Wednesday, March 28, 2007
drunk driving
Let's talk about this. Totally horrible. Slightly related, on my way home from work yesterday at like 230 in the afternoon, right when I was getting on the causeway I saw a guy weaving in a terrifying way. I got a glimpse of him after a while and he was bleary-eyed and wasted. He dogged me all the way into Sac and I was certain he was going to cause a crash but I lost sight of him (I got ahead of him as I was figuring this out so I couldn't get his license number without getting closer to him and I was scared to do so). All this is leading to what I have been thinking of since this weekend, when I rode my bike on saturday night around eleven to the Alkali Flats show at Old Ironsides, which is this: "revitalization" of downtown has had a big side effect-wasted people all over the place on weekend nights. And if you ride a bike around at this time you will note that MANY of them are driving, to generalize, probably back home to the suburbs. ADK and I were talking about it, she lives on T st. near the dangerous Empire club nexus and she said you can hear the drunk folks driving crazy and racing. WHY ARE THE COPS NOT BUSTING THESE PEOPLE? I'm seriously asking, does anyone know? It seems so obvious, it gets them off the street and it's a big revenue generator for the city, right? I feel like as it stands now, everyone knows that you're probably OK drunk driving around downtown, I don't think people have the intense fear of being busted that they should have. Maybe this incident will highlight this problem (although it occurred during the day, out of the grid, and the guy had just pulled out, so it's pretty different). If not, it's probably going to take a pedestrian or cyclist (or maybe more than one) getting injured or killed. Or will the cops wait until some drunky in a hummer plows into a crowd of clubgoers?
Based on my personal experience with city PD, that actually sounds about right. I've been told that their policy generally is to try and push problems out of city limits and into areas where the county (or other cities) will have to deal with it instead. Drunk drivers from the suburbs? Hopefully they'll have their accident when driving drunk back into the suburbs.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, it really is a sad case if you think about the fact that Candy Lightner and MADD first started lobbying in the Sacramento area (actually Fair Oaks is where the accident happend that killed her daughter) to change attitude and laws in regards to drunk driving.
I think we'll probably see some increased community outcry and pressure now, especially considering that the suspect was a political activist with ties to Gov. Schwarzenegger. (This isn't to single out Republicans as drunk drivers, because plenty of Democrats and people of other political persuasions get behind the wheel with a buzz on; alcoholism is no respecter of economic status, political or sexual orientation.)
ReplyDeleteI guess I can speak from experience here, as a person with three drunk-driving convictions, the last one in early 1980 (I had my license revoked for three years as a result, and got around via bicycle and Greyhound, and I spent a month in jail, and almost got into a jailhouse fistfght with that guy, later convicted of murder, who just got his execution stayed because somebody ruled that lethal injection was cruel and unusual punishment). Drunk drivers kill. When I see something in the paper like that awful story of four people getting killed and another getting seriously injured, because some guy got liquored up and had the stupid or impaired judgment to get behind the wheel, I just think, there but for the grace of God go I.
I have no problem in publicly admitting I'm an alcoholic, if it can help someone else who might be in similar straits to take a look at himself or herself and thir relationship with drugs and/or alcohol. I spent most of April, 1980 in the San Joaquin County Jail, but I didn't get sober continuously until September, 1992, when I figured out that the Alcoholics Anonymous program might be something that could help me do what I couldn't do for myself without help. Between that time, I'm pretty certain that I drove drunk. And I'm just really, really lucky that I didn't run anyone over or cause the deaths or injuries of other people, because it could very well have been me behind the wheel of that Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Today, I'm grateful that cops are stepping up to get more drunks off the road. Although I can see that the amount of drunk drivers seems to have increased since the Arnoldization of downtown and Midtown, with its attendant glitz (and, to be fair to the governor, you could place the blame as much on the Maloofs for owning The Palms in Las Vegas, with its influence on Paris Hilton party culture), it's safe to guess that this accident will prompt the CHP to take a hard look at who's boozing and driving.
When I moved to Sacramento in 1985, it was a boozer's paradise, and there were a lot more bars and dives on the grid. And I can recall several public servants (Edmund Z'Berg comes to mind) who got repeated drunk driving arrests and walked away with slaps on the wrist. And I'm sure he got popped for being a flagrant offender; it would seem that the cops back in the day would just as soon put some well-oiled senator or assemblyman into a cab than take them to the county juzgado.
Anyway, my $.02 on the matter.
-griff
I remember when I hit a pedestrian with my car, I was so terrified that I had killed him. He bounced off the windshield and everything. I'd say definately in my top five most traumatic experiences of my life. In my case, though, everything was reversed. The pedestrian was drunk out of his mind and wandered into the street and I didn't see him until it was too late to stop.
ReplyDeleteI still felt awful. I can't imagine what it would have felt like if I would have added to that the knowledge that it was my fault, and that it happened because I was drunk and decided to drive a car.
And now I'm on RT and a bike all the time. I was so scared to have to start riding a bike. So far so good, drivers have been courteous and respectful. Hopefully it'll stay that way.
It's crazy how much scarier bike riding downtown has gotten in the last 5 years or so. I used to ride my bike every weekend night without too much concern & now it takes me twice as long to get anywhere cuz I'm constantly second guessing cars & happily going like 6 blocks out of my way just to avoid certain streets. Bike riding at night used to be one of my favorite things & now it's mainly done out of necessity.
ReplyDelete-miller
It's so lame when you have a green light but you can't go because you have to suss out whether the driver coming towards you is drunk and going to run it and/or turn without stopping.
ReplyDeleteI'm also suprised there aren't more injuries and fatalities to pedestrians and cyclists on the grid. Maybe there is, we just don't hear about em. I too live right next to Empire and it is a nightmare sea of yelling drunks, thumping bass, and screeching tires on the weekends. Traffic in general in downtown-midtown is just getting worse and worse. I mean, there are people doing 60 down 16th street in their giant SUV's all the time now. It's only a matter of time before a group of people gets wiped out standing on a street corner on a Friday night waiting to go to Mukuni's or whatever the new "hot spot" is. It's getting ugly. And the city envisions this work-live-play type of downtown, but the reality right now is that more and more poeple are coming in from the burbs for their nightlife exploits. And there isn't much in the way of backup plans to prevent drunken driving besides cabs. I mean, there's Safe Rides type programs but they are too small to be effectual.
ReplyDeleteJeff
I keep trying to comment on this but it keeps coming out all wordy and weird.
ReplyDeleteI hate drunk drivers, I have lost people I loved to them and I have no fucking time for it. none. period.
As someone who bikes most places I hate drivers period
a lot of days.
I suppose thats why I wear a helmet and you should too. Everyone get one right now. I know, I know, it is falling on deaf ears but I will keep harping on it.
-Natalie.
drunk or sober, people in Sac drive too damn fast.
ReplyDeleteI'd assume that our pals in Sac PD and the Mister Chippy Brigade might want to take a look at the impact that rampant $9-beer-lubricated drivers in big SUVs are making on the Downtown/Midtown grid, especially before something truly tragic happens. But given the attitude of modern Republicans, we're more likely to see a crackdown on bicycling on the grid, because us pesky bicyclists have been getting in the way of Hummer drivers and other four-wheeled misanthropes.
ReplyDeleteSucks, but that's what happens when sleepy little government towns get gentrified by the "I'll blow my Macanudo smoke in your face and fuck you if you don't like it" crowd.
I almost got nailed (non-sexually) by a drunk driver when he was leaving the Flame last week. I should've let him hit me so he could've bought my truck.
ReplyDeleteLike me coming back from Cody and Brandi's wedding, he couldn't stay in one lane. Only I was on a bicycle.
Natalie is right - if you bike in Midtown, you should wear a helmet, especially if you're riding at night. And having a light on your bike should be mandatory. There are far too many folks riding around on the weekends, at night, with no bike lights.
ReplyDeleteYet another one of my friends was hit by a car while riding her bike home the other night. She's lucky the guy slammed on his brakes at the last minute.
As someone who drives into Midtown from the burbs several evenings every week, including the weekends, I see so many horrible things happening. And you all are right in pointing the finger at SUVs. I've seen drunks in SUV literally stop and get out to fight each other on the 16th St. onramp. And I've nearly been run off the freeway twice by two different Escalades.
And as far as getting the cops to arrest and apprehend drunk drivers in Midtown, there will have to be more funding going toward the police dept. I have friends and family in the dept. and they are stretched as far as they can go. There simply aren't enough city officers available to fill the needs.
see, that's what I was wondering, I figured it had to be lack of officers to staff all the rowdy spots, because it seems like if they had enough it would just be like shooting fish in a barrel and they'd get so many convictions.
ReplyDeleteUgh this last winter some car full of dumbass girls smashed into a line of cars on my street and flipped over pinning one of the passengers underneath. Multiple ambulances, fire trucks, etc. For the next two days, they set up speed traps on my block. Then. Nothing. I live on a busy one-way street in midtown and I cannot tell you how many times i've seen ppl barreling down my block going the wrong way, usually right at 2am.
ReplyDeleteMy friend got hit riding his bike home awhile back ago, after bar close. He said he thought he was dying and remembered the car backing up to take a look at him then just taking off.
Nice.
Another thing on the rise in midtown seems to be muggings and/or gangs of dudes just looking to beat up people. It's all I hear about anymore. And the cops don't do shit about that either.
certain kinds of traumatic brain injuries ruin your life. you aren't you anymore. it's basically over. so, yeah, everyone -- wear a helmet.
ReplyDeleteI wish a Hummer would plow into a crowd of club goers, preferably at The Park or The Avalon.
ReplyDeleteSo yeah, this is totally lame, obviously.
ReplyDeleteand, having a light on your bike at night is not only a good idea, it's mandatory. i've been pulled over for biking without a light when my bikelight battery died one night.
The one thing you can do to combat this is call 911 when you see a drunk getting in a car or driving. I know-- who likes calling the cops?-- but it beats calling an ambulance later.
of course, the cops are totally overworked like every other branch of the local government. I think C Harv got into the terrifying details of how understaffed the fire dept is in Sacto, and i've no doubt the cops are just as bad off. anyway, you can call and hope they'll find the asshole if they have time.
in short, fuck drunk drivers. And that goes equally for my few friends who still drive drunk on occasion. We all know a couple of people who are LUCKY that they haven't killed anyone yet.
I'm not me anymore, but who knows how much of that was severe head trauma and how much was getting burned out on "the scene".
ReplyDeleteI'm still not wearing a helmet on a bicycle tho'.
It's kind of weird, because a few years ago when I had cars like an '84 Oldsmobile and an '87 Lincoln Towncar, I was getting pulled over all the time, and on the grid, too. I was even given a field sobriety test once. I got no ticket, because I wasn't drunk, but I did get harassed for a long time. They must have seen Ed Hunter in my car, and just assumed that whoever was driving had to be drunk, too. Whatever.
ReplyDeleteBut nice, shiny new cars driving out of midtown with drunkies in them, that's okay, I guess?
Not to undermine the understaffing problem, though. It just kinda makes me wonder.
There are a number of goof-offs among the city pd who work the late night shift. Downtown night clubs hire off-duty city pd to hang around outside, and before you know it other cops congregate there to flirt with the women and even take them home. If the media were to ever get wind of this, there would be a big scandal, but lucky for the cops most reporters are asleep at 2 in the morning.
ReplyDelete"But given the attitude of modern Republicans, we're more likely to see a crackdown on bicycling on the grid, because us pesky bicyclists have been getting in the way of Hummer drivers and other four-wheeled misanthropes."
ReplyDeleteis that why the city is chopping out one lane each on 19th and 21st and adding in bike lanes instead?
i love the born again speech followed by finger pointing at everyone from the Governor to Republicans, SUVs, Sac PD, the Maloofs and Paris fucking Hilton.
it's a good thing there are more involved people out there advocating for increased traffic calming and cyclist safety. if there weren't, we'd all be stuck in your dystopian vision.
Dude, who pissed in your Sippy Cup?
ReplyDeleteI pointed the finger at myself, first. Dystopian vision? Don't think so, pal. I also love how you point the finger at me in your post, when just about every other poster in here, except you, has pointed out how bicycling in Midtown and Downtown seems to have gotten less safe, new bike lanes or not.
Sorry to have written something that got your ill-informed Republican panties all wrinkled in a bunch. Try to read more carefully next time.
The only time I've gotten pulled over driving is when I had a somewhat beater Corolla with tinted windows. The cop seemed surprised that it was being driven by me, for some reason. I got a fix-it ticket for the tinting. My friends with beater cars get pulled over much more often than those driving newer cars.
ReplyDeleteThe last time a cop yelled at me, it was for riding on the sidewalk. It was at an accident scene, and he was there because of the accident, and I pulled onto the sidewalk to avoid the accident which took up over half the street. Then he yelled at me, "No riding on the sidewalk!". I ignored him.
The 19th & 21st street lanes are being removed & replaced with bike lanes for "traffic calming". Traffic calming has generally made bicycling much less safe - those roundabouts where you know no car is going to yield the right-of-way, especially one going the same direction as you, and those bulb-outs that force bicyclists to swerve into the traffic lane. More bike lanes is always a good idea, but why bike lanes on super busy streets (which seem to mostly be "throw your car door open without looking" lanes)? And does anyone feel safe riding in the left bike lane on one of those streets? And don't get me started on that angled parking.
Riding mid/downtown sucks nowadays. I've had big-gulp size sodas thrown at me just for fun, and dickheads swerving as close as possible to buzz me. And walking around at night is no fun either; I'd rather walk past a group of homeless folk than some drunk puffed-up fancypants clubgoers showing off for each other by being as macho & condescending as possible.
There was a definite change in the "vibes," man, around downtown within the past few years regarding the sketchiness factor of walking at night. Seemed like a lot more people yelling shit out of car windows, people getting jumped, and all around more tension. I blame the new bike lanes at 21st and 19th.
ReplyDelete-- Patrone
bike lanes are good places for drunk drivers to pull over and puke.
ReplyDeleteThis is gentrification. Get used to it. Their are many places new to go in downtown, and just as you all like to go to them, so do many other people. Many of which don't live near here and are young and dumb. The city is fumbling as usual with everything, including traffic issues.
ReplyDeleteAs far as drunk driving, The cops were out is full force.
A DUI Checkpoint Friday on J street near where the underground was.
Saturday I was out of town.
Sunday, I can attest that every other car on the road downtown was a cop car.
The reason their was so many cops is Spring break.
Be careful what you wish for. I for one have not had the best experience with cops of this town and I think many people will agree.
Maybe when we have a civiliian review board for them instead of the city housing authority member who happens to also be a wife of a cop, I might be willing to think another way.
(their is a chance she no longer is working for the Housing Authority, as the incident was a long time ago)
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One of the nicer aspects of the Downtown Herpes Triangle (roughly Press Club, Benny's, Old Tavern, Zebra) is that it seems to have more drunk walkers than drunk drivers. There are still too damn many, of course, and there is a real need for drunk driving enforcement and enough cops to do the job, but I don't see as huge an amount of drunken traffic as I witness around Empire, Harlow's or just about any suburban drunk emporium. Lots of stumbling yellers ambling home into Winn Park, though...maybe on 21st Street it's another story.
ReplyDeletespeaking of press club area, its nice that now theres a tattoo shop open till midnight where tons of sharps hangout waiting to jump people walking home.
ReplyDeleteThis is gentrification. Get used to it.
ReplyDeleteThis is gentrification. Get used to it.
ReplyDeleteOh, some of us are getting used to it. The Downtown Midtown Sacramento grid obviously is quite a different place than it was five or 10 years ago. Change is inevitable.
Still, isn't it all right for some of us to mourn that which we have lost? There are places on the grid that I am or were quite fond of, and many of those places have disappeared. I don't drink, so I really don't have any desire to pay $20 to gain entrance to The Park. There are a lot of other restaurants and clubs that don't hold any appeal for me, personally. And I'll be bummed when I can no longer grab a Steak Frenchburger at Nationwide Freezer Meats (or Nationwide Sandwiches since the move), or when I can't get lunch at Italian Importing Co. That's just me.
And I can't eat sushi, either, and I think Sacramento has way too many sushi restaurants. So sue me.
I don't think this current situation qualifies as 'gentrification'. Midtown was gentrified years ago... it was pretty sketchy down here 20 years ago and THEN it was gentrified.
ReplyDeleteWhat's going on now is... I don't know... 'urbanization'? I'm not sure what you'd call it, but it's an introduction of the boorish louts who used to religiously avoid this area. The notable feature of the midtown of ten years ago was the small-town atmosphere. That atmosphere has been rapidly destroyed in the flush of luxury lofts, hummer drivers and upscale dining establishments. Basically, midtown is drowning in a flood of assholes.
cynic that I am, I don't think there's much we can do. There is too much money to be made selling townhouses, sushi, and etc. to all these assholes.
I call those people Turbos. Midtown is overrun by hordes of Turbos.
ReplyDeleteTurbo is a perfect name. It sounds like the name somebody would pick for themsevles on "American Gladiators".
ReplyDeleteAre you famous yet? Did the Bee link to this blog?
ReplyDeleteBee from 2 weeks ago, "Screw you people always begging for our attention and interviews".
Bee last week, "People who read the Bee are 90 years old. We're thinking about linking to this blog".
What's blog watch anyway? You know what I hate, peanuts on an airline. Like, you spend 15 minutes trying to open the package, and then there's 3 peanuts inside. Can you get another waitress in the sky to give you a new bag? No, it's impossible. Speaking of impossibilities,
ReplyDeleteThis is very good information.i think it's useful advice. really nice blog. keep it up!!!
- drunk driving beverly ma