How many times have you left the pub/bar and upon hitting the chill air realize you're not nearly as sober as you thought you were. You are now faced with a dilema. Drive home *KNOWING* you're acting dangerously and irresponsibly, or do the right thing and get home some otherway, but risk your car being towed from the lot/street. I propose the creation and sale, by the state/count/municipality of placards that hang on the rearview mirror, similar to the handicap placards, clearly stating "The driver of this vehicle has chosen to act responsibly and not operate it while intoxicated, please do not tow." The key is that the county sells the single use placards for just slightly less than the impound fee you'd have to pay if they did tow you. You buy a five pack as a form of "irresponsibilty insurance." The driver is given an incentive to not drive drunk (he/she knows his car will be there in the morning and he/she's saved a few dollars over what the towing fee would be), and the county creates an additional revenue stream. A system would have to be worked out so the placard is single use only, and you could only purchase so many a year, perhaps five.
-- Novysan, Jan 16 2004

Chinook http://www.raf.mod....ipment/chinook.html
[silverstormer, Oct 17 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

For [silverstormer] http://cgi.ebay.com...1655&category=56313
You can buy anythink on Ebay! [gnomethang, Oct 17 2004]

Stating the obvious...
Don't drive to the pub/bar/place where you intend to drink alcohol. Problem solved.
-- benjamin, Jan 17 2004


Sorry but, I can't give a bun to this. I believe the responsibility should be taken by the driver, if you're driving simply don't drink. The chance that the driver is going to come out the pub/bar with their lowered perception and get into a car, is just not worth any possible consequences, however statistically unlikely.

Plus there is the fact that to put the placard up you would need to be carrying the keys in order to gain access to the car. Over here that is seen as attempted drunk driving; an arrestable offence.
-- silverstormer, Jan 17 2004


carrymeandmycarhome.com would be an interesting/challenging solution.
-- Fishrat, Jan 17 2004


How much would it be to hire a chinook?
-- silverstormer, Jan 17 2004


Something similar to this is done in my area over Christmas and the holidays. If you're out and have had too much to drink, you call a special number and get a free drive & tow home.

In other places I've lived, I've seen similar holiday programs run by university students where, when you call them, they'll come and just drive you home in your car. One such program was called Operation Rednose.
-- waugsqueke, Jan 17 2004


I think this idea is fabulous. I remember leaving my car in dowmtown Boston rather than driving home, and then having to pay nearly $200.00 in tickets, tow fees, and cab fare to get my car back! There should definatley be a limit on the number you can have per year.
-- Seventhsky, Jan 17 2004


Reverse the idea and you'll have a winner. Have bar owners promise not to remove cars left overnight. Guranantee no towing before noon or something.
-- phoenix, Jan 18 2004


Actually, I did consider this as an idea for bar owners, as [phoenix] suggests. The bar could purchase several that are good for a year, and write them off on their business taxes. They could issue them to patrons and agree not to tow. Sometimes bars don't have their own parking lots though, so I changed it to a municipal thing.
-- Novysan, Jan 18 2004



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