Drunken antics underline serious message
By Kyra Hoggan
What a way to spend a morning! (See Cops get radio hosts drunk …for a cause story by clicking here). First, I want to say thanks to the Mountain FM team for allowing me to sit in on their unorthodox “social experiment”.
I’ll confess that, as I drove down to the radio station this morning, I was hating their breathing guts for making me get up at such an unGodly hour, but drove away delighted over three hours later, both deeply amused and deep in thought. In some ways, it was a very …ahem …sobering experience. I think we were all surprised at how low the breathalyzer readings were in people so obviously impaired (Johnson, at one point, said he “definitely wouldn’t get behind the vehicle of a wheel,” then launched into a little monologue about Wagon Wheels and how good they taste), and I think the most important message anyone can take from the show is that blood alcohol readings are not the only legal indicator of drunk driving. In fact, there are two charges under the criminal code, one for operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol level above .08, and another for impaired driving … and as we saw today, ‘impairment’ can exist in a person who is far, far below the legal limit. Florio Vassilakakis, owner of the Element Bar and Grill and donour of the alcohol and pizza, was mildly slurring his words and stumbling his sentences with a blood alcohol level of only .048, while Drex said he felt both impaired and a little queasy at just .051 … and police can, and will, charge a person who is visibly impaired. Oddly, Marcella Chernoff showed the least symptoms of alcohol consumption, but blew .111 after a bottle of wine, and was thus well over the legal blood alcohol limit. (Just as a side note, I particularly liked when Drex, after two drinks, said, “I’m feeling warm and fuzzy”. Oh, and when they played “Shiny, happy people,” then came close to making it their anthem for the morning.) It’s tough to say whether the alcohol lowered either Drex’s or Johnson’s inhibitions, since I’m not sure they have a single one between the two of them – but they were unquestionably impaired by morning’s end. Hilariously funny while stone cold sober, the duo were equally amusing while under the influence …and remarkably convincing when pretending to be shocked that, “people in the Kootenays smoke pot? Really?” This, after Ferguson pointed out that ‘impaired’ absolutely means ‘stoned’, too …it’s not just for drunkeness. An impaired charge is just as devastating if you’ve had a couple of tokes as it is if you’ve consumed too much booze. Much as I enjoyed the dynamic duo and their inebriated antics, though, I find I have to disagree with them on one point. Johnson kept saying you have to ignore blood alcohol/breathalyzer issues, and instead pay attention to your body and know your own limits – and I’m not sure that’s sound advice at all. Deciding whether to get behind the wheel of a vehicle is a decision requiring critical thinking….and with critical consequences. To make that decision after having any more than two drinks is, to my mind, both foolish and dangerous. It’s not just your body that’s impaired by alcohol – your judgment is, too. So trusting your judgment to detemine whether alcohol has impaired your judgment (or your driving, or both) …well, surely you can see the flaw in that thought process. It’s a no-brainer. Set a two-drink limit, and simply never, ever get behind the wheel should you exceed it. Or better yet, follow Johnson’s subsequent advice, and just arrange for a ride beforehand – then you needn’t worry about it at all. Hilarity aside, we’d all like to see Castlegar have a joyful – and safe – holiday season …. and one without cuffs, holding cells or criminal charges.
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