VIPD Crack Down On Drunk Driving June

[tedprosser]

FYI

Have Fun Be Safe, but Look Out for the VIPD June 20th.

Ted

Into The Mystic Villa


http://stjohnsource.com/content/news/lo ... nk-driving

[bevm]

As the wife of a police officer I'm all for this...I honestly can't imagine being completely toasted and driving on those roads..

[XOXO]

As the wife of a police officer I'm all for this...I honestly can't imagine being completely toasted and driving on those roads..

As the wife of a man who owns wreckers, I am also all for this. Drinking and driving is not ok anywhere. I cannot even imagine trying to drive St. John indisposed. It is kind of sad that "we" cannot make good decision and need laws to keep us from being idiots. But it is what it is and I am all for it.

GG

[tedprosser]

I hear that!! I was an EMT for 8 years, I have seen way to many folks hurt on GOOD roads!!

Ted

ITM

[JJShaw]

I hear that!! I was an EMT for 8 years, I have seen way to many folks hurt on GOOD roads!!

Ted

ITM

Ted,
Im curious to know if you were an EMT in Asheville. (I am from that area originally).. and have friends that are EMT's in Asheville as well as Haywood County..

[tedprosser]

I was an EMT in Milledgeville and Athens, Ga while I was at UGA.

I have lived in WNC since 1981, Mostly in Asheville,
A few year in Big Cove in Cherokee

I live on Bear Lake during the summer In Jackson Co
Sylva / Tuckasgee, NC

STJ as much as We can durning the winter!!

Ted

[Lex]

I'm neither a cop nor an EMT but I ask people to not drink and drive. It's irresponsible, dangerous and sometimes deadly. And I may be sharing the road with them. Or my wife or kids or friends or some innocent victim that I don't know. And to increase the risks: put someone in vehicle that they're unfamiliar with, drive on steep, curving, unlit roads on the "wrong" side. I've always been surprised that there are as few fatal accidents on STJ as there are.

Some trip reports quite openly describe folks drinking and driving their way around the island. It doesn't seem to cross their mind that this is irresponsible and unacceptable. They describe it as just having a good time. Attitudes have changed significantly about drinking and driving but still have a ways to go.

[Larry]

Can someone link me to the actual consumption of alcoholic beverages while driving laws. Not drunk driving laws, the open container law is what I am interested in.

I was told once that you can drive with a beer open (as long as its to cool you off) but you can't be drunk or tipsy while driving. Additionally, what about passengers drinking while the driver remains responsible?

[liamsaunt]

Larry, that is my understanding also, that you can have a beer in hand whether driver or passenger, but you cannot drive drunk.

I think people just assume that they are on vacation, having a good time, and nothing is going to happen to them. I think that's a pretty stupid assumption. The roads are unlit at night, narrow, and hilly. Driving them sober is enough of a challenge!

Drunk driving is just so selfish. John and I were slammed from behind by a drunk driver many years ago. We were not hurt except for whiplash and seatbelt bruising, but our car was totalled, and we walked away with nothing--our insurance was just enough to pay off the rest of the car loan. We were in our early twenties and not financially secure yet, and it really sucked. The driver that hit us had four previous DUIs, and, of course, had no insurance.

[JJShaw]

I was an EMT in Milledgeville and Athens, Ga while I was at UGA.

I have lived in WNC since 1981, Mostly in Asheville,
A few year in Big Cove in Cherokee

I live on Bear Lake during the summer In Jackson Co
Sylva / Tuckasgee, NC

STJ as much as We can durning the winter!!

Ted

Ahhh ok..What a small world...my Sis-n-law sold a few acres on Bear Lake a few yrs back.... I can understand wanting to get away for the winters... since I have moved to the Eastern part of the state (4 yrs ago)...I havent missed the cold at all..I do still have lots of family in the area though, including my mother and one of my children and a grandaughter...so we visit often..

[Larry]

John and I were slammed from behind by a drunk driver many years ago. We were not hurt except for whiplash and seatbelt bruising, but our car was totalled, and we walked away with nothing--our insurance was just enough to pay off the rest of the car loan. We were in our early twenties and not financially secure yet, and it really sucked. The driver that hit us had four previous DUIs, and, of course, had no insurance.

When I was a kid I got slammed from behind at a stoplight. Aside from the whiplash and seatbelt irritation I was fine also. From that point on I never stopped using my rearview to monitor and mirrors to monitor everyone around me on the road. I trust no one in front of me or behind me and its saved me from many accidents here in NY.

[bubblybrenda]

Open alcohol in the vehicle? Is that just on St. John or elsewhere in the US?

Gosh, here I am leary of having an opened bottle of alcohol in the trunk of my car and being stopped.

[stjohnjulie]

The way I understand it, there are no open container laws in the USVI, therefore permitting drinking while driving, or walking down the street, or riding in a car. I can't think of a state that doesn't have open container laws...but I certainly haven't been to them all! We have surprisingly few accidents caused by driving while intoxicated. Actually, most of the accidents on St. John are single car accidents (usually involving a car going off the road). I would guess that the slow rate of travel would contribute to the low number in fatal car crashes. Not trying to condone drinking and driving!!! Just make a few observations

[hugo]

Yes, but ALL of the fatalities I can think of over the years, both of locals and tourists, involved drinking and/or other strongly mind-altering substances (good thing that the roads were really bad back when a lot of drivers here were taking LSD!)

[JT]

OK, I could be wrong on this, but I remember reading somewhere a couple of years back that there is no open container law on STJ with one huge technical exception, that being, when driving anywhere in the US Park. For example, the road to East End goes in and out of the park between Coral Bay and Vie's. While in the park one is subject to the US Park regulations as to driving with an open container and a US Park cop would be the only one with the jurisdiction to issue a violation, as the USVI Police have no jurisdiction in the park.