Driving Miss Daisy

Posted on October 18th, 2008 by Richard Catto 1,740 views

The obvious thing to do when you’re hopelessly drunk and can’t risk driving is to ask your 9 year old daughter to drive you home, right? Right?

Well this was the best idea that occurred to a hopelessly inebriated Ontario woman earlier this month. Please my fellow South Africans, do not emigrate to Canada (or anywhere really).

Tags: 9 year old girl driver, Canada, drunk woman
Filed under North America |

16 Responses to “Driving Miss Daisy”

1. Marko Says:
   October 18th, 2008 at 23:08

   lol, funny but here in good old SA we have police chiefs, professional sportsmen and politicians on drunk driving charges – and they usually get away with it…
   At least she was on quiet country roads and the cops noticed and pulled her over. You’re also making assumptions like she was ‘hopelessly inebriated’ where the article states ‘some alcohol’.
   At least other countries also have safe and economic alternatives eg. buses, trams, trains and subways.

2. Richard Catto Says:
   October 18th, 2008 at 23:14

   @Marko:

   I’m going to assume she was hopelessly drunk based on the absurd decision she made.

3. Lyndi Says:
   October 19th, 2008 at 07:39

   Fortunately the daughter was sober

4. Richard Catto Says:
   October 19th, 2008 at 08:06

   @Lyndi:

   One hopes.

5. Marko Says:
   October 19th, 2008 at 19:06

   I’m going to assume she wasn’t that wasted as drunk people are normally stubborn and beligerent, eg. “‘f@#% off I’m fine to drive”.
   This woman still had the mental capacity to be concerned about how much she had to drink. The whole thing sounds fake anyway, why did non of her friends/colleagues help her, or why did she not ask one of them?
   Maybe the daughter was a better driver anyway

6. Richard Catto Says:
   October 19th, 2008 at 20:16

   @Marko:

   Uh huh, and maybe her daughter was mature enough to have a bikini wax, but it’s also highly unlikely.

7. Relax Max Says:
   October 21st, 2008 at 04:22

   Interestingly, I was run into by a nine-year-old in southern Ontario a few months ago, somewhere between St. Catharines and London, as I recall. So it isn’t really all that unusual of an occurrence (just in case you thought it was.) Obviously I knew better than to wait for the mounties to show, and made it across the Bluewater Bridge to safety before they were any the wiser, (or before anyone else thought to perform a breathalyzer test on me.) The damage was minor anyway.

   I am not clear on the emigration connection Richard. But I can guarantee* you that my comment is otherwise truthful.

   *Not to be considered and actual guarantee.

8. Relax Max Says:
   October 21st, 2008 at 04:25

   Okay, not “interestingly.”

9. Richard Catto Says:
   October 21st, 2008 at 09:02

   @Relax Max:

   The emigration angle was included, Max, because a vocal subset of South Africans who style themselves as canny commenters of the “South African condition” have as their basic message that everything in South Africa is somehow retarded, poorly executed, hopelessly lost, sub-standard, third world, going downhill, and everything occurring overseas is a thing of beauty, well organised, sensible, intelligent, progressive and just generally all round better.

   You may also be aware that recently the South African rand has weakened against the dollar. It was R8 to the dollar now it is slightly over R10. This is seen as bad and a sign that our economy is being mismanaged and that things are deteriorating. Well, fact is, SA should have a much weaker currency, of the order of R15 – R20 per dollar which would actually have the effect of boosting our local economy.

   South Africa does not benefit much from having a strong currency. We benefit most when our rand is weaker. It makes our export goods and services more competitive and it encourages tourism. If you have been toying with visiting this country, you will be more inclined to do it if, for a few dollars, you can stay in luxury hotels and enjoy the finest foods. I mean, this is not rocket science.

   The rand has been artificially propped up by the monetary policies of our government because they felt that a weaker rand would contribute to increasing our rate of inflation (because imports would become dearer). That is true in the short term. A weaker rand does contribute to increasing our inflation, but it also makes us less dependent on imports as South Africans switch to purchasing cheaper locally manufactured equivalents, which has the very welcome benefit of stimulating our local economy.

   So a weaker rand is mostly all good and will help propel us into the league of the Asian tigers.

10. Marko Says:
    October 22nd, 2008 at 19:12

    We do have a right to complain when things don’t work or the government is making a mess of things. Nobody is saying things are perfect overseas but when we can’t walk down to the corner shop for fear of being attacked then something is definitely wrong with this country.
    When men are raping babies something is definitely wrong.
    When our ‘esteemed’ leaders are in and out of court on charges like rape, fraud and drunk driving then something is definitely wrong.
    When people get into a froth over a cartoon because they think they are untouchable then something is definitely wrong.
    Pretending that everything is rosy and telling us we deserve to be raped if we don’t live in a security complex is in my mind worse than the ‘vocal subset’ you refer to.

    I don’t remember much from Economy classes but is it not spending that stimulates the economy? How is being forced to be thrifty good? Being poor is good?
    Just because something is manufactured locally does not make it cheaper either.

11. Richard Catto Says:
    October 22nd, 2008 at 19:53

    @Marko: “when we can’t walk down to the corner shop for fear of being attacked”

    Wake me up, when that situation is reality and not a constructed fairy tale.

    South Africa is not responsible for crimes that people commit. Crime is a human condition which is managed by law enforcement. Crime is like an incurable disease that human beings have to endure wherever we are. There exists no place on earth where crime is completely absent. We carry this disease with us, every single one of us.

    We are all law breakers, to some extent.

12. Marko Says:
    October 22nd, 2008 at 20:50

    This is your wake up call Richard. Two friends of mine have been attacked and mugged in the last few months. One on Dean Street in Claremont and the other on Main Road near the new Pick ‘n Pay. Both were stabbed in the chest, in broad daylight, in full view of witnesses.
    Recently two school boys were attacked, stabbed and mugged within meters of an ADT guard hut. The attackers were apparently chased but escaped by running through Cavendish Square and jumping into a taxi.
    A friend of mine’s son was attacked just a few days ago while walking home from Wynberg Boy’s High School. The attacker had a knife but fortunately the boy was just robbed but not stabbed.

    Again, nobody is saying there is no place on earth where crime does not exist. We have had this argument before. What I am saying Richard is that the level of violent crime in this country is completely unreasonable and seemingly out of control.

13. Richard Catto Says:
    October 22nd, 2008 at 22:10

    @Marko:

    Sorry, but I don’t believe these accounts. Totally implausible. We have too many police and security guards for muggings to occur in the areas mentioned. They never happened.

14. Marko Says:
    October 22nd, 2008 at 23:27

    Now you’re just being a Dick. Those events most definitely did happen. The latter friend made it to the Engen on Main Road where he passed out. He suffered a collapsed lung.
    Just one day after the two schoolboys were mugged, a domestic worker was mugged while walking from Paradise Shell. This occurred at 19h30 in the evening in full view of the traffic on the M3. The fucker punched her so hard in the left eye she suffered fractures to her orbital lobe and some nerve damage.
    Did you not hear about the armed robbery at Barristers?

    You seem to be living in some kind of fantasy land hiding in your secure complex. I suppose you think that all the skilled and intelligent people that emigrate stating crime as their reason are just making it up and you simply know better.

    Time to wake up Richard.

15. Richard Catto Says:
    October 22nd, 2008 at 23:41

    @Marko:

    There is no crime. You are having a nightmare again. You need to stop eating cheese before you go to bed at night.

    My experience of crime since 2000 and 2001 is zero. I’m sure that every single day crime affects more than one person all over the world. However, I personally have not been a victim of any crime since 2001.

    Until crime affects me personally, it does not exist for me. You are entitled to live vicariously through the lives of other crime victims, if you choose to, but I prefer to remain rooted in the reality of my own existence. Crime does not exist for me.

    If I experienced crime regularly, I would be upset. I am not upset when others experience it. That is their problem, not mine. Why should I get all worked up about some people I don’t even know allegedly being mugged in Claremont? I don’t care one iota. They cared not one iota when I experienced crime. They were not even aware of it.

    No, I don’t care if the entire country is burning to the ground. So long as I personally am experiencing peace and tranquility, I care as much for their problems as they care for mine – zero, none, nada.

    Fact is, crime is not the problem you suggest it is. Never has been, never will be. You can run away if you feel scared to walk outside. I am completely unafraid of walking the streets of Cape Town. I do not expect to be mugged walking along the main road and I am not.

16. Eric Says:
    October 23rd, 2008 at 14:43

    “until crime affects me personally, it does not exist for me”

    Does this attitude extend to things such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, sexism, global warming etc?

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