State's lax open-container law means less federal road money

Each year illegal aliens, giving birth in Tennessee, run up hospital bills exceeding $60 million. We Tennesseeans are forced to pay those bills.

I'm more concerned w/stopping the $60 million going to helping illegal aliens have babies in TN than someone sitting in the backseat of a car drinking a beer.

I agree with you Marie however I'm not sure on the totals. I have been the designated driver on more than one ocassion, and alot of the time it is the only way to defuse a situation. You just get your happy drunks in the car by promising them a 6 pack or something like that. Most of the time they will come with you like little pups and nobody gets hurt.

Illegal "aliens" have invaded Tn.LOL

drinking will be tennessee next ban!

I dont think the drinking and driveing laws in the state of tennessee are tough enough. I have seen many cases in the past few years where someone has been killed by a drunk driver who has been arrested and convicted of DUI's and are still on the road driveing. I have seen other states where its illegal to even have a acholic container inside the vehicles, it must be transported in the trunk of the car or in the back of the truck bed, and I that would be a good idea for any state.

It makes no sense... Keep liberalizing the sale of alcohol....but keep tightening the laws against drinking it...

There is no god wrote:

This is not about Drinking and Driving,
This is about Drinking and Riding.
Two different things.
I think I will go out and get a DAMM bumper sticker
DAMM = Drunks Against Mad Mothers.

Another mental midget chimes in..or perhaps a feeble attempt at humor for those on the lower rungs. Sigh.

alot of true southern lack of mentality for people that support drinking and riding. It's as bad as my daughter being mauled 5x by a neighborhood dog, and the animal having more rights then my daughter has. eventually the good old boy mentality will be overcome with the smart old boy, but alas, with a church, pawnshop, and used car lot on every corner as it is now, I severely doubt it.

the watchdog wrote:

It makes no sense... Keep liberalizing the sale of alcohol....but keep tightening the laws against drinking it...

Yeppie I agree it makes about as much sense of letting drug dealers pay taxes on illegal drugs that can't be used against them later for prosecution.

Mike N wrote:

alot of true southern lack of mentality for people that support drinking and riding. It's as bad as my daughter being mauled 5x by a neighborhood dog, and the animal having more rights then my daughter has. eventually the good old boy mentality will be overcome with the smart old boy, but alas, with a church, pawnshop, and used car lot on every corner as it is now, I severely doubt it.

This post bothered me so I thought surely a guy that let a dog maul his daughter 5 times is really not arguing the point of southern mentality. You know that it is these drinkers that are paying for the schools that the kids attend. What's wrong with them being picked up in a cab or having a friend drive them home after they have had too much too drink. I have had police officers tell me to make sure they had enough so that they would not be tempted to drive out after more later. So all I have done is try to protect my friends and my neighbors from a tragic accident possibly. Still the southern remark bothers me especially after an underage friend of mine was served in a Michigan bar and was killed leaving the place. So my thoughts are the road that brought you to the south will take you back north or where ever and maybe if you get lucky your daughter won't get hit by a drunk underage driver.

dave wrote:

<quoted text>This post bothered me so I thought surely a guy that let a dog maul his daughter 5 times is really not arguing the point of southern mentality. You know that it is these drinkers that are paying for the schools that the kids attend. What's wrong with them being picked up in a cab or having a friend drive them home after they have had too much too drink. I have had police officers tell me to make sure they had enough so that they would not be tempted to drive out after more later. So all I have done is try to protect my friends and my neighbors from a tragic accident possibly. Still the southern remark bothers me especially after an underage friend of mine was served in a Michigan bar and was killed leaving the place. So my thoughts are the road that brought you to the south will take you back north or where ever and maybe if you get lucky your daughter won't get hit by a drunk underage driver.

the key word there is "let" as you so eloquently apply it. 1st of all I was detained by the police department for going onto the property where the animal resided, was told under penalty of arrest that I could not poison, trap, shoot the animal (as they confiscated my weapon) nor under tennessee law which was voted down 7 times due to hunters stating their animals should be allowed to run free and a maximum fine of $50 per bite could be given. that the owners could not be sued for negligence even though knowingly and willingly allowing a known dangerous animal to roam free. Had 4 other animals removed from their property as animal control finally caught them off the property (which states by the way thats the only place police can intervene or evidence of breakage of skin in which case they impound the animal for 10 days at a cost of $35)

as for the road that brought me here, it was the promise of southern hospitality, togetherness, and friendship to which has availed itself to selfishness, good old boy network, and a few extremely nice people that I have met trying to live inbetween. I am truely sorry for the loss of your friend, and having lost a family member to a drunk driver who "tried" to pass off his beer to a buddy, this kinda hits a raw nerve.

If You are old enough to drink you should be smart enough to think that there is such a thing as a designated driver. just as if you where in a limo or a bus !!!!