NationStates Jolt Archive

An idea that a friend suggested to me recently about combating the problems of drink driving and various drunken disorderly problems seemed rather good. The idea was basicly a licence to purchase alcohol. IE we all get one automatically when we reach 18 but, like a driving licence, if you commit a certian number of alcohol related offences then your licence could be revoked for a certian ammount of time, during which you would not be allowed to purchase anything alcoholic. Obviously this does have some practical problems, but if they could be solved what would people think of such an idea.

Brief note, I'm not suggesting this as a punishment on top of incarserative sentencing, merely in place of as most drunk and disordely offences generally arnt worth incarserative punishment

Terrible idea.

Nah. Too hard to enforce, too easy to qualify for one.

Terrible idea.

Ok, now say why?

Nah. Too hard to enforce, too easy to qualify for one.

second that

Ok, now say why?

The same reason I'm opposed to all other sorts of restrictions like this.

I don't want the government to be my nanny.

Why a drinking license? Just revoke the driver's license when you've shown that you're irresponsible and DUI.

Yes but assuming for a second it could be enforced, in priciple do you think its a good idea?

Yes but assuming for a second it could be enforced, in priciple do you think its a good idea?

It would depend on how it would be enforced and issued. :p

It's about as useful, enforceable, and practical as requiring a licence to have a child, drive a car, own a gun, or any number of other things. Take that how you will.

If suspending my driver's license doesn't stop me from driving what makes you think suspending my drinking license will stop me from drinking?

Why a drinking license? Just revoke the driver's license when you've shown that you're irresponsible and DUI.

Drink driving isn't the only alcohol offence I'm talking about. I'm also talking about drunk & disorderly

It's about as useful, enforceable, and practical as requiring a licence to have a child, drive a car, own a gun, or any number of other things. Take that how you will.

Indeed, or a license for sex, cigarettes, gambling, buying food...

A better idea is to have the age at which one is allowed to start drinking several years below the age at which one is allowed to start driving, so that young people can get used to how much alcohol their body can handle before they ever get behind a wheel.

Whereas in America now, kids are encouraged from an early age to get involved in car culture, so that by the time they are 21 they think that they are God's gift to Driving and that they can easily drive over to Cindy-Mae's house after dunkin' a few brewskis.

A better idea is to have the age at which one is allowed to start drinking several years below the age at which one is allowed to start driving, so that young people can get used to how much alcohol their body can handle before they ever get behind a wheel.

Healthcare specialists recommend that people not drink before reaching the age of at least 18, as drinking before then can cause much more severe damage to the frontal lobe (although to be fair it does repair more easily than an equal amount of damage inflicted on an older brain). That would put driving age at 21.

By the age of 21, many people are already working a car commute away from home, or would require cars to travel to different places. In some states parents rely on their kids to start driving in their early to mid teens (I know 15 year olds who need to drive their parents places). Changing this would mean replacing all of the old car routes with public transportation. Public transportation = expensive. Expensive = higher taxes. Higher taxes = unhappy citizens.

In short, no.

It sounds like a good idea at first glance but in reality it is pretty pointless. Even if you lose your drinking licence it will hardly be that difficult to get someone to buy the booze for you. I would hope there would be stiff penalties for those caught drinking with a suspended licence but regardless I doubt this will stop many people from drinking when they shouldn't. Much better to have serious drunk driving laws where the idiot actually pays for getting behind the wheel intoxicated.

Yes but assuming for a second it could be enforced, in priciple do you think its a good idea?

Well, no, because you'd just drink with friends at home instead and get them to bring from the off licence for you.

yeah, thats a pretty terrible idea alright. the only thing that a system like this would create would be more criminals, more fraud, more cost to the taxpayers (or higher user fees), and more crime in general. just as kids get ahold of fake IDs now, there would be fake "Liquor Licenses" being made. also, by telling a person that they cannot buy alcohol- and trying to enforce it is just a repeat of the oh-so-successful prohibition scene (as if it would ever be enforced enough to bring it to that anyways). just a bad call all around.

Indeed, or a license for sex, cigarettes, gambling, buying food...

i would hate to think what the test be for them or how you would past them

i would hate to think what the test be for them or how you would past them

Oh, I don't know, the test for the sex license might be interesting.

Oh, I don't know, the test for the sex license might be interesting.

Well, that's what they have the sex ed classes for. Then you actually start the sex lessons, and finally you get a 'field' sex test, and if you pass you get a licence to have sex...

I know, it's kind of self-defeating... and then there's enforcing it. I can imagine the police officers marching into a room where a couple is about to have sex and yelling in policeman voice, "Hold it! Where are your licences?"

Anyway....

What would be interesting is having an DUI licence with a test to prove that you are a perfect driver even when drunk

at least that’s what I thought when I read the title

Oh, I don't know, the test for the sex license might be interesting.
indeed
Well, that's what they have the sex ed classes for. Then you actually start the sex lessons, and finally you get a 'field' sex test, and if you pass you get a licence to have sex...

I know, it's kind of self-defeating... and then there's enforcing it. I can imagine the police officers marching into a room where a couple is about to have sex and yelling in policeman voice, "Hold it! Where are your licences?"

Anyway....

sorry you all have a D class licences you can't have this threesome

There's a certain logic to the idea of a parenting license. Think about all the irresponsible, clueless, ineffective, or downright dangerous parents out there who don't know basic skills like effective (but not cruel) discipline, or who spoil their children and don't teach them responsibility, or who have substance abuse problems, or are abusive or neglectful, or who simply don't have the time to care for their children and thus use, say, a television as a stand-in. Think about the colossal impact that has upon people's lives. Now, if people were forced to pass a rigorous test and be re-evaluated periodically in order to be allowed to reproduce and/or keep custody of existing offspring, I'd be willing to bet that an awful lot of these problems would disappear. Enforcement could be carried out by reversible birth-control implants and an iron-fisted social services department. As an added bonus, there would be a sharp decline in depressing memoirs and bad emo poetry.

Naturally, this idea is reprehensible, not to mention completely impractical, but certainly food for thought.

Really, having the state nannify my life is just pretty lame. I, as well as the government, have better things to do than worry about the development of gigantic bureaucracies to make sure I don't manage to hurt myself.

An idea that a friend suggested to me recently about combating the problems of drink driving and various drunken disorderly problems seemed rather good. The idea was basicly a licence to purchase alcohol. IE we all get one automatically when we reach 18 but, like a driving licence, if you commit a certian number of alcohol related offences then your licence could be revoked for a certian ammount of time, during which you would not be allowed to purchase anything alcoholic. Obviously this does have some practical problems, but if they could be solved what would people think of such an idea.

Brief note, I'm not suggesting this as a punishment on top of incarserative sentencing, merely in place of as most drunk and disordely offences generally arnt worth incarserative punishment

seeing that minors are not allowed to drink alcohol anyway, yet they still do...

the Licence Idea is just more paperwork to be filled out.

Oh, I don't know, the test for the sex license might be interesting.

... I gotta study for that one. anyone wanna help be 'Bone' up for my sex licence? :D

An idea that a friend suggested to me recently about combating the problems of drink driving and various drunken disorderly problems seemed rather good. The idea was basicly a licence to purchase alcohol. IE we all get one automatically when we reach 18 but, like a driving licence, if you commit a certian number of alcohol related offences then your licence could be revoked for a certian ammount of time, during which you would not be allowed to purchase anything alcoholic. Obviously this does have some practical problems, but if they could be solved what would people think of such an idea.

Brief note, I'm not suggesting this as a punishment on top of incarserative sentencing, merely in place of as most drunk and disordely offences generally arnt worth incarserative punishment

If you get DUIs or something like that you lose your driving license and possibly go to jail. If you get drunk in public, you possibly go to jail. So your drinking license has no point to it.

Here's an idea: Just make the punishment for repeat drinking offenses really, really strict. Let's say on the third offense you lose your license, the fourth your vehicles, the fifth a certain share of your posessions, the sixth your house, and so on.

If they keep doing it, they'll be utterly destitute.

If you get DUIs or something like that you lose your driving license and possibly go to jail. If you get drunk in public, you possibly go to jail. So your drinking license has no point to it.
If you're drunk in public over here and ride your bike or even walk, you can lose your driver's license since you're participating in traffic - even as a pedestrian.

Yes but assuming for a second it could be enforced, in priciple do you think its a good idea?Not really. Just because you can't purchase alcohol doesn't mean you can't get your hands on it. Keeping people from buying it by revoking their license is only going to get them to have their friends buy it for them.

If you get DUIs or something like that you lose your driving license and possibly go to jail. If you get drunk in public, you possibly go to jail. So your drinking license has no point to it.Ah, one thing I don't miss about the US.

Not really. Just because you can't purchase alcohol doesn't mean you can't get your hands on it. Keeping people from buying it by revoking their license is only going to get them to have their friends buy it for them.
Moonshine... :p

... I gotta study for that one. anyone wanna help be 'Bone' up for my sex licence? :D

There will be an oral exam.

sorry. I just had to.

There will be an oral exam.

sorry. I just had to.

can't be that hard can it

How about a sex license? Or a food license? Or a cigarette license? Or a hardware store license? Or a computer game license? Or a school license? Or a church license?

pretty much a wonderful idea of a drinking license is yours, but indeed too dangerous for our people's health due to the number of "drinks" accepted in the license. just a problem of number, it is, while the idea is still good.
:eek:

How about a sex license? Or a food license? Or a cigarette license? Or a hardware store license? Or a computer game license? Or a school license? Or a church license?

I'd say there are licenses for most of those at some point in the regulatory chain...

Healthcare specialists recommend that people not drink before reaching the age of at least 18, as drinking before then can cause much more severe damage to the frontal lobe (although to be fair it does repair more easily than an equal amount of damage inflicted on an older brain). That would put driving age at 21.


That isnt an absolute, in the UK we're allowed to drive at 17 and drink at 18

Not really. Just because you can't purchase alcohol doesn't mean you can't get your hands on it. Keeping people from buying it by revoking their license is only going to get them to have their friends buy it for them.

So if their friends buy it for them, some points are put on their drinking licence

I doubt that licenses would help. It's the culture that's the problem - France has much more liberal drinking laws and Germans love their lager, but they don't have the same kind of problems we do.

Best solution is to release youtube videos of police beating drunks, to act as a deterrent/entertainment.

terrible idea.