Wisconsin has lot of drunk drivers

[discocrisco01]

While mindless surfing through Google News headlines, this story caught my attention

"-

Madison Police Dept. (MPD) tentatively arrested a 55-year-old women for her 8th OWI Friday night.

According to an incident report, MPD responded to a vehicle stuck in a snow bank on the 1400 block of Pleasure Drive.

Upon arrival, police said they found Ellen Oswald trying to dig her vehicle out of a snow bank while not wearing shoes or socks. Officials noted the vehicle was still in gear and the tires were spinning.

MPD said Oswald was tentatively arrested on the following charges after getting a medical clearance: OWI 8th offense, operating while revoked, bail jumping, warrant for 7th offense OMVWI and warrant for bail jumping"

And this stuff happens all of the time, if you live in that state, you know what I am talking about. I don't live there, but I do check OWI news to remind myself what happens if I relapse from my sobriety (I have almost eight years).

Eight times getting caught driving drunk. Maybe you should just drink at home like I did and never get caught, but not her. What does the state about the drinking culture? I do not know, but I do know that people in that state do a lot of drinking and driving.

[Archae]

1. Wisconsin is a drinking state.

Always was.

[mopinko]

6. yup. back when wi age was 18, but il was 21

the border was a blood bath.
my 1st hubs wrapped his brand new mustang abound a tree coming back from a rural bar.
he shoulda died, but all he did was knock his front teeth out and break both knees.
lotsa kids werent so lucky.

[Archae]

7. I turned 18 during those years...

Got plowed on my 18th birthday on peppermint schnapps.

Next day I decided absolutely never to get drunk again.

[LeftInTX]

10. LOL Peppermint schnapps

That's a Wisconsin thing!

[xmas74]

18. I'm originally from WI

They used to call it s blood border for a good reason. Kids from IL,MN and MI would cross at 18, 19 and drink then drive home drunk.

[mopinko]

24. yup. i still cant believe he survived that crash.

they had to cut him out of the car. totaled.

[hauckeye]

2. I live in Racine Wisconsin and on the radio yesterday..

They were talking about a poll that says Wisconsinites drink an average of 1000 alcoholic beverages a year. I’m certainly not holding up my end- I may have a drink once a week at most. There’s some heavy drinking going on in the Badger state.

[jcgoldie]

4. 1000 a year?

Thats only like 3 a day... slackers!

[KY_EnviroGuy]

3. It's a big deal every winter in WI to go bar-hopping in snowmobiles.....

or at least it was back in the 90s when I traveled there regularly. There's a massive network of snowmobile trails and several people are killed or seriously injured each year from accidents. I do miss visiting their supper clubs.

Every state seems to have their forms of insanity. Here, it's the annual month of crazy called the Kentucky Derby.


KY.......
(previous participant in the crazy in several states)

[LeftInTX]

13. And every year, one would go through a lake!

I hate snowmobiles...I hate them...

[StClone]

5. Explains a lot about the Cheez-whiz State

Alcohol consumption in excess has well-documented negative effects on both short- and long-term health, one of which is brain damage that can lead to Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia.

Wolf hunt insanity, a lot of nuts involved in the Michigan Governors assassination attempt, some in on the National Capitol insurrection, a lot of Trumpkins...so much crazy.

[LeftInTX]

12. They do not serve Cheez-whiz in WI...Cheez-whiz is not real cheese

[StClone]

16. Believe me we sell Cheez Whiz here in Wisconsin

It is a euphemism for saying how great we are as a state and it is all a fake out. We are a state that is organized choas of Right Wing (Koch influence peddling) buffoonery. Not anything to be proud of let alone being some sort of magical thinking, we are the "Dairy State."

[CTyankee]

17. Hubby inherited a very nice summer house in Door County. Sold his half to his neice who lives

in Madison. The property had really appreciated over the years and he made a lot of money. I liked DC but it was a pain in the neck getting there from CT. There were lovely concerts played by an orchestra originally made up of members of the Chicago Symphony who summered there.

There sure are a lot of drinkers there. Hubby loved going back for the beer he practically grew up drinking.

Neither of us drinks any more, but we still have dear neighbors who send us emails...it always centers on fish dinners (not to be confused with fish boils) and tall glasses of beer. They were the best neighbors you could have!

[dsc]

8. WI has been known for years for drinking (beer capital of the world etc)

but that said, given the very steep penalties for DUI it is only the hard corps addicts (be they alcoholics or drug addicts) who are driving impaired nowadays. If a non addict gets caught once, she or he is very, very unlikely to repeat offend. In many locales a DUI winds up costing five figures in fines, atty fees, and increased insurance rates.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

9. And I thought my state, New Mexico was bad.

I frequently see a small article in the local paper about someone being arrested for their 7th or 9th DUI. People here kill others in a DUI, spend little or no time in prison, and then kill someone else. Ahhh, freedom, right?

I love to drink. I am happy consuming alcohol. But I will NOT drive if I've had so much as one drink.

[LeftInTX]

11. WI has a drinking culture...a bar on every corner -German, Polish heritage

I cannot imagine WI during prohibition!
Prohibition was basically was an anti-German thing

[Initech]

14. Some people just don't give a fuck.

True story - I was at my favorite pizza place one time several years ago and I was sitting at the bar having a beer. These two guys across the bar were talking and I happened to overhear their conversation. One guy had 7 DUIs. The other guy? He had 8 DUIs. And they were sitting at a bar drinking before going to court ordered rehab. One had just got out of a jail sentence and had his license revoked, and was cursing out the judge. For me that was enough to be like "Yeah I don't want to be like those guys".

[GusBob]

19. My friend had like 5 or 6 DUIs

The cops in the small town knew his car and would just wait. This was before UBER

He showed up to his court hearing drunk and started arguing with the judge

He went to jail for a couple years

[SmartVoter22]

15. We've had football longer than anyone

Football and drinking are a combined behavior, since football showed up.
that would be the late 1800's in Wisconsin, with the Acme Packing company team, the packers.
Until it was official in 1920, the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League.

So 100 years of football and drinking and cooking out might have an effect on drinking in Wisconsin.

Plus we had all the breweries; Pabst, Schlitz, Miller, Rahrs etc. etc etc.

[GusBob]

21. I think it's more than football

Your last sentence hits on it......German culture
,
But there are a lot of factors otherwise
As far as activities, ice fishing, bowling, church picnics, fish fries, snowmobiling, bar culture in small rural towns, deer camps, summer cabins, supper clubs

Wisconsin sounds like fun

[milestogo]

20. If there were a drunk driving category in the Olympics, Wisconsin would win the gold medal.

Worst laws, most drunken and half drunk drivers.

And I live there. I used to live on a relatively busy street where parked cars were routinely hit after the bars closed and people were on their way home.

[GusBob]

23. I recall a law enforcement officer once telling me

On a Saturday night 90 percent of the drivers were under the influence after midnite

[shrike3]

22. Congratulations on your sobriety. I know more than a few people who've been down that road

and it ain't easy. I have mad respect for those who make it as far as you have.

If you can bear a very sad reminder, here's one from my state. An architect, who was not a friend, but whom I knew, had multiple OWIs. One night he was on the road and hit a motorcycle. The driver and passenger, husband and wife out on a date night, were killed. At the scene of the accident, he kept repeating, "my life is over." It was. He is now serving time. His adult son was in the courtroom when he was sentenced and wept.

I knew him in a professional capacity and he was intelligent, accomplished and personable. It's a hell of a drug.

[Hotler]

25. Wisconsin has a federal grant for drinking.