Will drink driving offences decrease over coming weeks

Convicted Driver Insurance

C J 1980

Established Member
It's an interesting one to think about.

Is drink driving in general going to fall in the next few weeks?

The country is now on lockdown with every one being told to stay at home. Pubs & bars are now closed until further notice so any drinking in theory will have to be done at home. All supermarkets & off licences are still open and I've seen many people purchasing multipacks of beer & several bottles of wine. Therefore, many people will be getting intoxicated in the comfort of their armchairs.

I would say that as there is less reason to go out and make that journey from A to B people are less likely to get behind the wheel having had a few sherberts.

The other factor to consider is that many drink drivers (I was one of them!!!) are chancers. We all know the the police are under massive strain and are probably facing a bigger challenge than any terrorist incident or national emergency in a generation. People will be thinking they have less chance of being caught or being grassed on as the 999/101 numbers are constantly jammed with calls from the public about covid 19 concerns.

This is really food for thought. I know many people now stuck at home will probably relieve the boredom by opening that bottle or can and increasing their daily consumption of alcohol. Are we going to see maybe more people still drunk from the night before who do key roles? NHS workers will be under massive amounts of stress and will be working around the clock - would they to be wanting to have some well deserved beers after a 12 hour shift then still be over the limit the following day?

CJ
 
Am thinking like you CJ the decrease will occur in the late evening , but I would anticipate a huge spike early morning 70-80% population couldnt tell you what 1 unit is
 
Craig121 is right - the overall number of cases on average per month might change ever so slightly, if at all, however the biggest change will be the time that offences commonly occur. Having been reading the latest news section for a few weeks now, it appears that, bar the extreme cases, more people are getting caught the morning after, not the night before when people feel alright to drive however are still over the limit.
 
I think it will. Seeing all the police outside let's face it the police have a job to do. If your silly enough them your the silly bugger. I've recently got more education through here. Refreshing to see and evaluate the situation.
Let's hope that we all have a moral obligation to abide by the law. Ps God bless the NHS
AND ALL KEY WORKER AND VOLUNTEERS
 
Seen this one this morning local enough to me, would not like to be waking up in a cell the morning after and being read that charge list from the night before. Driving with excess alcohol in breath and causing grievous bodily injury to the passenger by driving carelessly when unfit. Then 2 counts of attempted grievous bodily harm with intent for coughing at the officers. A jail sentence will no doubt be on the cards for this offender.
 

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Seen this one this morning local enough to me, would not like to be waking up in a cell the morning after and being read that charge list from the night before. Driving with excess alcohol in breath and causing grievous bodily injury to the passenger by driving carelessly when unfit. Then 2 counts of attempted grievous bodily harm with intent for coughing at the officers. A jail sentence will no doubt be on the cards for this offender.

I suppose it would have to happen sooner or later.

Drink drivers will try any defence in the book & this chap may try and claim he had a bad cough and could not do the intoxilyser procedure because he was suffering from potential covid19 symptoms.

I would assume most Magistrates will take a dim view of ANY drink driver at the moment because they are tying up precious police resources and of course unnecessary court time, when court buildings are trying to stay sterile like everywhere else.

CJ
 
He claimed to have symptoms then coughed at the police, landing him a charge for attempted grevious body harm. The magistrates will be taken a dim view on anyone who tries to pass this illness on to key workers, a man spat on two guards in Dublin yesterday and has been refused bail. Seen another case out of the US where a young fella video'd himself licking some deodorant bottles in Wal-Mart, he's been charged with terrorism offences.

I think this situation will cause an increase in cases of drink driving due to police presence being through the roof, the driver who usually drives to work the night after a few pints and never runs into the police may now be running into multiple checkpoints on their way to work. I think the number of late afternoon/evening arrests will drop due to pub closures, but the morning after arrests will spike.
 
He claimed to have symptoms then coughed at the police, landing him a charge for attempted grevious body harm. The magistrates will be taken a dim view on anyone who tries to pass this illness on to key workers, a man spat on two guards in Dublin yesterday and has been refused bail. Seen another case out of the US where a young fella video'd himself licking some deodorant bottles in Wal-Mart, he's been charged with terrorism offences.

I think this situation will cause an increase in cases of drink driving due to police presence being through the roof, the driver who usually drives to work the night after a few pints and never runs into the police may now be running into multiple checkpoints on their way to work. I think the number of late afternoon/evening arrests will drop due to pub closures, but the morning after arrests will spike.

Licking deodorant cans??? I would say this chap needs sectioning for a long time. The police in the UK were suppose to be issued with spit hoods - I would say in the current climate to protect themselves and their colleagues they should put spit hoods on everyone stupid enough to get arrested because I have a feeling more and more idiots are going to spit & cough at key workers.

CJ
 
Been following the DD news closely !

There's an upsurge of people being found passed out or in a ditch god help if that's all ?
Seems possibly people drinking at home obviously to much then trying to escape the lockdown society which for us mortals know during this period there's a bigger police presence and stopping powers !
Courts are going to be busy when we kick start
 
I think the wider implications of Covid19 are going to be immense.

People are already struggling mentally without support networks to help them deal with drug, alcohol or mental health problems. Someone who is being forced to self isolate or simply stay at home like the rest of us may very well be nursing an addiction that they need to deal with.

AA Annonymous have already reported an upsurge in their members relapsing because they simply cannot go to meetings which are now off limits or even visit friends & fellow members for support.

Very sad, but this is clearly one of the harsh realities of the epidemic. The government are clearly implementing these lockdown measures to protect the lives of the vulnerable people in our society, but yet there are going to be hundreds of other vulnerable people who will suffer because their vital support network has been cut off.

CJ
 
I think the wider implications of Covid19 are going to be immense.

People are already struggling mentally without support networks to help them deal with drug, alcohol or mental health problems. Someone who is being forced to self isolate or simply stay at home like the rest of us may very well be nursing an addiction that they need to deal with.

AA Annonymous have already reported an upsurge in their members relapsing because they simply cannot go to meetings which are now off limits or even visit friends & fellow members for support.

Very sad, but this is clearly one of the harsh realities of the epidemic. The government are clearly implementing these lockdown measures to protect the lives of the vulnerable people in our society, but yet there are going to be hundreds of other vulnerable people who will suffer because their vital support network has been cut off.

CJ

This is the case CJ, as by my post history. I'm 23, recovering alcoholic, been detoxed a few times then finally did rehab after losing my licence in a crash. I have been sober since late July 2018. I stay in contact with all the lads I was in rehab with, out of over 40 of us there are less than 10 left sober today due to this whole mess. The cabin fever sets in, old habits return and before you know it you're spiralling on the drink.

I have used online AA meetings in the past and that's what I'm currently using right now to help me through. But for the older generation, that aren't as savvy on the internet as myself this is a crippling blow. I know a man who hadn't missed an AA meeting in 24 years, he went Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I got the sad news on Thursday that he has also relapsed. Stormont in NI deemed off licences to be non essential businesses last week and they were shut for a day, they soon did a 360 on that when they realised that hospital beds would be over run by alcoholics withdrawing. I live with 3 housemates who are my best mates, so have a good strong support network at home. I couldn't even imagine trying to do this on my own.

G
 
Grice96

I actually went to a couple of AA meetings close to where I live when I first lost my licence around this time last year. The AA thing is not for everyone including me. Some people connect with it and others (including me) just don't like all the talk about God and the spiritual stuff.

I do remember one member who was a middle aged chap who had been dry for about 10 years. He really was a chap who went to hell and back but was a staunch advocate for going to at least three or four meetings a week which was part of his own routine. Sadly, this chap lives on his own and keeps busy with meetings and social gatherings which have now been stopped.

I saw the same chap on Thursday close to where I live who clearly looked dishevelled and was clutching a huge carrier bag filled with cans from the local off licence. He was no doubt on his way home after a vital purchase and is clearly back drinking again.

Very sad but like I said this is the grim reality of Covid19 and the implications caused when vulnerable people have their social network cut off.

CJ
 
I don't like the God stuff either mate, but found it a lot easier by replacing the word God with the word higher power. I chose my own sobriety as my higher power and when God is mentioned that's what I think of. I don't do the meetings in person anymore, I used to enjoy them but got used to hearing the same old thing. What's great about the online meetings is that you're in with people from all round the world, it's even exciting sometimes hearing about other people's lives and how they differ from this side of the world.

I'm very sad every time I hear about someone relapsing, but I'm particularly sad when I see people who used the meetings for years and were so strong, even sponsors for other members now falling due to the lack of support network. The sad reality for these men and women is death, either by drinking themselves to death or by suicide. The suicide rate among addicts is an epidemic in itself. The fallout of this virus, economically, for the health service and for people's own mental health is going to be felt for years sadly.

G
 
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