Incident Total garage on Malibongwe

[Vetplant]

15 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

This coupled with the child/spouse abuse stats......

Anyway, bikehub has seen too many of my booze free tirades. Not one single person has ever given me one believable reason how alcohol makes their life better and I know a LOT who are definitely far worse off because of it. 

I think the tide is turning.

We were at a kids party at 3PM on a Sunday afternoon recently at a Family Restaurant(No not Spur  ) As soon as the kids went to play, the parents of the birthday-kid brought around a serving plate full of shots. I was having an internal struggle as I didn't want to offend the host, but I really didn't want to drink.

Luckily the guy seated next to me declined, which released my self-doubt and I declined, so did my wife, and the couple sitting across from us also declined. Nobody got ribbed for not taking it.

I think society is slowly seeing a realization that alcohol is not the be-all and end-all. At least in some of the circles I frequent. But unfortunately this is slow progress and a large portion of society is not there yet.

[The Ouzo]

25 minutes ago, Armandt_R said:

My 2cents for what it's worth. I stopped drink 5 years ago when I got married. It is remarkable how awkward braai's become when you are the only guy drinking a coke. Luckily Alcohol free beer came out and made social events less of a mission. 

This country has a nationwide alcohol problem, once you start brewing up pineapples to get your fix, you should ask some questions.... This isn't normal, if you can't go for a month or two without a "drink", you might have a problem. 

I too, have challenged my friends and family to provide me with some data about the possible health benefits of alcohol. Nothing notable thus far, except the perception of it being a "social lubricant" or "dutch courage". 

Whilst on the rant about traffic violations, speeding... Here in Paarl it's quite an issue, especially past Spice Route (Suider Paarl Road), the speed limit is 80km/h yet people drive 120km/k+ there. It's part of many of the road cycling loops and even leads to many of the MTB trails, so simply avoiding it isn't that easy. 

*Rant over*. Have a great day folks and stay safe.

I've been that oke at the braai my entire life. You get used to it, and if you hang with the same crowd they get used to you not drinking. But be prepared for the opposite when you do decide to indulge in a glass of something.  

Personally I dont understand the obsession with drinking yourself silly.

Edited February 2, 2022 by ouzo

[TheoG]

4 minutes ago, ouzo said:

I've been that oke at the braai my entire life. You get used to it, and if you hang with the same crowd they get used to you not drinking. But be prepared for the opposite when you do decide to indulge in a glass off of something. It 

Personally I dont understand the obsession with drinking yourself silly.

Agree there is zero point to it.  I enjoy a drink once in a while but it always remain only one drink.

[DIPSLICK]

18 hours ago, Pure Savage said:

Just goes to show, if you want to murder someone, run them over in your car. Pathetic. 

this I have thought about many times, as there seems to be little to no recourse 

[Shebeen]

12 hours ago, Andreas_187 said:

I wonder how many people on here drink and drive themselves... I would bet that number is quite high... "I'm fine to drive, I only had a few" 

I'll admit to that.

I think there's a huge difference between having a drink and driving within (or close to) the limit and this sort of accident where I assume (maybe wrongly) that a guy is coming home from an all night bender. He's probably 4 or 5 times over the limit and extremely dangerous behind the wheel. I totally agree that the country has a drinking problem in general, lockdowns proved that theory.

I expect backlash on this and I don't expect people to support me even if they are in the same boat. This is not a binary issue where it is impossible to responsibly have a drink and drive.

 

[DIPSLICK]

7 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

I'll admit to that.

I think there's a huge difference between having a drink and driving within (or close to) the limit and this sort of accident where I assume (maybe wrongly) that a guy is coming home from an all night bender. He's probably 4 or 5 times over the limit and extremely dangerous behind the wheel. I totally agree that the country has a drinking problem in general, lockdowns proved that theory.

I expect backlash on this and I don't expect people to support me even if they are in the same boat. This is not a binary issue where it is impossible to responsibly have a drink and drive.

 

your name gives you away,,, 

[Jewbacca]

37 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

I'll admit to that.

I think there's a huge difference between having a drink and driving within (or close to) the limit and this sort of accident where I assume (maybe wrongly) that a guy is coming home from an all night bender. He's probably 4 or 5 times over the limit and extremely dangerous behind the wheel. I totally agree that the country has a drinking problem in general, lockdowns proved that theory.

I expect backlash on this and I don't expect people to support me even if they are in the same boat. This is not a binary issue where it is impossible to responsibly have a drink and drive.

 

The legal limit in the WC is now zero, so it IS binary in terms of the law. 

[MTBeer]

2 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

The legal limit in the WC is now zero, so it IS binary in terms of the law. 

When did the law change? I know they were speaking about changing it nationwide.

[Jewbacca]

7 minutes ago, MTBeer said:

When did the law change? I know they were speaking about changing it nationwide.

Wait, you may be right.... I think the bill was put on hold and NOT changed from 0.05 to 0 last year... My bad

[The Ouzo]

Over many years my Dad has had business visitors from Germany and Belgium, we have often entertained them. One thing that has been common with all of them is that if they are driving they do not touch alcohol, but when they are not driving they go big.

[WaynejG]

13 hours ago, Andreas_187 said:

I wonder how many people on here drink and drive themselves... I would bet that number is quite high... "I'm fine to drive, I only had a few" 

Not me. My brother killed himself while driving drunk.

[Frosty]

Sadly there are other distractions too that result in unnecessary, fatal, accidents. Mobile phone use while driving being one of them.

I blame Discovery for the change in my behavior; 5 years and counting that I don’t use my phone while driving. Yes, I have CarPlay, so I still answer the phone; and use Siri to send my responses (WhatsApp).

[Shebeen]

27 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

The legal limit in the WC is now zero, so it IS binary in terms of the law. 

Well if it does become the requirement I don't see it magically solving the problem. Outlawing perlemoen across the board has only stopped the recreational divers, the poachers are still having their fun.

I'd much rater see blood/alcoholbeing a graded measurement.

if you go 131km/h on the highway you get a fine. If you get clocked at 191km/h they take your car away. I'm not sure if it could be measured in steps but I don't see why not.

My motivation behind this is both because I personally don't want to be inconvencied by having to get an uber to stay legal but more importantly because I think the much bigger issue is the binge drinkers on benders driving well over the limit..

[Theo187]

It's almost a cyclist a week now.

[Jewbacca]

4 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

Well if it does become the requirement I don't see it magically solving the problem. Outlawing perlemoen across the board has only stopped the recreational divers, the poachers are still having their fun.

I'd much rater see blood/alcoholbeing a graded measurement.

if you go 131km/h on the highway you get a fine. If you get clocked at 191km/h they take your car away. I'm not sure if it could be measured in steps but I don't see why not.

My motivation behind this is both because I personally don't want to be inconvencied by having to get an uber to stay legal but more importantly because I think the much bigger issue is the binge drinkers on benders driving well over the limit..

While I agree re the binge drinkers, if you make it zero, you remove the choice of 'I think I'm ok'.

This makes it easy for you as you KNOW you will be breaking the law and not playing margins or 'taking a risk'. 

If the law is zero, you will be making a conscious decision to flout that. Will it change people's behaviour? No, but it does make the decision to break the law more black and white.

Inconvenience is just changing your habits

[Edereese]

8 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

Well if it does become the requirement I don't see it magically solving the problem. Outlawing perlemoen across the board has only stopped the recreational divers, the poachers are still having their fun.

I'd much rater see blood/alcoholbeing a graded measurement.

if you go 131km/h on the highway you get a fine. If you get clocked at 191km/h they take your car away. I'm not sure if it could be measured in steps but I don't see why not.

My motivation behind this is both because I personally don't want to be inconvencied by having to get an uber to stay legal but more importantly because I think the much bigger issue is the binge drinkers on benders driving well over the limit..

A friend of mine lives in Dubai. Regarding the speed limit, if I remember correctly, if you're 40kms over, your car gets tagged, not allowed to drive it for 14 days plus a heavy fine. Happened to him once, major inconvenience and a hard lesson learnt.