Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

economist.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 383 posts

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#171

Post by CPLX »

Griffinsauce wrote: post #115
wapz wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 20+ miles out in the middle of nowhere That's the reason there are no cabs and I don't blame cab drivers. They don't get paid to sit around 40 minutes to find a passenger. I'm surprised that finding an uber in one of those places is not difficult either. Outside of the US, a lot of the population is very condensed (well the US is to some degree) making cabs and public transportation much more efficient/effective IM…

Sounds like a perfect case for autonomous cars. They don't have to be paid to wait.

I suspect that the main obstacle for self driving cars, if they do eventually exist, is not going to be finding use cases for them.

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#173

Post by alkonaut »

pluma wrote: post #156
zer0tonin wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's harder to kill someone on a bike tho.

Directly? Yes. Indirectly? No. You're still posing a traffic hazard.

I'd say the risk of killing someone or causing an incident is much lower when riding drunk on a bike than in a car. To cause a major accident while drunk on a bike (that doesn't only involve yourself) you need an unfortunate chain of events such as a car avoiding you and running into someone else.

For starters, I can usually go most places by bike without doing it on the same roads as cars. (I know that's rarely the case in the US though). If that's not possible, and you are so drunk you can't ride a bike (I can certainly ride a bike safer than a car while drunk simply because the speed is much slower so the reaction times are longer) - then leave the bike too. Walk or get a cab.

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#175

Post by B1FF_PSUVM »

pluma wrote: post #152
m-j-fox wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Walking and cycling are going to get you killed at the same rate if not higher as driving. I guess you're not as likely to kill someone else.

I think that's also something that's different in the US: individualism. I wouldn't normally call e.g. Germany a "collectivist" society but in comparison to the attitudes I frequently hear about from Americans (especially in politics) Germans apparently genuinely care more about their fellow citizens. Not being as likely to kill someone else is the entire point. Heck, drunk cycling is only slightly better than drunk…

> different in the US: individualism

It's funny, but in the US it's common for college freshmen to have two choices of lodging: either in a fraternity (Animal House, the movie ;-) or in a dorm room, two people per room (hence the 'Roommate from Hell' stories that grace the internet).

Not big on leaving individuals alone.

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#178

Post by hueving »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #168
hueving wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps you haven't committed the crime of living in a poor neighborhood or looking like a minority.

Aren't most taxi drivers [in NYC] from "minority" populations? Do they really discriminate in this way?

Yes, some the most racist taxi drivers I have encountered were minorities with prejudices against other minorities. Everyone is afraid to call a minority a bigot so this behavior tends to be unchecked compared to when a white guy does it.

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#179

Post by gambiting »

xxs wrote: post #133
alkonaut wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty irresponsible of someone to drive drunk to save $20-30. I could never imagine doing that over the options (riding a bike, ignore going to the bar in the first place etc).

in some place drunk riding a bike might have similar repercussions [incl. criminal charges above certain levels].

In Poland riding a bike while drunk results in losing your driving licence.

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#180

Post by rmc »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #162
metafunctor wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not quite as taboo as many other countries [1], unfortunately. You give two excuses to drink and drive. Both are indefensible. The first excuse is "need a car to get around, have car". I live in a sparsely populated area as well, and everyone uses a car to get around. When we go out drinking, we plan ahead. The most common options are designated drivers, taxis, sleeping over, walking, or cycling. The second excuse is…

A lot of people simply don't care . They feel they can make it, they're skilled enough. It's actually similar to speeding, which incidentally is responsible for more traffic deaths and accidents - drivers don't give a fuck, they're smarter than the system. The only way I know of actually beating some reason into people thinking like that is through heavy and sure penalties. Lots of alcohol spot-checks. Automatic tick…

Exactly, it's more socially acceptable in the USA.
Post reply on HN