| Kenneth_Moore |
04-02-2009 07:40 AM |
The author makes a good point that's come up in the forums before: we're completely hypocritical as a society about drinking and driving or riding. I've rarely attended a motorcycle event that didn't feature alcohol publicly, and drugs on the sly. When Rossmeyer HD was forced by their insurance carrier to start drug testing employees, the only way they could keep the place staffed was by sending notices to everyone stating: DRUG TESTS WILL BE CONDUCTED IN 90 DAYS! Then there would be a countdown, and about a week before you had to go piss test they'd tell you the date and time. That allowed the coke and pot heads plenty of time to either taper off or get the herbal flush tea. Of course the insurance company seemed to have no issue with the mechanics going to lunch at the sports bar next door and getting the two for one pitchers. I always urged my pals and customers to schedule morning appointments, but never on Saturday. That way you'd have a shot at a reasonably sober mechanic who didn't have a nightmare hangover.
The guy from Denver who said he rode better after drinking is hardly a minority. When I got my Harley in '95 I bought into the whole "culture" thing with the fingerless gloves and skid lid helmet. I even had a "DAMM" sticker on it; "Drunks Against Mad Mothers." It's embarassing to admit now, but I actually thought I rode better after a few drinks. Driving or riding under the influence is fun; just like sex and dancing are. But, with a few exceptions, dancing and screwing while screwed up don't put your or other's lives at risk.
There is an entire economy built around operating motor vehicles under the influence. I never got a DUI, but I had a friend who did. I was with him when we went through a checkpoint. He was doing ok until the cop asked him to recite the alphabet backwards. He said "I couldn't do that even if I was sober." Oops. Between the bail, the lawyers, the various classes, fines, fees, and other nonsense, he figured the whole thing cost him about $10,000. It took almost a year before it was all said and done. I very rarely drink these days myself, but all those attorneys and cops and judges making a living off DUI, the MADD ladies who have found their calling in life, the companies who build the breath testers and the companies who sell the urine cleansing tea...nobody really wants to see drinking and driving go away.
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