Designated Driving- Thankless Task?

[duncyboy]

So today was my section's Christmas 'party'- basically a pub lunch and then on to a couple of other places. I'm not a tee-totaller, far from it, but for general, practical and personal reasons today I just decided to avoid Dr Booze and drive.

Jaysus.

You'd think having someone along to offer free rides as opposed to holiday-rate taxis would've been a positive boon? Not a bit of it! I may as well have worn an open-crotch Nazi uniform decorated with Dodo feathers. I was about as welcome as a fart in a lift.

Why aren't you drinking? You're not having a good time?

Actually, I was til everyone got on my case. I had a great time. But soft drinks in pubs? It'd be cheaper to have drank champagne all night. From Jessica Alba's cleavage. For our US cousins, how's this- a glass of Pepsi, not a pint, just a glass- $5 :eek:

AND- the pub we ended up in, the car park was Pay 'n' Display- so I had to nip out every hour and put £1 in the meter to get a fresh ticket.

What a pain!

Next year I shall dally with Hawkes of Saville Row for my attire, before purchasing the finest wines, beverages and liqeurs available. I shall consume the finest sustenance that your average Gastropub can offer with not a jot of concern for my wallet.

From there-hence I shall be driven home by an MIT graduate in a Bentley Flying Spur with Adamantium rims, Platinum go-faster stripes and Peckham whores in the backseat. Let's face it, it'll be cheaper.

Merry Christmas, everyone :)

Can anyone lend me a tenner til '09? :o

[dmr727]

Bravo for being the DD. It is indeed an thankless job, but a necessary one.

Sometimes there are bonuses. A lot of bars will comp you soda or whatever for being the DD. And if you're out with a big group and the drunk guys start acting like total idiots, their dates tend to start paying attention to the only sober one there. ;)

[dukebound85]

no good comes from drinking. i used to but one mishap and your effed big time


i decided best to stay clear from that stuff and be dd. no regrets. plus its fun talking to drunk people lol

[dmr727]

no good comes from drinking.


Well, no good comes from drinking and driving. But plenty good can come from drinking. The next day however.... ;)

[EricNau]

Your selfless act might have saved my - or someone else's - life, so Thank You! :)

[valdore]

Lot'a good DD'ing gets ya. I got the inside of the front passenger door of my car vomited all over a few years back in college. Of course it fell to me to do most of the cleaning up.

[duncyboy]

Lot'a good DD'ing gets ya. I got the inside of the front passenger door of my car vomited all over a few years back in college. Of course it fell to me to do most of the cleaning up.

I pride myself on being a fairly generous individual, but the state most of them were in when I left tonight, now way I was risking the inside of my car to their systems! No way! :p

There's a plus side to all this.

1) I'll feel fantastic tomorrow morning.
2) If I need to drive anywhere's tomorrow, I don't need to fear 'Morning After' breathalysing.
3) I can remember everything that was done/said tonight. And I have plenty of secrets to tell... :p

Lets just say that one of my co-workers has a tattoo on her backside of a unicorn and her backside is, frankly, lovely.

[iObama]

I haven't come to a conclusion about Designated Driving.

In one arena, it's promoting drinking, and on the other, it's saving lives in the moment.

[todd2000]

Jeeze man! $5 bucks for a Pepsi? The bar I go to usually doesn't even charge me for Sodas, and if they do their only $1. I guess they figure the rest of the people are making up for it with their drinking. Us Gays do like our alcohol (my-self excluded).

[Abstract]

.....plus its fun talking to drunk people lol

No it's not. :p It rarely is, IMO.

Personally, I'd rather be drinking...

[Melrose]

3) I can remember everything that was done/said tonight. And I have plenty of secrets to tell... :p
I smell a rat!

I don't enjoy being around drunk people, but even worse is getting drunk myself (which only happened once... and came out of nowhere). Being stone drunk is no fun.

I think you'll be happy you're the driver in this case.

[mkrishnan]

I'm surprised you had such negative experiences....

In the US, it's fairly common for soft drinks to be on the house for DD's... but anyways, I've always found the job passable when I've done it.

I guess one question I would ask, though, was... were you making an effort to have fun? I mean, if people see you're not having fun, and they see you're not drinking, they put one and one together. (Besides which, no one can tell that you're drinking soda and not a mixed drink anyways.)

Or maybe you just work with the wrong people. :p

[miniConvert]

Drinks on the house for DD's is an excellent idea! Can't say I've ever seen it, but seriously, that's just great.

I'd rather pay for the taxi for everyone than remain sober on a night out. It's tedious. If it's just a meal where everyone'll have a glass of wine then that's fine, but if people in the party intend to get seriously smashed then it's important to wear beer goggles for protection.

[xUKHCx]

Why aren't you drinking? You're not having a good time?


The classic line, it is rather unfortunate that most people who attend bars have this mindset (although it is a rather biased setting for such a relationship).

Lucky you weren't caught feeding the meter otherwise it would have been an even more expensive night.

Your selfless act might have saved my - or someone else's - life, so Thank You! :)

Lancashire, UK to Sacramento, CA is one hell of a wrong turn. I don't think anyone could be that drunk for that long to be at risk of crashing in to you. :p


Drinks on the house for DD's is an excellent idea! Can't say I've ever seen it, but seriously, that's just great.

Walkabout pubs do it but it is not a common practise here.

Typically student bars it costs far more for a coke then a pint. My local last year tried charging me £4 for an orange juice. I just left the pub.


I have a great group of friends and have spent quite a lot of my time being the dedicated driver / driver. And it is not a thankless task. For the random friend of a friend type of people it can be but you do learn to choose the right people to take and not to advertise the fact that you have a car.

[ipodtouchy333]

Lot'a good DD'ing gets ya. I got the inside of the front passenger door of my car vomited all over a few years back in college. Of course it fell to me to do most of the cleaning up.

Lol, I know how it feels. Everyone always seems to puke in my car. One time I had a whole bunch of nice clothes, some that weren't mine either, and let's just say they were ruined. And yes, I always have to clean up, but it's not to say that I haven't done that before though...

[sushi]

Lol, I know how it feels. Everyone always seems to puke in my car.
I hate that when it happens. Really hard to get rid of the smell. :(

[ipodtouchy333]

I hate that when it happens. Really hard to get rid of the smell. :(

Ugh, ew! Every weekend I always tell myself there will be no puking (from me or my friends) but somehow that never seems to be the case...

[EricNau]

Lancashire, UK to Sacramento, CA is one hell of a wrong turn. I don't think anyone could be that drunk for that long to be at risk of crashing in to you. :p
Indirectly... There's a cascade effect, to be sure. :D

[raggedjimmi]

Pah, tell them to get taxies.

[sushi]

Ugh, ew! Every weekend I always tell myself there will be no puking (from me or my friends) but somehow that never seems to be the case...
Yeah, you learn quickly to carry puke bags with you.

[ucfgrad93]

Bravo for being the DD. It is indeed an thankless job, but a necessary one.

Agreed! Congratulations on thinking about the well being of your co-workers/friends.:D

[ucfgrad93]

Lets just say that one of my co-workers has a tattoo on her backside of a unicorn and her backside is, frankly, lovely.

Pics or it didn't happen!;)

[sushi]

Pics or it didn't happen!;)
Agree. Let's see those pics! :)

[duncyboy]

Pics or it didn't happen!;)

Haha! I should've thought of that at the time! Mind you, the girl in question is a feisty co-worker and I may have to move to Cape Fear if I did...

With regards to having a good time, yeah I was having a good laugh. I was getting on with everyone and cracking jokes, but the conversation seemed to come back round like clockwork to 'Come on! Leave your car here, I'll pick you up in the morning* and we'll come and collect it then! Have a drink!'

* I sincerely hope none of them did drive the following morning. They would've been WAY over the limit!

Honestly though I was socialising and having fun with people. Thing is, I'm really boring when I'm drunk! I just talk about tedious pap endlessly- they should be grateful I was sober.

Ah, well- you can't have everything. Look on the bright-side, it's Monday tomorrow. Might get in work early for a change :D

[RedTomato]

Another brit here who also has never seen free drinks for DDs in the UK. Didn't know walkabout pubs did them. Isn't it open to abuse?

<random geezer who just walked in> 'Hiya, I'm the DD, can I have a free coke please?'

Sad, but that's what people here are like. Plus UK pubs are really tight. They'd rather you drank alcohol, lots of it, than a couple of soft drinks.

Most places a glass of OJ or coke costs more than the same amount of beer (half pint). And they always have that disgusting Britvic or 2020 crappy OJ that tastes like sewer water.

[JNB]

Some establishments (used to, anyway) give a button or wristband to a DD to ensure they got all the free soft drinks (and sometimes appetizers) they wanted, but others couldn't abuse it.

As far as being the DD for a group, I'd insist on driving one of their cars. Puke problem solved.

[KyPosey]

if i DD, i drive there car.

If they puke its in there own car.

[Eraserhead]

Jeeze man! $5 bucks for a Pepsi?

I assume this is including the weak pound, which makes it about 3.20GBP for a coke, which is insane.

The classic line, it is rather unfortunate that most people who attend bars have this mindset (although it is a rather biased setting for such a relationship).

Frankly I love a drink, but anyone with that attitude is pretty lame. Not everyone enjoys alcohol or is able to for religious reasons etc. They should still be able to have fun at a pub/club.

[AppleMatt]

AND- the pub we ended up in, the car park was Pay 'n' Display- so I had to nip out every hour and put £1 in the meter to get a fresh ticket.

Be careful doing this, you can get done for exceeding a maximum stay no matter how many tickets you buy.

Surprised you didn't fall outside of charging hours.

AppleMatt

[notjustjay]

As far as being the DD for a group, I'd insist on driving one of their cars. Puke problem solved.

Then how do you get home?

[iJohnHenry]

Haa haa haa, his car is at the home belonging to the auto being driven. :p

[Elven]

It is a thankless task. But the thanks comes from the families who enjoy their night with their loved ones.

By staying sober and having a "perhaps" boring evening in comparison to your boozing friends. Your removing temptation for them to "just" drive it home, all though only a small majority of people would think of such action, it still/does happen.

[samiwas]

Yeah, you learn quickly to carry puke bags with you.

Or you learn to stop getting freakin' wasted every weekend. I drink quite a bit, but I'll drink till I'm tipsy and feeling good, then I have a coke or something before having another beer or whatever. I've been able to still have the enjoyment of the buzz, without the punishment of the hangover. I've never understood the mentality of "dude, I'm going to get so wasted tonight!"...every weekend.

I always love seeing people that get so wasted before a concert or party or something similar and pass out before it ever starts....and then do the same thing again the next weekend. How is that at all fun?

[duncyboy]

Be careful doing this, you can get done for exceeding a maximum stay no matter how many tickets you buy.

Surprised you didn't fall outside of charging hours.

AppleMatt

We double-checked the rules 'cause it did seem quite ambiguous. I asked one of the door-staff too: It was £1 per hour from 8am to 8pm and then £1 full-stop from 8 to closing.

As for the puke-equation, anyone THAT wasted wasn't getting a lift home, simple as that. That's why Taxi drivers get paid so much in my opinion ;)

Call it a Gip-Premium or Chunnering-Tax :D

Be interesting to hear a few anecdotes when I get into work this morning. I hope none of them risked driving early the next day, the police have been out in force locally doing morning after checks.

Speaking of which- I'm off to work now to see what everyone's recall is like. :)

[Eraserhead]

^^ Taxi drivers get to charge another £40 or so if you are sick in their car.

[sushi]

Or you learn to stop getting freakin' wasted every weekend.
I mean carry puke bags for the drunks if you are the designated driver.

Or as someone else suggested, drive their car. :)