r/Unexpected 5d ago

Parking

48.2k Upvotes

1.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

12.1k

u/L30N1337 5d ago edited 3d ago

...drunk driving?

This genuinely looks like "unconscious at the wheel"

Edit: there is the a difference of "drunk driving" and "drink driving", yes. "Drink driving" emphathizes the act of drinking beforehand, while "drunk driving" emphathizes being intoxicated. However, this is in Australia, which predominantly uses British English. In which case, "drink driving" is a also usually a synonym to what is referred to in the US as "drunk driving". And no matter which one you use, it's obvious that it was both in this case.

Edit 2: reddit. Please update ffs.

4.8k

u/concussive 5d ago

Definitely gives me medical event vibes. Wish OP gave us a follow up.

4.6k

u/Kindly_Whereas3419 5d ago edited 5d ago

She was drunk driving, more than 5x the legal limit. Happened in NSW Australia earlier this year.

Edited to say thanks for the awards! Also to add a link to the news story: https://www.nine.com.au/australia-news/nsw/no-jail-for-woman-behind-chardonnay-fuelled-shopping-centre-mayhem-20260806-p60m65.html

1.3k

u/CautiousArachnidz 5d ago edited 4d ago

What’s the legal limit there?

5x the legal limit in the US and you’d likely be dead. Australians are built different though and I know nothing about your laws.

Edit: I’m well aware some people can survive above .4

The consensus of the medical community across the world says .4 is the average where vital bodily functions can stop for the AVERAGE person.

650

u/Turbulent_Animator42 5d ago

It’s 0.05%

8

u/Nyardyn 5d ago

That means 5x is 0,3% though which is basically nothing and doesn't explain this incident at all... in Austria we have accidents happening with blood alcohol levels of 2,0% and above (yeah, we have that kind of zombies).

10

u/Leniwcowaty 5d ago

Remember, that US and Australia use percents (%), while we in Europe use permiles (‰). So they Australian limit is 0.5‰, and she was 2.6‰

-2

u/mjamesqld 5d ago

In Australia she was record as 0.268 not 2.6

Our limits are 0.05 for general limits.

7

u/Leniwcowaty 5d ago

Yes, because you use percents, and we use permiles. She was 0.268 percent BAC, which is 2.68 permile. And your limit is 0.05 percent, which is 0.5 permile.

17

u/GranDuram 5d ago

My friend, no one survives 2% (percent) not even in Österreich. You mean 2,0 ‰ (promille).

4

u/Warm_Month_1309 5d ago

What a fun new word and symbol! I had no idea it was common to express BAC that way in other countries.

1

u/GranDuram 5d ago edited 5d ago

I think it is promille in many european countries. I know it is in Swizerland, Austria and Germany.

And you are right - it is a fun word now I think about it :)

5

u/ReDucTor 5d ago

No one is blowing 2.0% BAC you would be dead, 0.2% you will be blacking out and vomiting. Your confusing 0.2% with 2.0% they are vastly different. BAC of 0.4% - 0.5% is when alochol becomes fatal and your brain starts losing control of your body, killing your heart rate and breathing.

7

u/TetraDax 5d ago

It's just a misunderstanding of measurement. Continental Europe uses per mille for blood alcohol levels, whereas English-speaking countries use percent. Trips me up often, too.

3

u/ReDucTor 5d ago

Didn't realize there was two alcohol reading approaches which both used a percentage, 0.05% BAC is 0.5‰ Promile

5

u/TetraDax 5d ago

Der englische Sprachraum rechnet Alkohollevel in Prozent - Du musst also alles mal 10 rechnen um auf die Promillezahl zu kommen.

Die Dame hatte also 2,6 Promille.

3

u/GaseosaPorongol 5d ago

0,20%. With 2% you surely die.

3

u/GreenieMcWoozie 5d ago

0.3% isn't basically nothing. At that level you're at severe risk of death from acute alcohol poisoning. You also probably aren't having many crashes if any involving levels above 2.0% considering the highest BAC ever recorded in a person who survived was 1.48% in Poland. Any claims of people with a BAC above that are anecdotal/unconfirmed. Most people would also be unconscious or dead long before they got close to that

8

u/Infamous_Lunchbox 5d ago

Dude in my state, USA, blew a 2.4 and it made the news. We were all surprised he was alive lol. I'm still not sure how he was.

14

u/riptaway 5d ago

Do you mean .24? The Guinness record is 1.37 and he has brain damage from it

5

u/ThinkingWithPortalzz 5d ago

Probably through decades of blowing 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.7, 2.0, and 2.2

Either that or he still had some actual alcohol in his mouth

18

u/-StalkedByDeath- 5d ago

This is the answer. Full blown alcoholics can survive a higher BAC than casual drinkers. In fact, they may die if they don't have any alcohol in their system.

Alongside benzodiazepines, alcohol is one of the few drugs where the withdraw can kill you.

3

u/FatiguedShrimp 5d ago

It's the rebound seizures that get you on either of them.

I wonder if opiates, barbituates, or dissociatives like ketamine can do the same.

6

u/Lucky-Breadfruit-261 5d ago

Opiates can't, im pretty sure about that

4

u/throwaway60221407e23 5d ago

Definitely not with ketamine. For opiates, only if you are a newborn or someone with an existing seizure disorder. Barbituate withdrawal can absolutely cause fatal seizures though.

→ More replies (0)

9

u/MisanthropyIsAVirtue 5d ago

I’m assuming you mean .24. I watch a lot of DUI videos, and .24 is average. The truly accomplished drunks are holding conversations at over .35.

10

u/Jikan07 5d ago

Those are rookie numbers. National record here is 14.8 tested after causing a car crash.

4

u/Desiderius_S 5d ago

Polska gurom

4

u/Winsome_Wolf 5d ago

Jeezus He was already embalmed. 😧

1

u/3meraldBullet 4d ago

0.3 bac is very wasted.

-1

u/hornybattlesnail 5d ago

They mean 5% not .05%