, I stand by my comment.

She's a tool and should face the repercussions for many years.

GwylimT

mattyprice4004 wrote: »

Having a friend that suffered life-long injuries as a result of an idiot like your daughter, I stand by my comment.

She's a tool and should face the repercussions for many years.

My wife was paralysed from the waist down by a drink driver, now she is limited in her life, she is likely to suffer severe complications in later life, her treatment costs a fortune (not all is provided by NHS) which mean we struggle financially, while the idiot who has done is free to live a normal life and carrying on driving drunk.

Jamie_Carter

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

But in certain circumstance, it is possible to legally use a mobile phone whilst driving in the UK, but there are no exemptions for knowingly driving whilst over the limit. Could this be because the government and their medical experts all agree that the latter is far more dangerous than the former?

If I could be bothered I would see if I could find the figures that show the percentage of UK road deaths caused due to someone speaking on a mobile phone, and I would put money on the result showing that mobile phone use is far less likely to end up in a death than drink driving.

Apparently you are 4x more likely to be involved in an RTC whilst using a mobile phone, than someone who is just over the drink drive limit.

There can't really be a direct comparison though, as there are varying degrees of intoxication, yet only one degree of using a mobile without hands free, whilst driving. There is also the mind bending qualities of alcohol, making people think they are better drivers than they actually are. With a mobile, they aren't mind bending. Although you might get an ear bending from the missus.

Jamie_Carter

Yolina wrote: »

I'm pretty sure that the majority of people don't know *exactly* how much of what they can drink and still stay below the legal limit, unless they have a breathalyser with them and can check. And yes it's no excuse but it's unfortunately the reality.

As I've already said, my approach has always been no alcohol at all if I'm going to be driving - just seems to me as the most sensible thing to do. There is absolutely no doubt that way.

And my point was that if you were breathalysed in the UK at 0.6, no-one would bat an eyelid, but in France that same amount would see a forum going for your blood.

I want to make clear that I absolutely do no condone drink-driving, or using a hand-held phone when driving for that matter, for me one is just as bad as the other. I just find it a bit strange how one seems to be seen as the absolute most evil thing but not the other. That's all

Unfortunately there is still doubt.

At what point the next day do you deem yourself fit to drive?

Yolina

Jamie_Carter wrote: »

Unfortunately there is still doubt.

At what point the next day do you deem yourself fit to drive?

I don't drink anywhere near enough for that to be a problem;) Pretty sure that 2 G&Ts in an evening out is safe if I need to drive 8+ hours later.

Edit: plus the majority of the time I'm going out, I actually drive there and back, so I don't drink any alcohol anyway and therefore no chance of being over the following day :rotfl:

Aretnap

Jamie_Carter wrote: »

Unfortunately there is still doubt.

At what point the next day do you deem yourself fit to drive?

Exactly. It's all very easy to say "well you shouldn't drink at all if you're going to drive" and sit there and feel smug. It's actually a pretty fatuous thing to say. If I have a pint, how long do you think I should leave it before I drive? An hour? Four hours? Eight hours? A week? How about if I have two pints? Or three? Anyone who isn't teetotal has to make that sort of judgement. Some allow a bigger margin for error than others, and some get it wrong. That doesn't (always) make them people who set out to break the law deliberately, it makes them people who get things wrong. The drink drive limit is quite high, and probably if they get things that wrong they shouldn't be driving, but that's a different argument to whether they're knowingly committing a crime.

Aretnap

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

But in certain circumstance, it is possible to legally use a mobile phone whilst driving in the UK, but there are no exemptions for knowingly driving whilst over the limit. Could this be because the government and their medical experts all agree that the latter is far more dangerous than the former?

If I could be bothered I would see if I could find the figures that show the percentage of UK road deaths caused due to someone speaking on a mobile phone, and I would put money on the result showing that mobile phone use is far less likely to end up in a death than drink driving.

Actually there are circumstances where it's possible to drive legally while over the limit. In [url=http://sixthformlaw.info/02_cases/mod3a/cases_62_gen_def_duress_of_circs.htm#Bell, DPP v [1992] QBD]DPP v Bell[/url] for instance a man was acquitted of drink driving because he was fleeing from a gang which was pursuing him. Probably you could claim a defence if you had to get a seriously injured person to hospital, and there was no way of doing it other than by driving, despite the fact that you were drunk.

As JC notes it's generally accepted that using a mobile creates a greater risk of accident than beng slightly over the drink drive limit. It's not an entirely fair comparison though - making a phone call means an increased risk for a few minutes, but being drunk means the risk is increased for the whole journey, so drink driving may be a greater risk overall. The point was a general one though - if you don't think insurance should cover you while you're breaking the law fair enough (though it would slightly defeat the object of having it), but why single out just one of the very many ways you can break the law while driving?

Jack_Regan

Aretnap wrote: »

Actually there are circumstances where it's possible to drive legally while over the limit. In [url=http://sixthformlaw.info/02_cases/mod3a/cases_62_gen_def_duress_of_circs.htm#Bell, DPP v [1992] QBD]DPP v Bell[/url] for instance a man was acquitted of drink driving because he was fleeing from a gang which was pursuing him. Probably you could claim a defence if you had to get a seriously injured person to hospital, and there was no way of doing it other than by driving, despite the fact that you were drunk.

As JC notes it's generally accepted that using a mobile creates a greater risk of accident than beng slightly over the drink drive limit. It's not an entirely fair comparison though - making a phone call means an increased risk for a few minutes, but being drunk means the risk is increased for the whole journey, so drink driving may be a greater risk overall. The point was a general one though - if you don't think insurance should cover you while you're breaking the law fair enough (though it would slightly defeat the object of having it), but why single out just one of the very many ways you can break the law while driving?

Accepted by whom?

You get 3 points and £100 fine for using a phone. They disqualify for excess alcohol.

Jamie_Carter

Yolina wrote: »

I don't drink anywhere near enough for that to be a problem;) Pretty sure that 2 G&Ts in an evening out is safe if I need to drive 8+ hours later.

Edit: plus the majority of the time I'm going out, I actually drive there and back, so I don't drink any alcohol anyway and therefore no chance of being over the following day :rotfl:

Yes I think you are perfectly safe.

But unfortunately many people will drive the next day, in the belief that they will be under the limit. After a heavy drinking session, it is possible to still be over the limit the following evening.