One eye to the road

Holy crap: 30 million people admit to drunk driving. That's a lot of drunk folks on the road, and I suppose most of them are out now during the holiday party season. Sometimes I'm really glad I don't have my car right now.

But then again, I used to be one of those people. I was a really good drunk driver. I never got pulled over, I never (I don't think) hit anything, I never (I know) hit anyone. I never was in or caused an accident. But can any drunk driver be a good drunk driver?

You always know when someone is drunk if you're driving behind them. They're weavy, and over correct. You can kind of tell the amount of effort they are putting into driving. I always laugh at those folks, and let them pass. But I suppose quitting drinking is a lot like having kids: it makes you more of a stick in the mud. You know when you used to give a pass to all sorts of bad behavior because you did it too? And then something changed in you and you became the sort of person who reported those people. Well, I've hit that distinction.

Now, drunk drivers scare the bejeezus out of me. I call them in when I see them. I've heard too many horror stories at AA meetings about drunk crashes where someone has died, and I never want to hear another one. It's just scary out there thinking about all the folks with one eye closed glaring over the steering wheel. 30 million of us. All driving our way into someone else's front yard.