Being unable to take your car when your child needs to go to the ER would be terrible.
Actually getting in the car while under the influence such of stress and alcohol sounds worse.
I know someone who had a glass of wine just before her daughter needed to be brought to the hospital. This was just two days ago. She simply concluded she could not drive. Luckily, she was able to get a taxi.
Maybe we should, as a society, invest in taxis equipped with medical facilities and trained personnel so that they can provide first response medical treatment while on the way to the ER.
I'm sure that would save a lot of lives. An ambulatory medical service, if you will.
Sometimes ambulances are occupied and taking a taxi goes faster. Especially if it's something which isn't immediately life threatening.
I once dislocated my shoulder while on a large trampoline and was unable to get up from my hands and knees due to the intense pain whenever the trampoline wobbled. The ambulance was redirected to more serious injuries three times. I was stuck in that position waiting for two hours before it arrived.
Yes. I was answering a comment suggesting the use of an ambulance (instead of a regular taxi). Simply pointing out that, in practice, there are times when a taxi can get you there faster.
In that scenario it would also be appropriate to wait for a driver to sober up before driving you to the hospital if neither ambulance nor taxi were available (or delayed). One glass of wine would be out of most people's systems after two hours.
Thus poking hole in the "drunk drive someone to the hospital" argument, which is what this was all about in the first place.
I did argue, in my original comment, that drunk driving should not be an option. I certainly stand by that. My original comment also mentioned a taxi, to which you replied about ambulances.
In my previous comment I just meant that sometimes ambulances can take a good while and a taxi might not.
In the unfortunate case of the trampoline there were several sober people with driver's license and cars available and a taxi would have been there immediately.
Unfortunately,they failed to get me out of there, meaning I still had to wait until an ambulance was available. It was beyond painful and exhausting both physically and mentally. But it was still technically not an emergency.
Note that ambulance ride (depending on insurance) may cost an order or 2 of magnitude more than the taxi. Well worth it in some circumstances - but not always the best option.
This didn't spring to my mind as I'm Swedish and here it's less than a taxi and any medical costs beyond the first USD $130 per year is covered by the free health insurance.
You are still simply going with one glass of wine will affect everyone equally, and that is proven to be untrue. (Or stress, for that matter)
While your friend made a call judging their own abilities and the level of emergency, that's exactly how it should be: cars should not stop us humans for making that decision.
(Fwiw, if you were just having an alcoholic drink, a breathalizer would show a much higher concentration even though alcohol might not have even kicked in or there wasn't enough for it to kivk in at all)
Actually getting in the car while under the influence such of stress and alcohol sounds worse.
I know someone who had a glass of wine just before her daughter needed to be brought to the hospital. This was just two days ago. She simply concluded she could not drive. Luckily, she was able to get a taxi.