Is drunk driving really the drunk person's fault? They say don't even remember what happened.?

Question

If they are intoxicated when they make the decision then how can you blame them? I have never gotten drunk before so I don't know what it's like to make decisions while drunk. But I've heard people tell me that they've woken up at the hospital and someone had to explain to them what happened. It seems that the best prevention probably is to have a sober friend. But it is not against the law to forget arranging a sober buddy. So should there be laws saying that you must have a friend at a party who is sober and there must be witnesses? It seems to me that the blame is in inadequate planning and not actually driving while drunk. I dunno much about this issue and I could be seeing this all wrong. Please enlighten me.

I don't know who's fault it would be. My main concern is that when you don't have a buddy around, possibly the moment you drink is the moment you completely lost control over making rational decisions such as getting in a car or not.

Answer 1

You are responsible for your actions period. Be you sober, drunk, high or otherwise...

If you make the conscious choice to go out drinking, and do not make the adequite plans BEFORE getting drunk about how to safely get home, then by all means you are responsible.

The law isn't set up to be your parent. "forgetting" to make sure if you go out you can get home without the risk of hurting yourself or someone else, doesn't erase your responsiblity.

It's called common sense...if you don't have any, don't take the risk. There isn't enough time in the world to make laws for every dumb thing a person may or may not do.

Answer 2

Well you can blame them because they were dumb enough to put other people's life in danger by drinking and driving and since drinking and driving IS most deff illegal, then there shouldn't have to be a law saying you have to have a sober person with you. That should be a no brain-er. If you drink and drive it IS the drunk person's fault. That too is also a no brain-er. You can't blame anyone else for your ignorance. A bartender also has a right to say no to a person if they think that they have had to many drinks. Whether they actually do or not is still not their fault that a person gets behind the wheel intoxicated. People need to just be wise and get a DD (someone they can trust that WON"T drink) to go w/ them or make plans to get a cab home. If at a party they need to make plans to stay over night. I know if i invite people to drink over here, i would not want to feel responsible for them getting in an accident bc i didn't take the keys away. Although no one should have to take they keys away from someone who KNOWS they will be drinking. For the people who think drinking and driving is no big deal, you need to think again. Most the time when a drunk driver hit another vehicle, the people in the other vehicle die while the drunk driver walks away with out a scratch. I know bc my friend was killed by a drunk driver and the drunk driver lived w/ a few minor injury's. In the end it is the individuals who makes the right or wrong choice. If a drunk driver hit your parents siblings, wife, child gf etc. and killed them would you think it was okay?

Answer 3

It is 100% the intoxicated person's fault. You made the decision to drink alcohol and made the decision to drink enough to impair your driving, then got into the car and drove. So, whether or not someone was there who was sober is irrelevant - your decisions are your responsibility and no one elses. However, hosts of parites and bar owners can be sued civilly for letting someone who is intoxicated leave the party/bar.

Remember, the drinking age is 21 in all states - so you should be an adult. Driving is a privilege in all states, not a right. 31%of the fatalities nationwide are attributed to alcohol, because people ignore the laternatives, such as a designated driver, a cab, sleeping at the host's house, or SIMPLY NOT DRINKING TO BE IMPAIRED.

I teach the classes for DUIs here in Arizona, and I have heard horrible stories - including a guy who was DUI and put a 3 year old girl in the hospital - who's fault was that?

Answer 4

This "I don't remember" thing.... Well, I don't really buy it! I think it's just the way lawyers taught people to defend themselves on court once there's trouble, and than psychiatrists made a good job out of it all.
But even if it doesn't work that way, one was still sober before getting drunk, "intelligent" enough to make a decision to get drunk and there for, responsible for all the consequences this decision might have! Concerning the law, it isn't there to tell you what you can do to prevent the consequences of stupid things one can do. It's there to tell us what is forbidden and what are the punishments coming afterwords. It's on a person to deal with it. Will he find a sober friend, or simply decide not to drink - it's his own decision.

Answer 5

I got a DUI and fortunately no one was hurt or killed and also fortunately I remembered the entire thing. I was drunk but just not enough to black out and not remember the whole night are just parts. The very moment you pick up a drink and take the first swallow, everything that happens because of you whether or not you remember it the next day is entirely your fault. Why? Because it was your choice to pick up that first drink in the first place and every drink after that. You may lose your inhibitions the more and more you drink but that doesn't make you non responsible for what you do just because you can't remember what happened. I'm still trying to control my drinking and I still have a blackout once in a great while. You should never drink so much that you actually black out. You should never drive, even if you're under the legal limit. I know of people that were still arrested for intoxication for being at .05 when the legal limit here in Illinois is .08. If you can't handle the liquor, you shouldn't be driving even if your under the limit. But when you hear the TV commercials say "Don't drink and drive," they don't just mean stay under the limit, they mean don't drink at all if you're going to drive. I agree with them whole heartedly.

Answer 6

If a drunk driver kills YOUR mom or brother---whose fault is it then??!?

The drunk was sober enough to take that 1st drink-so the blame (all of it) is squarely on that person. Victims have no idea what is coming at them--if they even see it!

Yeah in an ideal world things would be different and people could get the help they need in advance. But here in the real world-the person that commits the crime MUST do the time!

Answer 7

Yes, it's the Drunk Driver's fault. It's not like they don't know when they're drunk, they know and they choose to drive anyway, which is wrong. They know before taking the drink or taking mind altering drugs that making prior arrangements for a designated driver should have already taken place.

Maybe they say that, "It won't happen to me", or they may think that they're smarter than the last Drunk Driver but if you drink or has taken certain drugs, then, you shouldn't drive.

It's clear that alcohol and certain types of Drugs IMPAIRS a person's ability to drive or operate any type of Machinery.

Everyone knows that and you don't have to be a person that drink alcohol or take drugs, prescribed or not, to know that.

Look at the tragic statistics of Accidents and Deaths that has occurred because of Drunk Driving.

Answer 8

If you light a stick of dynamite in your hand and it blows your arm off, can you be blamed for the explosion if you don't remember what happened?

There are choices in life, and making choices that common sense tells you will end up bad does not exclude you from responsibility just because you "can't remember" what happened. This is the same B.S. that gives murderers the "temporary insanity" plea.

So what do you think?

Answer 9

You dont blame them for having the accident as they wouldnt remember. You blame them for getting drunk and not having a plan on how to get back safely. Alcohol increases egotism which causes people to make poor, and often dangerous decisions.

Answer 10

They should not have been in that position to begin with. People should always designate a sober driver or "babysitter" when they are stupid enough to get so drunk that they would drive a car and not remember it.