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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To drink drive my neighbour to hospital?

159 replies

hanette · 15/11/2013 00:08

So, had 2x 25 CL glasses of wine in pub w DH. He goes on to meet friend, I go to put D teenagers to bed.

Knock at door 11.10pm, neighbour asking me to take to A and E in car due to plummeting blood pressure and severe pains in left arm

I did - adrenaline kicked in - I tried to persuade them to call an ambulance or wait for my DH but they were so distressed I just took them in my car

Am shocked - am a rubbish driver anyway and have never driven after more than one glass of wine

So - was I over the limit? I had a plate of salmon and veg for din. And also WWTD?

Am shocked at myself and how I deffo felt different (less safe) behind the wheel.

OP posts:

ll31 · 15/11/2013 08:14

Fact is reason you decided not to call ambulance and drive drunk is because of the affect of alcohol on your decision making ability. So no you shouldn't have driven,insane thing to do. No justification at all,ever. You need to decide how you can avoid doing it again as you clearly can't as of now be sure you won't. This is not a trivial thing, you could have destroyed lives.

Longdistance · 15/11/2013 08:14

25cl is 250ml volume. A bottle is 750ml, meaning the op had 2/3 of a bottle. Definitely over the limit.

Not the wisest of decisions. I would have caled an ambulance, and told the neighbour that I had a few drinks.

I know someone who's friend ended up in hospital. She was very drunk when she arrived in her car. Police breathelised her, and she lost her license, rightly so. She admits the same that adrenalin kicked in.

HauntedFlyingNaanBread · 15/11/2013 08:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Sallystyle · 15/11/2013 08:15

Well, if anyone is showing signs of a heart attack you call 999.

You are not qualified to take someone to hospital with no medical training or equipment when it comes to something like this.

Your heart was in the right place but it was a very irresponsible thing to do. Drinking or not.

ll31 · 15/11/2013 08:19

No her heart was not in right place,she made a stupid decision while under influence of alcohol. If she'd killed or injured someone would you be similarly excusing it?

Fairylea · 15/11/2013 08:23

You should have called 999.

Luckily it all turned out ok but could have been very different.

bluestar2 · 15/11/2013 08:28

I am shocked at how many people seem to think its ok because op may have been under limit by time she drove or because alls well that ends well.

Fgs just don't drink and drive then there is no problem. Phone an ambulance for all the reasons listed above.

For whoever posted what if neighbour had arrested in house waiting for ambulance - it's still preferable to ending up trapped in car in ditch having heart attack or even just being stuck by roadside waiting for ambo. Saving one life does not justify putting god knows how many others at risk to do so which she did when she drove.

Trully disgusted at the amount of excuses made here.

Op I hope your neighbour is ok

Justforlaughs · 15/11/2013 08:28

I would have called an ambulance on the grounds that neighbour was possibly having a heart attack and I would have preferred to know that expertise was on the way. As for the "drink driving" bit, I think that if you "felt different" before you got behind the wheel then you were unreasonable to drive under any circumstances, however you may not have been over the limit, and of you only "felt different" after you got behind the wheel it may well have been down to adhreneline. (Says the person who doesn't drive after more than a pint of coke! because it affects me!)

DontmindifIdo · 15/11/2013 08:29

I think in your circumstances, I'd have driven.

I might have thought "ambulance" but reading your OP the first thing I thought wasn't "why didn't she call 999?" so perhaps it might not have occurred to me at the time, and at only just over the drink drive limit, i'd have risked it (as the OP said the timings wise to her drinking, she probably wasn't over the limit either). Sometimes, if you are faced with someone saying "take me to hospital" you might only think in terms of "am I safe to drive?" not "should we even go to hosptial?" if they had said "I think I'm having a heart attack, what should I do?" you might be more inclinded to think "ambulance" not "I should take them to hospital".

Mind you, I've spent a lot of time in countries with much more lax drink driving rules and as such I know I'm more relaxed about getting in a car with someone who's been drinking (although personally I don't drink at all if I'm going to drive that day, even if it's going to be a lot later).

whoneedssleepanyway · 15/11/2013 08:31

Betrayed that is awful your poor daughter :-(

deepfried do you mean to sound so sanctimonious? You have judged the OP with no info on her drinking other than this one incident.

OP, put it behind you, yes you made the wrong decision but it is hard to think clearly in a highly stressful situation, luckily no one was hurt and you obviously won't do it again and this thread has made people think about drink driving in run up to Christmas.

DontmindifIdo · 15/11/2013 08:32

oh, and a couple of years ago when DH walked into the kitchen having just almost cut all the way through his thumb I had not had anything alcoholic to drink that day. But I definately felt different, panicky and slightly lightheaded driving him to hospital - it's not a sign she was drunk that she felt different driving, it could well just be your body reacting to the panic situation.

LamaDrama · 15/11/2013 08:34

Ambulance 100% - She could have got worse in your car & you wouldn't have known what to do.

It could have been heart attack or stroke & the ambulance could have got her their quicker.

Plus you shouldn't have driven.

Those home B.P machines are probably the bain of medical peoples life's.

There are 100's of reasons why you were BU.

LamaDrama · 15/11/2013 08:34

Ambulance 100% - She could have got worse in your car & you wouldn't have known what to do.

It could have been heart attack or stroke & the ambulance could have got her their quicker.

Plus you shouldn't have driven.

Those home B.P machines are probably the bain of medical peoples life's.

There are 100's of reasons why you were BU.

deepfriedsage · 15/11/2013 08:38

whoneedssleep right back at you, do you?

mrsWast · 15/11/2013 08:39

your judgement was clearly impaired - as evidenced by your decision to drive.

i'm in no position to judge - i'm a recovering alcoholic and have made some terrible decisions when drunk.

but really - don't ever do this. ever.

MackerelOfFact · 15/11/2013 08:40

That's what ambulances are for. The paramedics should have been able to blue-light their way there and start working on her quicker than you could drive her to A&E and get her seen, even if you were completely sober. If there'd been an accident, or even just traffic, it could've cost her - or someone else - their life.

I know how it feels to want to 'do something' and not just stand around waiting for an ambulance, but it was the wrong thing to do.

captainmummy · 15/11/2013 08:47

Deepfried - so I can't even have a glass of wine in the evening when my teenagers are in bed simply in Case they might need driving to hospital one day? Should my neighbours not drink in the evening either, in case I^ need taking to hospital? Ridiculous. And I don't drink, other than a couple at weekends.

My story ;-
While at dps one saturday night, we were 'interrupted' by the neighbours dd (about 18 at the time - and drunk) who had fallen into a hedge and barbed wire fence and cut herself pretty badly on the arm. We had been drinking (no dc in the house - but deepfriedsage this was the neighbours dd, ) and we called a taxi. She wasn't bad enough for an ambulance, and we couldn't get hold of her mother (out drinking herself! ) We sat with her in A&E until 3am, she had a 2" glued back together.

justmatureenough2bdad · 15/11/2013 08:48

if this thread is still going.... it can actually depend on the amount of time over which the alcohol was consumed that determines whether you are over the drink driving limit.

this is because your body metabolises alcohol...

So, if you had 500ml of 12%abv wine, you have taken in approx 6 units of alcohol, or (again) approx 60milligrams... 80milligrams in you blood is the limit....

Your body metabolises approx 1 unit per hour (ie breaks down the alcohol). SO, if you drank your wine over a couple of hours, you probably process a couple of units worth int hat time....leaving you with approx 40mg in your blood. This is less than the limit.

Please note that i try and avoid any alcohol if driving as even a small amount can still impair reflexes etc(dependent on age, weight, food consumption, stress etc), but in these circumstances I can appreciate your dilemma and I hope that this info reassures you that you were probably legal...

sleeplessbunny · 15/11/2013 08:50

Drink driving aside, I think it is a fallacy to believe that it is "quicker" to drive to A&E than to wait for an ambulance. We live an a rural area and had to call an ambulance for DD recently (thankfully it turned out fine), it took about 12 mins for a paramedic to get to us and during that wait (which seems like forever) we were wondering if we should just get her in the car and go. I'm so glad we didn't. As soon as the paramedic arrived she checked DD over, administered some emergency treatment and suddenly she started to get better. My point is that there is no way we could compete with a 12 min wait by driving to hospital. It may have only been a paramedic but that is sufficient to make the difference in critical cases. An ambulance did follow which admittedly took another 15mins but I am so glad we didn't try to drive. And that is in a rural area, I imagine the case would be even stronger in a city.

deepfriedsage · 15/11/2013 08:56

Captain, you sound quite distressed at the thought of loosing your ritual in your post.

currentbuns · 15/11/2013 09:06

OP, you were put on the spot when your judgement was impaired, and you made the wrong decision - but for the right reasons. Just be grateful that everything has turned out alright and don't be hard on yourself.

Justforlaughs · 15/11/2013 09:07

To all those people who are saying that it would be quicker to have called for an ambulance - lovely in theory, but in the 2 of the 3 cases where I have needed urgent assistance for my DCs I have been told in no uncertain terms "put them in the car and drive to A&E as quickly as possibly IT WILL BE QUICKER" No guarantees either way, however, in the case of a possible cardiac arrest I would definitely have rung 999 first and would always advise following their instructions.

jammiedonut · 15/11/2013 09:11

Glad your neighbour isokay, but another who wants to give you a stern talking to. In all honesty you were very lucky to not have caused an accident, injuring yourself, further injuring you neighbour and anyone else unlucky enough to be in your way. Obviously all turned out well and I'm sure you'd never do it again. Incidentally a small 125ml measure is the most I will ever drink on. Two glasses like the ones you had equate to two-thirds of a bottle of wine!

jammiedonut · 15/11/2013 09:14

*drink and drive on.

Fleta · 15/11/2013 09:15

You know something. Yes the OP shouldn't have done it, but faced with a situation like that and adrenaline etc I can totally see why she did.

Nothing came of it - suggest you don't worry too much about it OP and done do it again

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