When CHEERS turn into TEARS
author: Leon Botha
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Leon Botha
A very special plea to all of you by yours truly - Leon Botha
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A time to be merry, a time to reminisce, a time for family, friends and colleagues.
Everybody expects that forgiveness should be shown and received, old friendships and family ties refreshed during the festive season. This rebonding and happiness go hand in hand in most cases with a drink or two.
“Let us have a drink on all the years of our friendship” or “My friend let's drink on the future” are words that can scarcely be remembered when things go sadly wrong.
A few years ago you could get into some trouble driving after a few drinks, but now no amount of fun is worth the real, and proper shit you can land in.
How many times have I seen friends have that one drink too many, no, not that they were drunk, they simply that one drink too many that made all hell break lose in a road block.
The days of old sergeant Smith taking you home, because you had ten too many, have long gone. These days, it seems that some people are determined to cause the maximum amount of problems when you are arrested for even minor traffic offences such as outstanding parking tickets – which is a lesser offence than the contempt of court charge, that will follow a summons automatically if you do not appear in court on the due date.
I am not sure if it is a good idea to tell you the following story before we get to the serious stuff. If you do read it, just promise to read past it – because what I have to tell you after the story may (please let it be) shock you into reality!
The Story
I will never forget – this was many years ago – when an old friend of us, old Obie, used to say that the day they stop him and ask him to blow into that little contraption, he would blow it to smithereens. His words in good Afrikaans were “ Man, ek wil daardie dingetjie heel in sy moer in blaas”
Needless to say, not long after his threats he got the opportunity, and now I have to hand over to another friend Nick, who told the story like this: “The cop told Obie to get out of the car, and at the same time asked him if he had something to drink. Obie did not miss a beat and said yes, he did. On the question how many, he replied every drop that was available.”
“By now the cop was getting irritated and he told Obie to blow into the little pipe. He tried to hold the instrument, but Obie took it from him. He then walked to stand in the lights of the car. In a manner I suppose, he wanted the spotlight on him while he destroyed the little gadget”
“He got himself sorted out, shuffling around like a good golfer, a game he could not even spell, let alone play. After wiggling his arse in the light, getting into a typical John Wayne stance – he put the instrument to his mouth and let rip! I could actually see his cheeks from behind as they expanded past his ears. The next moment I just heard this hell of a fart, Obie dropped the instrument and grabbed the back of his pants with both hands, immediately walking with his pelvis sort off more forward that usual, giving only tiny steps at a time. My worse fear came true. Obie het homself van kop tot tone beskyt!”
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Leon Botha
and then it happened!
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To cut a long story short the cops took him home while he stood hands and knees in the back of the pick-up. On their arrival at his house, his wife refused to let him in before the police hosed him down on the lawn. This was in mid July, when winter was still winter.
THE REALITY
Things have changed and you had better believe it.
I a recent interview with a senior attorney and known specialist in this field, I was surprised at some of the facts.
Let us first look at what happens to you when you are caught for drunken driving.
If you are arrested after four in the afternoon, your chances of getting bail are almost non-existent. You are going to be kept in a cell for the night.
Even if you manage to get hold of the best attorney he will not be able to get you out on bail if the person(s) in charge is not willing to co-operate.
This situation is even worse when you are unfortunate enough to be caught on a Friday evening. You will probably sit until Monday morning before you will appear in court to apply for bail.
I do not have to spell out the consequences to you. If you are thrown into a cell with real criminals, something that is done on purpose sometimes, your chance of being raped (male raped) is excellent. I have heard of a 19 year old guy who got high on first time drugs, was arrested, raped in the cells, and less than a year after this incident he has full blown aids.
In Germany, the situation is clear – you are not allowed to drink anything and then drive. In South Africa, it is legal to drink and drive, as long as your blood alcohol level remains within .05 per mg. Wherever you go society sells liquor to you, they make fortunes from this practice but you have no way of testing your level except if you have the right equipment.
The State has that; they offer you free tests at roadblocks. The problem is that you cannot do anything about it if and when you are over the limit.
Society accepts drinking, lets say - moderate drinking. They do not look upon you as a criminal when you are arrested for drunken driving, but the dear Lord helps you if you cause any damage to their loved ones or property. Then those affected will not leave a stone unturned to have you prosecuted to the highest possible level. That same family will in many cases drink at a party or occasion afterwards. I will never forget the guy who told me about the &%##2ing drunk driver who killed his wife and kid, just before he basically fell of the chair he sat on, pissed out of his mind. Half an hour later, he was behind the wheel of his car, driving home.
The court tests your conduct against that of the reasonable man. It is fact that the conduct of the reasonable driver must have changed dramatically since 1902 or so when Paul Kruger allowed the first car to use Church Street. The norm must have changed a thousand fold.
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Leon Botha
A sign like this will certainly assist the reasonable man!
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If you allow me to leave the drunken scene for a moment, I would like to tell you something about protecting personal safety. When you wake up at night and see two masked or not even masked arrogant wonders standing next to your bed, do not shoot and kill them as you will be charged with murder and arrested.
It is incredible to think that yearly between 20 and 25 000 pedestrians are killed in drink related accidents. That is why the authorities are hiding behind the bushes and on bridges on the highways instead of ensuring that pedestrians cannot get onto the highways. The 2002 reasonable man has to know that the persons standing next to the road are drunk as skunks. He has to know that the pedestrian may decide he waited long enough and will now proceed to test his brakes.
When are you drunk? The average person will test over the limit after more than one and a half beers within an hour. It is popular believe that you can drink all day long, as long as you do not exceed this quota per hour.
Do not believe that. So many factors influence your blood alcohol level that you can never say with absolute certainty.
OK, so now, you have blown into the very doubtful little tester, and you have just been read your “rights” before you are thrown into a pick up.
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Leon Botha
This will definitely ensure that you come of second, third and fourth best!
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Rule one: You are now in the presence of someone just under the rank of “His Holiness” do not be arrogant, do not be argumentative, do not swear (that is the hardest thing – I was almost arrested the other day after I told the cop that I was not exceeding the speed limit and that his metre was full of shit. I receive a warning that he would arrest me for swearing in public – 20 kms away from any living creature! I was right – his metre was full of shit!) Do not insult him, co-operate, and for once in your life be humble and apologetic. If your brother’s name is not Al and the family name not Capone, you are going nowhere!
You have a right to take notes of everything that happens, problem is if chief inspector does not like you taking notes, you may just piss him off. Anyway, do your best to remember everything they do. It is your right to try and prove your innocence during your day in court. The smallest detail can be important. Check the time they arrest you and keep track of the time as it goes by. They will ask you what time it is, while they block your view - they are quite taken back if you guess the time correctly.
If they take your car to the police station you may ask the car to be inspected in the presence of witnesses, and they have to sign that your car did have a radio, spare wheel, engine and gearbox in when it was driven to the station. But they are supposed to protect your goodies? Yes, sure!
You are not allowed to refuse the district surgeon to draw blood and they may use force to do that. In a recent case, seven people used force to hold a person down and he died in the process. They were acquitted.
Do not sign anything! You do not have to say anything. Problem once again is will you then have a chance to get bail.
DO NOT GIVE A FALSE NAME, ADDRESS OR ANY FALSE INFORMATION.
If you do you will automatically blow your chances of getting bail. Try to get some respectable person who knows you to the Police station as soon as you can. This person must be able to confirm everything you told them.
They do not have to give you any bail before they have verified your address. This is the standard excuse for not letting you go. In the good old days, they would have let you off with a warning to appear in court after about four hours in safe custody.
It is known that they will in some cases even refuse to phone the standby investigation officer who has the right to determine bail.
In cases where you can not get bail, your attorney can bring an urgent High Court application under certain circumstances. This however costs big bucks.
A normal bail application brought by an attorney at the Police station will cost you between R500 and R2500.
Let us look at some other consequences. Have you read the fine print in your insurance policy?
Do you know that the Insurers will not pay out for damage caused while you were driving under the influence of alcohol and strictly speaking you are just that if you admit to having ONE SIP!
This sounds crazy doesn’t it? It reaches even further – some or most policies include “other substances”. Have you though about the Valiums, Zanor, or whatever some women and I suppose guys use for every stressful situation.
The fine print covers drink and other substance related incidents.
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Leon Botha
Ok, so when you came around the house, the second time what happened?...
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Some people may want to argue this point, and try to prove me wrong. Great if you do, but remember you need to go and prove me wrong in court.
While we are at that five-letter word, let us have a look at what it may cost you to walk away from a drunk driving charge a free human being.
Every case will always have its own merits, but believe me when I tell you that it is almost better to plead guilty and take the wrap, than try to get a team of lawyers to defend your case.
Your day in court can cost you the proverbial arm and a leg. It is fact that you will not get away for less than R10 000. The second you use a junior advocate, you will be looking at around R15 000 and a senior advocate will make you kiss your arse goodbye!
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Leon Botha
Legal fees can mean the end of you!
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A first offender will probably get a R20 000 fine suspended for three years, and will be forced to attend the Alcohol Safety School or something in that line. Your licence will not automatically be suspended.
A second offence will definitely see your licence suspended and you will have to pay the fine. You also stand a chance of being placed under correctional supervision for a period (probably one to three years)
A third offence will almost definitely get you jailed and your licence will be taken away – forever!
CONCLUSION
The risks are simply too big to drink anything and drive. Pretend that you are living in Germany. If you had only one drink do not touch the steering wheel. I wish I could say phone me, I will come and fetch you, no matter how late or where you are, but I can simply not add any more friends to my list. In my personal case I weighed up the odds and decided not to drink at all. Sometimes it is a dull life, but I know I can get behind the steering wheel any time I wish, and all they can arrest me for is speeding.
To give you an idea of the general situation in our country – just before writing the "conclusion", I was robbed in my own office by three of the best con people I ever saw. One of them actually took R1200 from my wallet while I showed him I did not have change for his R200 he wanted change for to pay a taxi! Now talk to me!
I tried to liven up the article by adding some funny pics, but there is actually NOTHING funny about this. Remember you DO change after a few drinks, nobody stays the same, most people believe they can keep a pose, but the chemical processes available to the police will prove that your blood cannot! Do not allow anyone the pleasure of treating you like a criminal; do not place yourself, family and friends in a position where they have to beg for mercy.
Don’t touch a steering wheel after any number of drinks! Your wife, parents, friends or even kids will be able to live with the embarrassment of having to fetch you from a party much rather than having to visit you in jail.
The psychological consequences of having to spend a night in jail, even if you are not gang raped or molested are much more severe than anyone who has not been there, will realise.
Spending any time in hospital is so expensive I will not even touch the subject. Believe me when I say that if you do not have a proper medical (read the fine print there as well) aid willing to give you cover while under the influence, it is almost better to die in the accident!
Just don’t do it!
The article has not been checked by them, but general information was obtained from J.W. Wessels and partners (012) 343 1410 – some detail was changed and generalised to make reading easier.
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