The article (in the Capital Times) does not mention the (comforting?) thought that, unlike drunken driving, drunken falling is only killing the drunk. Or so I presume. Another annoying thing in this article is that it takes a gratuitous swipe at old people:
Julia Sherman, coordinator of the Wisconsin Alcohol Policy Project... said older people are already at risk from falls and adding alcohol or alcohol in combination with drugs or medications only adds to the problems. “When I hear about happy hours in retirement communities I get worried,” said Sherman. “With the population aging, it’s an area we haven’t looked closely enough at.”But we're given no statistics about the ages of the the falling-down-dead drunks and the only anecdotal evidence is of a 32-year-old woman who fell off a fire escape.
Another thing about falling is that it's a standard type of accident, drunk or sober. Some of the people who fall are going to have had something to drink. It doesn't mean the person was falling-down drunk. For all I know, there are falls that are avoided because those who have had something to drink are walking more slowly and paying more attention to where they are stepping or they are just not walking that much. Whatever, people need to walk from one place to another, and drinking and walking isn't morally wrong, like drinking and driving.
Back in 2011, there was a lot of talk about drinking and walking. The Freakonomics guys popularized the topic:
Steven Levitt: For every mile walked drunk, turns out to be eight times more dangerous than the mile driven drunk. So just to put it simply, if you need to walk a mile from a party to your home, you’re eight times more likely to die doing that than if you jump behind the wheel and drive your car that same mile... For 20 years, we’ve been told you should never, ever drive drunk. We should have been told you should never, ever walk drunk and you should never, ever drive drunk. And because nobody thought about it when we were coming up with what was moral and immoral, somehow now, drunk walking just can’t find its way into the immoral box.Oh, I'm sure some folks are working on that.
ALSO: The use of the word "drunken" is unsupported by the text of the article, which only speaks of "alcohol-related" accidents.
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The essential " statistics do not lie, but liars use statistics" case.
I suspect that many old folks are in pain and forgetful about how much self medication doses they just took.
It has to be made into a "public problem." Then you take ownership of it. See MADD.
Joseph R. Gusfield _The Culture of Public Problems - Drinking-driving and the Symbolic Order_ explains it for drunk driving, which used to be a personal moral failing and not a public problem.
Does obesity aggravate or diminish the injury? I could see where having a lard ass could cushion the impact, but, on the other hand, the added weight could also make the impact more stressful. There's much we don't know about this subject.
"And because nobody thought about it when we were coming up with what was moral and immoral, somehow now, drunk walking just can’t find its way into the immoral box."
Steven Levitt should stick with economics rather than ethics. Sure, it is unwise to walk drunk but hardly immoral. You are unlikely to run over a bystander and kill them while walking.
I would like to know if alcohol-related means any alcohol is in the system, rather than a certain level implying drunkenness.
I remember reading something a few years back that many car accidents are called alcohol-related if any alcohol is detected in the blood or breath of one of the drivers, and even if the driver who caused the accident was alcohol-free.
The spirit of Prohibition lives on! We don't need to prohibit alcohol itself, just all public activities while under the influence: driving, walking, talking (think how many divorces and assaults arise out of drunken conversation?)
Carrie Nation was just born in the wrong century.
"We don't need to prohibit alcohol itself, just all public activities while under the influence: driving, walking, talking..."
You can drink, but only in bed, and only if you get into your final sleeping position before starting to drink. It's easier to drink sitting up, easier to sleep lying down, so you will have to choose. Perhaps a compromise: semi-reclining.
And since I've mentioned bed, I feel I must add -- though it should go without saying -- that you cannot combine drinking and sex. I think that's already been established.
"When I hear about happy hours in retirement communities I get worried, said Sherman."
What kind of curmudgeon begrudges the elderly a little happiness?
"With the population aging, it’s an area we haven’t looked closely enough at.”
Of course not, you cheapies in WI aren't willing to pay your fair share to study this. Every last dollar spent on education was more important than this would-be in-depth peer reviewed scientific glory.
But now with Walker cutting education, especially higher versions, to the bone, there won't be enough money for air conditioning this summer or heat during the cold cold cold WI winters, much less studies that could save lives.
Good luck Badgers, you're gonna damn well need it.
Julia Sherman, on the public sector employee dole, is making damn certain with the old people comment that her gravy train never even slows.
I do wonder a bit about these statistics. About 70% of pedestrians hit by cars are legally drunk. Does that also count ?
If an older person dies while walking after drinking, they presumably go out happy. What a great way to die. Happy.
"For all I know, there are falls that are avoided because those who have had something to drink are walking more slowly and paying more attention to where they are stepping or they are just not walking that much."
That's probably true with auto accidents as well.
What I think is screwy is this:
"For every mile walked drunk, turns out to be eight times more dangerous than the mile driven drunk."
Why compare distance and not time? Time is the constant metric, after all. I'd guess that for the average person walking a mile takes about twenty minutes. Driving a mile takes ... well, it depends. Would it be accurate to say "For every HOUR walked drunk, turns out to be eight times more dangerous than the HOUR driven drunk."
Somehow, I doubt it.
In 2005, Ford installed secret black boxes in every car sold in Oklahoma. The black boxes would record all the data coming from the sensors, as well as the voices, when moving.
Oklahoma seemed to be having more deaths per 1000, as compared to surrounding states.
After analyzing the data, and listening to the voices, they found that in almost ever case, the Okies would be recorded saying "Her, hold on to my beer, and watch this shit" just before killing themselves.
Engineers want a device to prevent this from happening, sociologists want a way just to keep Okies from breeding.
Hmm, "her, hold" should be "Here, hold"
I spilled some beer on my keyboard, and the e is sticky.
I may have to drive to Office Depot after I finish this six pack.
I bet a lot of those walking deaths are from head injuries. We should pass laws requiring all pedestrians to wear protective helmets. Safety first.
Julia Sherman should stop for a moment and think about the fact that she'll be old someday.
Unless, she tries to pull a glass of bourbon out of the hands of a 70-something in some retirement community and he beats her to death with his fists.
I was driving after having too much to drink while getting a blow-job from a girl in the passenger seat who had had too much to drink.
She didn't call it rape and I didn't crash the car.
Not sure where this fits into the statistics, other than the fact that the 1972 AMC Javelin was the Best Car in the World.
I am Laslo.
"I was driving after having too much to drink while getting a blow-job from a girl in the passenger seat"
A friend of mine was getting a blowjob as he was driving and at the moment of truth he almost hit the center divider. That stuff is dangerous, Laslo, even sober.
"That stuff is dangerous, Laslo, even sober."
I make most of my worst decisions while sober.
Probably statistics for that, too.
I am Laslo.
Why do so many people use the construction, "I haven't drank [whiskey] in over ten years"?
I was working for a while at a rural regional medical center -- and I was surprised at the number of "disabled" folks who had arrived at that diagnosis via an episode of intoxication -- either alcohol or drugs.
"More people die of drunk walking in Wisconsin than drunk driving because the EEEEEEVIL Scott Walker ground them so far down into privacy to finance his secret routers that they cannot afford to drive anymore!" -- #$*#! Garage Mahal said, Vols.I - XXIII
If it is dangerous the government should tax the shit out of it. They should also tax stuff I don't like.
"privacy" = "poverty"
Why do so many people use the construction, "I haven't drank [whiskey] in over ten years"
Because to use the correct past participle "drunk" makes it sound like you're saying you were "drunk" to people who aren't really listening. And "drunk" is bad, right?
Anyway, I think when you're drinking that exercise makes you drunker. Dancing, or walking "to sober up" just drives the alcohol through your system more thoroughly. Don't ask me how I know.
My son fell to his death at age 18 while very drunk. I give talks to university and high school students now, and one of my main themes is that I assume that my son was thinking that night "it doesn't matter how much I drink because I'm not driving." The campaign to keep everyone from drinking and driving has been very good, but there are many other risks from drinking too much alcohol.
I'm sorry you lost your son, Hugh.
One of my sons got injured... not to death, but seriously injured... just jumping from a height. He thought he could do it, but was mistaken. People make mistakes. Alcohol can be part of a mistake, but even sober, we can be careless and we can misjudge. It's very sad to look back at these mistakes.
Thank you for your kind note Ann
And yet considering my mother in law spent two weeks in the hospital and has been in a nursing home for the past three weeks because my drunken father in law fell on her and broke her knee, I have no problems whatsoever believing that drunken old people are at risk.
Indeed, my drunken in-laws call 911 every few months to get my drunken FIL off the ground after he has fallen.
The only reason they don't have to call 911 when my drunken MIL falls is because my 250-lb FIL can lift my 110-lb MIL.
Anecdata, yet - it happens.
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