ROR Impaired Driving Charges Dismissed

[josie]

It was a shock when I moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s.  I thought it would be party city but except for a few areas that are famous for partying (Hollywood, etc.), most of the city and its bars shut down by about 10 pm.  Still, it wasn't uncommon to have a beer with lunch on a work day, and every once in a while the whole office would get tanked at lunch and take the afternoon off.

 

Then I moved to Fort Worth which is fairly Bible Belt-y.  If I have a drink at lunch I can get fired from my office job.  Not that people don't drink,* but it just isn't a part of the primary culture.  (Luckily I've "tapped" into the local brewpub subculture.)

 

I also lived in Detroit for a time.  That was probably the most like Buffalo, but still, nowhere is like Buffalo but Buffalo when it comes to drinking.  Seriously.

 

 

 

 

*There's a joke that's pretty famous around here:  "How do you keep a Baptist from drinking your beer when you take him fishing?  Have him bring another Baptist."  So a lot of people drink but it's not necessarily socially acceptable, at least in some churches.

Fellow transplant- I absolutely agree. Never encountered a city quite like this one when it comes to staying out and hammering the liver.

 

Always amazes me when I visit other cities and everyone's on the last train home by 2 or 3. I may or may not have walked barefoot across Paris one night because it was Bastille Day (which is today!) and no trains/infrastructure were running, all bars closed except the boat we were on.

 

Buffalo? Out till 5, no prob. It's mind boggling. 

[The Dominator]

Fellow transplant- I absolutely agree. Never encountered a city quite like this one when it comes to staying out and hammering the liver.

 

Always amazes me when I visit other cities and everyone's on the last train home by 2 or 3. I may or may not have walked barefoot across Paris one night because it was Bastille Day (which is today!) and no trains/infrastructure were running, all bars closed except the boat we were on.

 

Buffalo? Out till 5, no prob. It's mind boggling. 

 

There were a few nights studying abroad in Paris where I ended up taking the metro at 5:30 am when it opened to get back to school. In fact, those were nights when there was a boat party! Fun times.

[skaught]

I got hammered in the morning on mimosa's last weekend, I don't think you can do that in Buffalo, they don't start serving til noon right? I think in California they can't serve from 2am -  6am.

Edited July 14, 2015 by skaught

[MattPie]

I got hammered in the morning on mimosa's last weekend, I don't think you can do that in Buffalo, they don't start serving til noon right?

 

On Sunday yes (or at least the Roycroft Brunch server told us that last week). I'm not sure about Saturday.

[Doohicksie]

Didn't say that. Many accidents not involving alcohol could have been prevented. Alcohol played a major role in the 9,000 killed. There's no denying that. It's why there are strict laws on it and heavy penalties.

 

Totally different tangent, but why aren't non-alcohol-related collisions where one person is clearly at fault not penalized as heavily?  I would say someone who was in full possession of their faculties and ran over a pedestrian in the crosswalk or t-boned someone at a red light should be more liable and subject to penalty because it was a more deliberate act.  (This is of particular interest to me as a cyclist; it is rare for a motorist to face severe penalties for hitting a cyclist properly operating on the road, unless the driver was drunk... it's called an "accident" even though the driver is fully at fault for the collision.)

I got hammered in the morning on mimosa's last weekend, I don't think you can do that in Buffalo, they don't start serving til noon right? I think in California they can't serve from 2am -  6am.

 

Interesting little loophole in Texas:  You can be served beer in a bar before noon *if* you also have food in front of you.  Buffalo Bros., which hosts Bills Backers events here in Fort Worth, serves a lot of orders of chips & Bison brand French onion dip just before noon on gamedays  ;)

Fellow transplant-

 

I'm not a transplant *to* Buffalo; I grew up there and moved away when I went to college.

[Jerry Jabber]

At least Patty was smart enough to get in a cab.

And then beat up the driver...

 

I hear ya though, his first choice was a good one, but not the second one.

[skaught]

On Sunday yes (or at least the Roycroft Brunch server told us that last week). I'm not sure about Saturday.

 

Ah, now that you mention it, maybe it was just a Sunday thing.

[MattPie]

Ah, now that you mention it, maybe it was just a Sunday thing.

 

Better question: if St Patrick's day falls on a Sunday, can the bars still open at 8AM?

[SwampD]

At least Patty was smart enough to get in a cab.

Has anyone ever tried to take a cab not in the city of New York? I have. It's a f'n joke. It usually takes an hour for them to get there, if they show up at all. Hopefully Uber will cut down on these type of incidents. Although, not sure there will be a surplus of drivers at 4am when they are needed the most.

[Huckleberry]

Didn't say that. Many accidents not involving alcohol could have been prevented. Alcohol played a major role in the 9,000 killed. There's no denying that. It's why there are strict laws on it and heavy penalties.

 

Alcohol causes alot of accidents, but i wonder how much accidents medication causes, pretty sure its more.

Couple of buddies who are cops told me most accidents they see isn't because of alcohol, but mostly because people shouldn't be driving while taking certain medication.

[Claude_Verret]

Has anyone ever tried to take a cab not in the city of New York? I have. It's a f'n joke. It usually takes an hour for them to get there, if they show up at all. Hopefully Uber will cut down on these type of incidents. Although, not sure there will be a surplus of drivers at 4am when they are needed the most.

 

I went to a concert a few weeks ago in Raleigh on a Wednesday night, and not surprisingly there was no problem getting an Uber ride to take myself and a buddy out to the suburbs for a night cap.  At about 1 am I needed a ride home about 5 miles away..so I fired up my Uber app and there was a ride 10 minutes away even on the deserted streets of Apex, NC. I paid a premium for the fare of course, but much cheaper than a DWI.

[TrueBlueGED]

What should his punishment be from the NHL and The Sabres?

I could get behind a several game suspension.

[Hoss]

Has anyone ever tried to take a cab not in the city of New York? I have. It's a f'n joke. It usually takes an hour for them to get there, if they show up at all. Hopefully Uber will cut down on these type of incidents. Although, not sure there will be a surplus of drivers at 4am when they are needed the most.

In smaller towns/cities they're super easy to get and convenient, but my experience in mid-sized cities is that you're better off just paying somebody for a piggyback ride home.

My post about Patty taking a cab was a joke.

Edited July 14, 2015 by Hoss

[pi2000]

I could get behind a several game suspension.

 

Folks are making too big a deal out of this.   He's still a young kid.    It was a mistake, it's not like he hurt anyone (see Kane, Patrick).    No need to suspend him for any amount of time, he's human.

[MattPie]

ROR: Not down with OPP.

 

Also: [shaking head] Oh, Oh, Oh, O'Reilly.

[TrueBlueGED]

Folks are making too big a deal out of this. He's still a young kid. It was a mistake, it's not like he hurt anyone (see Kane, Patrick). No need to suspend him for any amount of time, he's human.

I certainly don't think he should he crucified, but I feel an actual penalty is appropriate.

[That Aud Smell]

In terms of a penalty or discipline, I think maybe some community service would be a good idea -- get him out there talking to the high schools about what an idiot move it is to drink and drive.

[Doohicksie]

I certainly don't think he should he crucified, but I feel an actual penalty is appropriate.

 

Yeah, ditto here.  A couple games or something.

In terms of a penalty or discipline, I think maybe some community service would be a good idea -- get him out there talking to the high schools about what an idiot move it is to drink and drive.

 

I think that might be part of the legal penalty.

[That Aud Smell]

I think that might be part of the legal penalty.

 

good point.

[Doohicksie]

Of course, nothing wrong with doing some community service in Ontario, and some more in Buffalo.  He'll probably end up doing it anyway in the Buffalo area, but they could turn the sour taste into a positive PR move by saying he's got X00 hours of local community service mandated by the team and then he has to hang out in children's hospitals and stuff.  Maybe kick it off during his (presumed) suspension.

 

Maybe they suspend him during the preseason and he's good to go when the regular season starts?  Who knows what GMTM will do.

[wjag]

 

 

*There's a joke that's pretty famous around here:  "How do you keep a Baptist from drinking your beer when you take him fishing?  Have him bring another Baptist."  So a lot of people drink but it's not necessarily socially acceptable, at least in some churches.

 

That joke has more impact if you swap Mormon for Baptist.

[Eleven]

That joke has more impact if you swap Mormon for Baptist.

 

Nah, there's a lot of Mormons who don't drink at all, in my experience, and a lot of Baptists who do unless there's another one around.

[SwampD]

Why would he be suspended or have any punishment at all from the league or the Sabres? Was there some precedent set before this or some morals clause they have to adhere to?

[Claude_Verret]

Nah, there's a lot of Mormons who don't drink at all, in my experience, and a lot of Baptists who do unless there's another one around.

 

My old neighbor is baptist, nice guy and never saw him drink a drop of alcohol.  One day a few of the other neighbors and I were out on our street after work shooting the over a few beers when the baptist neighbor walks up and starts talking with us.  Eventually he gets offered a beer and accepts.  A few minutes later his wife pulls up and you can see him getting visibly nervous while trying oh so hard to keep his cool in front of the guys.  His wife parks the car and marches right over to us and the following emasculation takes place..

 

Neighbor:  Hi honey!

 

Wife:  Honey??!!! Honey???!! I don't even recognize you with that BEER in your hand!!!

 

Neighbor:  Hands his beer off and dejectedly walks into the house.

 

I really felt bad for the guy, he was on deep lock down after that incident. 

[MattPie]

My old neighbor is baptist, nice guy and never saw him drink a drop of alcohol.  One day a few of the other neighbors and I were out on our street after work shooting the ###### over a few beers when the baptist neighbor walks up and starts talking with us.  Eventually he gets offered a beer and accepts.  A few minutes later his wife pulls up and you can see him getting visibly nervous while trying oh so hard to keep his cool in front of the guys.  His wife parks the car and marches right over to us and the following emasculation takes place..

 

Neighbor:  Hi honey!

 

Wife:  Honey??!!! Honey???!! I don't even recognize you with that BEER in your hand!!!

 

Neighbor:  Hands his beer off and dejectedly walks into the house.

 

I really felt bad for the guy, he was on deep lock down after that incident. 

 

I do feel bad for him, although odds are "he done did it to his-self"* by choosing his religion and/or wife.

 

* That's a quote from a guy in a U-haul place in Southern Maryland when I asked if there was a problem with the trucks when another customer couldn't rent one.

Edited July 14, 2015 by MattPie