How old were you when you first tried alcohol?

[nomix]

Because alcohol would turn the 16 year old and his 3 tons of steel into a lethal weapon.

There is no need for alcohol in the equation to make a 16 year old with a car into a lethal weapon.

I suppose that the drinking age was more a moralistic thing, than a thing based on practical concerns?

 

[Ford Prefect]

There is no need for alcohol in the equation to make a 16 year old with a car into a lethal weapon.

there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever about that...

I find our approach better: when you turn 16 you?re allowed to drink, when you?re 18 you can drive a car... this way if you?re 16 and choose to be irresponsible you mainly fuck yourself up, its much harder to accidentally kill someone with a beer bottle than with a car...

 

[mgkdk]

I've tasted alcohol when I was younger but never more than a teaspoon or something.
I think I was 13 or 14 when I first tried alcohol in larger amounts, but I rarely drink it, never saw the point in going out every weekend getting pissed and spending the next day with my head in the toilet, but maybe that's just me

 

[Ford Prefect]

the art lies in stopping at the right time, so you can go out again the following night

 

[CyberMonkey]

But the difficulty is finding that exact spot when to stop Especially since it's dependant on what you have eaten before, how tired you are, how fast you drink, how much you drink, and what you drink.
Takes a lot of excercising

 

[Ford Prefect]

of course... it takes years and years of training

 

[mgkdk]

:lol:

 

[-Cpt. J.-]

I simply cannot remember when I first tasted alcohol... seriously no idea.
The first time I was drunk I was 17... no laughing please. Yes I was late. But I have cought up. At first I didn't like beer but now I drink it with great pleasure. Most people in Finland drink about 12beers before they go out to the club. I don't drink that much... mainly cuz I don't want to puke my guts out all night because I am aware that I have the tolerance of a 50kg woman. But it is all fun.

I am now 22 and I have been completely wasted only twice... and I only lost my memory the first time :S weird... I sorta wanted to forget that I fell in a ditch on my bike about 3months ago.

 

[nomix]

there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever about that...

I find our approach better: when you turn 16 you?re allowed to drink, when you?re 18 you can drive a car... this way if you?re 16 and choose to be irresponsible you mainly fuck yourself up, its much harder to accidentally kill someone with a beer bottle than with a car...

That's a good way of doing it, yes. After all, if we started drinking at 18 (legal drinking age for alcohol <21.9% in Norway, 20 for >22%), we'd end up with many 18yos going around like fourteenyearold girls at pubs, puking and fighting. Furthermore, they would have NO experience with alcohol when they get their licence.

 

[Ford Prefect]

well yeah here you?re only allowed to drink >20% after you turn 18...

but yeah, you should definitely learn to drink before you learn to drive... I also think there should be a 0.0 alcohol limit for beginners, which is currently being discussed in germany...

 

[mgkdk]

I also think there should be a 0.0 alcohol limit for beginners, which is currently being discussed in germany...

There is such a limit in Denmark, I think it's for the first 3 years after you get your license.

 

[Ford Prefect]

here they want to make it during the "probation" which normally is 2 years, but everytime you do something stupid (run a red light, drive drunk, excessive speeding, etc.) it gets extended by another 2 years...

 

[SV]

I do not know when i first tryed alcohol, all i know is that it was a loooooooong time ago.
Nowadays i enjoy most types of alcohol, favourite would be any type of Vodka or Wild Turkey Bourbon.

However, first time i got stinking drunk was when i was 15.. Oooh i so regret that night :?


Also i haven't really been paying attention but for all the stages of our licences until we get our full licence, there is a rule of 0.0% of alcohol.

 

[nomix]

but yeah, you should definitely learn to drink before you learn to drive... I also think there should be a 0.0 alcohol limit for beginners, which is currently being discussed in germany...

I don't think there should be a difference between new and old drivers, after all, the effect of alcohol is generally the same in the same level of promille whatever the age.

There is a special rule for professional drivers (fork lift drivers, truck drivers, police etc.) in Norway, you can't touch alcohol for the eight hours before you get behind the wheel. You don't need to be intoxicated, you'll get suspended anyway.

Personally, I'd never drive a motor vehicle while intoxicated. That's a ground rule for me.

 

[Ford Prefect]

the effect of alcohol is the same, but the amount of stupidity isn?t... I mean I?m the last person to say that someone with 20 years of experience is necessarily a safer driver than someone with 2 years, but in general this does turn out to be right...

and especially at ages 18-20 there are a lot of people who feel cool about driving their friends to the club, but then get trashed anyway because 1 drink turns into 2, 2 turn into 3, and so on...

me I almost never drive if I?m not at 0.0... every once in a while I might have like one beer, but it?s a very rare thing... when I drive I drive properly, and when I drink I drink properly...

 

[nomix]

If you have a drink, you don't go driving. That's pure stupidity, if I see that, I punch the stupid moron in the face.

But if a 40yo isn't intoxicated by law, neither is a 18yo. That's my stand.

 

[CyberMonkey]

The more experience you have (with driving ?nd alcohol), the better you can cope with the effects. It's not that I'd recommend it, but there is a difference. Drunk experienced drivers can rely on built-in reflexes, where an unexperienced driver can't.

 

[Adunaphel]

If you have a drink, you don't go driving. That's pure stupidity, if I see that, I punch the stupid moron in the face.

But if a 40yo isn't intoxicated by law, neither is a 18yo. That's my stand.

But a 40-yo knows when he is too drunk too drive, whereas an 18-yo doesn't. that is why you need to put that high penalties on drunk driving for younger people to really scare them off. But i agree, you shouldn't drink and drive. Although even i was once adamant i'd never drive when i had as much as a drop of alcohol, i now drive after 2-3 beers (spread over several hours of course, but still) as long as the distance isn't too big. When i need to drive over highways and stuff, i still want to do it dead sober, but in towns i don't mind as much, especially as these occasions always turn up in the middle of the night. Don't get me wrong i do not do it as a habit and i am adamant on not driving when i feel i really shouldn't, but i feel that a little doesn't really hurt.

 

[Ford Prefect]

But a 40-yo knows when he is too drunk too drive, whereas an 18-yo doesn't.

and that is exactly the point (well in most cases)...

and I think driving a short distance after a beer or two is alright, if you?re a decent driver, which isn?t the case for 99.9% of 18 year olds though...
that still doesn?t make it ok for a good driver, not even Michael Schumacher, to drive after he?s had a lot to drink...

as far as I?m concerned they could make it 0.0 for everyone, and I personally would have no problem whatsoever complying with it, but 0.5 is alright as well...

 

[nomix]

We have 0.2. A 40yo might very well be a fool decieding how much he can drink before he drives, actually, he might be so sure of his abilities, that he'd overestimate his skilles at knowing when he is too drunk.

And to be honest, 99% of 18yo drivers aren't morons, some are, let's be honest, but not all. In the situation described, over a short distance, the difference will probably be minunte.