Anthony Hopkins sobering message today.

LaCrepescule

I guess i should never have been allowed back behind the wheel Sarnia. I make
no excuses for my alcoholism but I’ve worked very hard on myself and to make amends. Your views are extreme.

I am not talking about recovered alcoholics. I am talking about those who get behind the wheel under the influence of drugs and/or drink with total disregard for their safety and that of others.
Have a chat with people who have lost a loved one to a drunk/drug driver and see if their views are extreme too.
Have a chat to the emergency services who have the harrowing task of attending such an accident and hear their views on driving under the influence.
If people can't take responsibility for their own actions then the punishment needs to be severe. Worth it if it saves lives.

nanna8

The reason many young ones prefer drugs to drink is the cost. Drugs are much cheaper and have a quicker effect. Putting heavy taxes on alcohol has unwanted side affects. Same applies to cigarettes here - we now have huge problems with criminals selling illegal cigarettes and attacking local tobacconists. Hope you don’t get the same problem as we do. It is out of control here.

Same applies to cigarettes here - we now have huge problems with criminals selling illegal cigarettes

We already have, nanna8
Organised crime gangs have taken over many small shops and other small businesses, selling illegal cigarettes, vapes etc, human trafficking and money laundering activities.

LaCrepescule

I guess i should never have been allowed back behind the wheel Sarnia. I make
no excuses for my alcoholism but I’ve worked very hard on myself and to make amends. Your views are extreme.

Not easy to say I know, but thanks for saying it.
Am still a recovering alcoholic after 45 years sober and always will be. I will always regret what I call the lost years but like you have worked hard on fighting those demons.
Take care.

I guess i should never have been allowed back behind the wheel Sarnia. I make
no excuses for my alcoholism but I’ve worked very hard on myself and to make amends. Your views are extreme.

I love the man. I too drove in blackout and crashed - luckily no-one was hurt. In recovery from alcoholism ever since. The way he’s so grateful for just being alive is so inspiring and I feel very lucky.

Sarnia I have no problem with severe sentences for anyone who causes someone's death by dangerous driving and that includes speed and alcohol, but speed kills.

But excessively severe punishments are a sign of a society out of control. Hence the phrase, 'being hung for a sheep as a lamb. In other words if you will get hung for stealing a lamb, you might as well steal a sheep and have more to eat.
Very scvere punishments would just lead to a spiralling
number of untaxed ininsured vehicles on the road, cars that probably also have no MOT's.

And why should someone whose child was killed by a speeding driver see the dangerous driver still on the road after they have served their sentence when the family of the victim of a drunk driver knows that teir drunk driver, can, theoretically, never darive again. If we ban them both, what is the next stage from there. If the driver does drive again, Life inprisonment? Evict their family from their homes, amputate both hands so it is impossible to drive?

The trouble is car manufacturers produce high speed vehicles, I mean why should any car be able to reach speeds of over 100 miles an hour when is illegal to reach these speeds. It is within car manufacturers abilities to produce a car that has a ceiling put on the speeds a car can achieve so that sensors detect a speed limit and the car cannot go any faster than that. But petrol heads would petition against this and new cars would not look sexy to the buyer if it is advertised as always keeping to the speed limit.
This is the age we live in where human lives take second place to consumerism.

M0nica

Sarnia

The reason that drunk driving figures are falling is because driving under the influence of drugs is rising, particularly with the younger generation.
Very few people know the limits or how many units are in their drinks. Making it zero tolerance would remove the guesswork. Also when someone is found guilty for drunk/drug driving I would have their car scrapped and hand them a lifetime ban from the roads. There are far too many cars these days so weeding out those who show no responsibility towards themselves and others makes sense to me.

Speed is the killer not drugs or alcohol. You are 4 times more likely to be killed by a speeding driver than a drunk driver. www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-fatal-4-factsheet-2023/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-fatal-4-factsheet-2023--2

Lets give a life ban to every driver that gets a ticket for speeding and destroy their car that will save far more lives.

Life is full of risks, we do all we can to mediate them, but some risks we have to take.

I might add that my sister was killed in a road accident and in a seperate road accident, my daughter was seriously injured and left with a permanent disabality. Neither of them was held responsible for the accident that killed/injured them.

Extreme suggestions like this do nothing to solve a problem. You might as well give all shop lifters whole tarriff life sentences to prison.

I know what it is like to suffer the loss of someone

You cannot say 'ban everyone for ever' unless you ban all drivers involved in fatal collisions.

My sister was killed in a road accident. She was on her bike, cycling down a narrow tree lined, cars parked

Yes, speed kills but despite Government figures there are far too many who have been injured or killed by drivers under the influence of drink or/and drugs. I have a police officer in my family and they despair at the lenient sentences handed down to those drivers. A car is a deadly weapon in the wrong hands and derisory community service orders and suspended sentences are no deterrent. Seize their cars and impose lifelong bans to make our roads safer. Hand down life sentences to those who have been unfit to drive and have killed someone. Sadly, it seems you are too well aware of the carnage that is caused and the devastation felt by those who have lost someone to such a driver. It needs to stop.

The reason many young ones prefer drugs to drink is the cost. Drugs are much cheaper and have a quicker effect. Putting heavy taxes on alcohol has unwanted side affects. Same applies to cigarettes here - we now have huge problems with criminals selling illegal cigarettes and attacking local tobacconists. Hope you don’t get the same problem as we do. It is out of control here.

I will agree to disagree on that Kate1949. I think people in the public eye who have a substantial following can sometimes make a difference, particularly when they admit publicly to being an alcoholic which must take some courage. Even if just one person decided to seek help after listening to Hopkins is worth doing.

We don't need celebrities to tell us what we already know.

Sarnia

The reason that drunk driving figures are falling is because driving under the influence of drugs is rising, particularly with the younger generation.
Very few people know the limits or how many units are in their drinks. Making it zero tolerance would remove the guesswork. Also when someone is found guilty for drunk/drug driving I would have their car scrapped and hand them a lifetime ban from the roads. There are far too many cars these days so weeding out those who show no responsibility towards themselves and others makes sense to me.

Speed is the killer not drugs or alcohol. You are 4 times more likely to be killed by a speeding driver than a drunk driver. www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-fatal-4-factsheet-2023/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-fatal-4-factsheet-2023--2

Lets give a life ban to every driver that gets a ticket for speeding and destroy their car that will save far more lives.

Life is full of risks, we do all we can to mediate them, but some risks we have to take.

I might add that my sister was killed in a road accident and in a seperate road accident, my daughter was seriously injured and left with a permanent disabality. Neither of them was held responsible for the accident that killed/injured them.

Extreme suggestions like this do nothing to solve a problem. You might as well give all shop lifters whole tarriff life sentences to prison.

I know what it is like to suffer the loss of someone


You cannot say 'ban everyone for ever' unless you ban all drivers involved in fatal collisions.

My sister was killed in a road accident. She was on her bike, cycling down a narrow tree lined, cars parked

I agree that the stench of cannabis seems to be everywhere but am wondering if this is because authorities in many countries are increasingly lax about this. With less police officers in the UK especially I imagine they triage crimes that are most urgent, and smoking weed probs doesn’t get too much attention. The sad thing is that those who become addicted to cannabis most often turn to much harder drugs like cocaine and heroine and simply smoking weed can lead to psychosis and paranoia in those who use it a lot. No drug is harmless.

Smileless2012

Well done Fallingstar and wishing you a very happy New Year.

Thankyou Smileless2012, and a happy new year to you and all those on Gransnet.
🥳🥳

Fallingstar

I doubt cannabis will replace alcohol due to the ready availability and social acceptability of alcohol.

I think you may be wrong especially amongst the younger generation. The nauseating stench of cannabis is more and more evident, especially in towns and cities. Sadiq Khan is on a mission to decriminalise it which will promote more widespread use. 2 of my daughters spent a few days in New York in November and said the Big Apple just smelled of weed which has been decriminalised there and they wouldn't hurry back.

Well done Fallingstar and wishing you a very happy New Year.

I doubt cannabis will replace alcohol due to the ready availability and social acceptability of alcohol.

Esmay

Alcoholism has ruined the lives of so many people and certainly in my family.
I visited someone last night ,who is a secret alcoholic .
I live in a sleepy mock Tudor suburb and what really concerns me is the overwhelming stench of skunk .
I used to smell it occasionally now I can smell it everytime I leave the house .
I wonder just how dangerous it is and if it's replacing alcohol.

Both alcohol and cannabis are drugs, both are damaging if indulged in frequently.
Many violent crimes are committed by those who are intoxicated by alcohol or suffering the effects of other drugs.
And not forgetting that anyone with an addiction who doesn’t have the money to fund their habit will stop at nothing to fund the their habit, this will include burglary, stealing from loved ones, or mugging.
Police other frontline workers deal with the aftermath of this on a regular basis and it must cost the country a Kings ransom.

I’m glad to know that he is still alive.
I thought he was dead!

Alcoholism has ruined the lives of so many people and certainly in my family.
I visited someone last night ,who is a secret alcoholic .
I live in a sleepy mock Tudor suburb and what really concerns me is the overwhelming stench of skunk .
I used to smell it occasionally now I can smell it everytime I leave the house .
I wonder just how dangerous it is and if it's replacing alcohol.

Well said Anthony Hopkins!

A good post Fallingstar. Congrats for 45 years sober. I know how difficult that must hsve been. Much experience with close relative and not so close ones as well.

Agree that young people are drinking less but taking drugs more. There are also people on the road whose driving skills are zero. Either too old or too young or in the middle and just not good enough. Roads are dangerous places even if just in your own town.
Keep safe everyone.

Anyone who drives whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a complete and utter, irresponsible fool!
I have no reservations in reporting anyone, family, friends or total strangers, to the police if they get behind the wheel after drinking/using drugs.
I have seen the aftermath when it all goes wrong far too many times and those scenes haunt me to this day.

CabbageWars13

Just to go off piste, I well remember Anthony Hopkins - a very much younger Anthony Hopkins - in the BBC's 1971 production of War & Peace, playing Count Bezhukov.

Just saying.

Yes I remember that, and have watched many films he starred in, would have been a great loss if his demons had claimed him too early.

Sarnia is correct. Whilst it's true that young people don't drink very much, they are far more likely to smoke weed. Certainly in Bristol it's become quite normalised. I've noticed many matrix signs along our main roads this year with the words "Don't drug drive this Christmas", whereas they would usually proclaim a warning about drink driving.