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Drinking and driving

12K views 126 replies 57 participants last post by  jpres3 
#1 ·
...OK so..once a year I post this thread...and since there seems to be such an influx of noobies on the site it seems as if now is a great time to repost it...

First off this is not intended to garner opinions from non drinking riders...I only want to hear from those who enjoy a few beers along the way when they go for rides...OK

The question is...when you are out with your buddies bar hopping on a Friday night and it's getting late and you got a good buzz going...which would you feel safer going home on/in..your car or your bike?

I ask this because there are those of us who feel that we actually pay attention better on a bike (no radio, less distractions, no passengers, no arm rest to lean on etc.) than a car...

What say you?:?:
 
#4 ·
i have to say when im on a all day ride maybe a couple of beers is the limit. but i want all my good judgement while im riding. dont get me wrong i love a good beer but it just dont mix with the road in either cage or bike
 
#11 ·
1 beer or many i dont ride/drive,in any case,whether youre at fault or not,if youre in an accident and the police show up and smell alcohol on your breath,then you get the embarrassin field sobriety test.people say it all the time"ive only had 1 officer"..regradless drivin intoxicated or just bein buzzed,its illegal and depending on the accident,if someone dies then its a felony conviction.what if its YOUR FAMILY MEMBER? that is killed?..ive seen what happens with people riding/drivin while intoxicated ive spent 20+yrs on the fire dept and its 99.9% the innocent motorist who is the one that ends up dead,or badly injured..call me a noob if ya want,but experience doesnt mean havin common sense..and dont get me wrong im not bashin you sir,personally..to each his own,but statin how i feel about this..i dont condone drinkin and ridin/drivin.
 
#13 ·
...OK so..once a year I post this thread...and since there seems to be such an influx of noobies on the site it seems as if now is a great time to repost it...

First off this is not intended to garner opinions from non drinking riders...I only want to hear from those who enjoy a few beers along the way when they go for rides...OK

The question is...when you are out with your buddies bar hopping on a Friday night and it's getting late and you got a good buzz going...which would you feel safer going home on/in..your car or your bike?

I ask this because there are those of us who feel that we actually pay attention better on a bike (no radio, less distractions, no passengers, no arm rest to lean on etc.) than a car...

What say you?:?:
I am not sure why bedhead insist on posting this every year because it never fails, people don't read what he is asking for. Then they post that they never drink and ride. He is wanting to hear from those that do drink and ride/drive, all others need not reply.
 
#18 ·
I feel like I'm being set up here but let me take it a step further. Those of us (men of a certain age and single) may have a tendancy to drink or partake in a few at the house each and yes, every night! Sad but true!! research has proven to me that if I even have a few, neigh...2....I am already over the legal limit. I pretty much stay over the legal simit since they went to .08. It's true!! I had no idea until I got popped on a simple PI and had to stay in the tank until I got below a .05. 3 PM the next day, people!!! 3 f'in' PM!!!!! So, ask me? I'll choose a bike on a back rode I know very. very well. The risk reward is (Unpopular verbage here) is in favor of the bike. You have more leway to hit a center line on a bike and sometimes you just come across as a noob, not knowing what you are doing. Now, since I know what I know now, I just don't partake much publicly anymore because I know with 2 freakin' beers, I'm probably toast if I had to blow. That's straight up honesty to a bunch of folks I don't even know!!!
 
#40 ·
I had no idea until I got popped on a simple PI and had to stay in the tank until I got below a .05. 3 PM the next day, people!!! 3 f'in' PM!!!!!
Are you a 110 pound female teenager? Especially drinking your american "beer flavored water" ;)


I'll have two on the bike, and maybe 1 more in the car. For some reason I seem to notice it more on the bike.
 
#19 ·
I'm just learning on my bike, so no way would I get on it after drinking. I've played in bar bands for 20+ years, so I've known those late night trips home driving while blind.
I realize now that I was exceptionally lucky and when I play out now limit myself to 3..ok, maybe four but that's over a 5 hour period.
 
#20 ·
More comfortable in the cage than on the bike. But, that comes from years of experience... A few drinks lowers the inhibitions, right? So realistically, what kind of trouble can I get into with a purple Geo Tracker, which the local LEOs ignore? Versus, what kind of trouble can I get into with My BMW, which is loud, fast and all things being unequal, a bike?

I can't risk a DUI, for my job. I also can't risk the safety implications of being over the limit while riding my bike... Way too easy to think I'm 10' tall and bulletproof while feeling that power between my legs and the wind in my face... not at all worth it.

I'll go so far as 3 double margaritas, with a big meal, at a Mexican place a mile from my house, if I'm driving... More if I have a DD, if not then that's my limit. If I'm riding, one beer is my limit no matter how far I am from my next destination. It's too easy to think I'm all that and then some, while on my bike... he11, I do that when I'm sober! *sometimes*

So nope... drinking and riding aren't my thing... neither is drinking and driving. Too much chance for things to go bad... and I don't want things to go bad in my world, or anybody else's.
 
#21 ·
I don't get buzzed when I'm out on my bike or in my car. The legal limit for a holder of a CDL license is half of what it is for a regular drivers license at .04.
I had a DWAI a couple years ago and any infraction of driving while drinking would cause me to lose my CDL permanently.
 
#22 ·
I'm with Big B.
 
#25 · (Edited)
I haven't yet drank and rode, but I would probably choose the bike. Mostly because I don't drink much ever, and when I do drink it's never more than 2-3 and usually over the space of several hours. I'd probably keep it slow and stick to better lighted roads. Pretty much the same response that I use when in a cage, although because I've had far more experience driving a cage I'd probably be willing to drink a few more than I would on a bike.

edit: I take it back, once right when I was first learning to ride and all I had was a crappy little scooter and I went out with a couple of friends from work one night. Had a several drinks and a beer flight, and was definitely a bit buzzed. Rode home that night because the scoot was all I had and I knew I'd need to be at work the next day and wouldn't have the time to pick it up beforehand.
 
#29 ·
If I plan on ****tailing, no bike period. I will drive my truck. It's wrong but I'm honest.
lol, thats is, because when you drive the truck, you hit people.
when you ride the bike, people hit you. hahaha
 
#28 ·
I drank two redbull with grey goose in about 3 hours and have a really nice buzz, play some pool than head home with the buzz die down a bit.

what i can tell you is when i'm still a bit buzz, i actually ride better than i'm sober, i make turn lighter, or maybe i just didnt feel it. dont feel as cold as on the way to the bar.

so point is, its better to ride with little buzz, but not all the way drunk, thats different!!!!!

but at the end, ride safe!!!!!!
 
#37 ·
I drank two redbull with grey goose in about 3 hours and have a really nice buzz, play some pool than head home with the buzz die down a bit.

what i can tell you is when i'm still a bit buzz, i actually ride better than i'm sober, i make turn lighter, or maybe i just didnt feel it. dont feel as cold as on the way to the bar.

so point is, its better to ride with little buzz, but not all the way drunk, thats different!!!!!

but at the end, ride safe!!!!!!
Both of those statements are quite untrue. You do not ride better drunk than sober, unless you were drunk the entire time you've been riding. It is never better to ride with a buzz than to ride sober. Never.

Your reaction times will be slowed, you will be more likely to make more mistakes, that's just the way it is. You may feel lighter and feel like you corner better, and that may be because your inhibitions are lessened so that you have a tendency to throw yourself into turns more and not tense up. If that's the case you need to practice more at varying speeds so that you no longer feel the need to tense when cornering.

For kicks have a couple of friends follow you in a cage and tape you riding while sober. Now, have a few, get buzzed. Take the same route and have them tape you again. See if you don't do several things unsafely.

*note the above is not condoning drinking then riding just to test a point*

I've been known to drive after drinking a few, only ridden once like that, but that doesn't mean I won't ever again. I'm well aware that I'm not as safe for myself or others when buzzed though.
 
#31 ·
I have only rode my bike toasted pretty good once . When I lived in Vegas, My brother and a friend in Phoenix called me one morning and we all met in Flagstaff and eventually rode into a street party where we stopped and partook in the festivities, I was supposed to ride back to Vegas, But at 2AM I did not want to make that ride alone and toasty so we all decided to ride together back to Phoenix and I Rode back the next day. Younger and more stupid.

I spend about 30 minutes drinking a beer. so I will have a beer and ride now and then but usually do not drink for an hour or more before I intend to get on the bike. I won't ride with any noticeable buzz at all
 
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