Hi, I want to write a scene in which a drunk alcoholic driver runs over (as in crushes beneath the car) a person. Unfortunately, I don't have much knowledge of alcohol or crushing people with a car, so I was hoping maybe someone here who has read about this type of stuff could help me out. 1) Why is an alcoholic addicted to alcohol (for example, is it the taste)? 2) What is the world like in the eyes of a drunk person (for example, is everything higher than everything should be, or is everything swirly, or is everything blurry)? 3) What does a driver feel when s/he hits someone (for example, a thump)? 4) The car in the story will be a sedan. Is it at all possible (just possible, not likely) that a drunk driver would hit a person, send him/her flying, and then run over (crush) him/her when s/he is sprawled on the ground after landing? 5) If the answer to 4 was yes: What does a driver feel when s/he runs over someone (for example, a bump?) and when someone is crushed by a car, is there blood? And if there is blood, how does it appear (for example, spraying everywhere)? Sorry if these questions get a little gruesome - I really need the details. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this and/or providing answers!
I can answer a few of your questions, as I drink alcohol on a regular basis. 1. Your brain and liver look at alcohol as a poison (which it is), so every time you drink it your brain and liver must alter themselves to accept it more. The more you drink, the more tolerant you get of it. Remember though, it's still a poison even if your body is getting used to it. Like any drug you take for an extended period of time (anti depressants, pain relievers, etc) your body becomes reliant on it, and simply cannot function without said drug. There are many reasons as to why someone would get to the addicted stage though, some people are physically addicted to it and some are mentally addicted - some drink to deal with the stress, or depression, or whatever. That's basically alcohol addiction to the best of my descriptive abilities. 2. The main effect of alcohol is in your frontal lobe - the part of the brain that tells you not to drink and drive, not to ask a girl out (if you're a nervous person), and many other things. If you drink enough liquor (and not in all cases, but NEVER do it), your frontal lobes may not tell you driving home right now is a bad idea (I've been a victim of that recently, NEVER again will I drive to a party). As for what the world is like as a drunk person, and more specifically my eyes - you don't really care about the world, you care about now. Depending on how much I've had to drink, I may not even care what I say to people (the frontal lobe not doing its job again!). You're more care free, more social, and you aren't afraid to get hurt. 3. I hope I never find out. 4. I'd assume so, the sedan would definitely send the person flying several feet or metres (depending on the speed), if the driver doesn't let off the gas they may run over the person they've hit. 5. Unless they're a sociopath, I'd imagine they'd feel quite remorseful even in their drunken state.
Hi, Having had a drunk woman crash into the back of my car about a month ago, I can say that remorse is very common. So is trying to persuade me (the victim) not to call the police. After that there's the pleading - as in please don't call the cops, I'll go to jail and my two kids won't have anyone to look after them. As for the rest, I'll answer as best I can. 1 Not all drunk drivers are alcoholics. Some just drink with no need to keep drinking, but then make foolish decisions while drunk such as the idea of getting behind the wheel. As to why people drink, its a complex thing. Yes some like the taste, I personally think that a cold bear on a hot afternoon is heaven. Some like the feeling of being drunk - i.e. the merriness. Some like to hang out with friends who drink - i.e. it'sa socialthing and no one wants to be the boring tea tottaller. And some have physiological addictions which means if they stop they'll get seriousside effects - delerium tremens. 2 It depends on the person and how drunk they are. You can google the effects of alcohol. 3 I assume there'd be a bump, but as to how loud it is and how it sounds it'll depend mainly on how fast you hit. Basically the faster you hit the louder the noise, and potentially the more liquid sounding. 4 Yes. When you hit someone you can knock them in three or four ways. Up and over the bonnet. To the sides. Under the car. Or further away from the car. But then because people are less aerodynamic and have greater friction on th road surface, they are more likely to slow down faster than the car if its not breaked. Meaning that they could be hit again. 5 Depends. Every crash is different. I once attended a crash where a man had been driving with his elbow out the window and a large truck coming the other way on a narrow bridge collected it. The arm was completely shattered and there was blood everywhere. Yuck! I attended another where a young man sideswiped me and an oncomming car then sailed off down a bank as he lost control, rolled half a dozen times and ended up upside down in a river trapped in his seat with his hair getting wet. No blood at all, but an awful lot of hysterical people. Cheers, Greg.
It's going to be hard for you to write an authentic scene with alcohol if you have no experience with it. 1 - Alcohol is a very powerful drug. A high enough dose can kill you. No alcoholic is addicted because of its taste. Most people will say alcohol tastes bad, the higher the alcohol content of the drink the worse it tastes. Alcohol is a depressant (opposed to a stimulant), and decreases your mental and physical abilities. It is used as an escape to depression, as an escape to stress, or to enhance a social environment (when sober, some people would never get a tattoo, after enough drinks, you will think a giant snake tattoo on your chest is a great idea, and this irrational thinking/decision making is present in all scenarios of a person who is drunk.) Because abuse of alcohol alters the brains chemistry, the body will develop a tolerance to the drug. Meaning a larger amount of alcohol is required to achieve the same rush that a user had on their first experience. If a person is truly addicted they will need alcohol simply to function. Without the drug they will suffer from anxiety, insomnia, hallucinations, seizures, and possibly death. For one, or all of these reasons an alcoholic cannot stop drinking. Imagine it like this. Say you woke tomorrow and you were able to fly. Without effort, you could go anywhere you wanted, flying over landmarks, oceans, cities, just like Superman. And you had this power for a couple years until one morning you wake up and you can't fly anymore more. How horrible would that feel? All the fun you had with that power would be gone forever. This is what alcoholics and drug addicts are, they're all flying... 2 - When a person is drunk they get tunnel vision. If they focus on one object everything else in their peripheral vision becomes blurred. Combined with slow reflexes, and bad coordination, and you see why its dangerous to drive drunk. 3 - When a car accident happens, even at a very low speed, it makes a tremendous noise. As in dropping a thousand pounds of bricks onto concrete loud. I've never seen a pedestrian get hit by a car, but I imagine the sound of their bones breaking, and the thud of their body against the hood of the car would make a very loud noise. I've been in a car that ran over a raccoon and it did make a noticeable jolt. 4 - Anything can happen! Physics can be very cruel. 5 - It would be like driving over a speed bump. There might be a lot of blood, there might be none, depends on when the heart stops beating.
I hit a squirrel last week. I heard the thunk and felt the impact of his tiny body. I was not drunk. He just flew out in the middle of the road before I could stop. I felt horrible. My husband hit a decent sized dog about 10 years ago and I will never forget the sound. It's hard to describe. It's a dull "thunk" sound. But we also heard the poor beast yelp a pitifully high pitched sound as he went under the car. The fur and skin on his legs were torn, though it wasn't bleeding immensely. His hip was broken and he couldn't move without shreaking yet, his body tremored causing him to continually yelp. There was skin and fur stuck in the front corner of the car and we had to pry it out later. I know it's not a human, but it's as close as I have come to personal experience with your scenario.
I know this one is quite an old post, however, all I found all these questions quite useful and often ignored. My uncle has been working for a Los Angeles DUI lawyer and he tells me these questions though are important but don’t play much role while determining the penalties and sentences.
I was quite amused by the second question, I must admit. Don't ask strangers online what being drunk feels like; go and sink a few beers. You know, for research.
I’m an alcoholic and though I have driven drunk manny times like a dumbass I fortunately never hurt any one. Whay does the alcoholic drink? It is as simple as this. The alcoholic has a problem that exists inside them an alcohol solves that problem. And it works very well. Alcohol is not the problem it is the solution to the problem. The problem could be significant like trauma or as insignificant as he doesn’t get the recognition at work he feels he deserves. What ever it is there is something in the alcoholic that they are afraid to confront so they drink. In my opinion your story would be greatly improved if you fleshed out the character of the alcoholic. Why does he drink why did he drink that day. Or maybe that’s just me because I find alcoholism interesting Wha t does the drunk see? When I got extremely drunk ai would see in doubles
I know and have known many alcoholics. Most of them behave just like alcohol was a ticket to different place. It is a place that has been built around them, for them, because of them. It is very narcissistic world and just for them. Most of them are never as selfish without drinking.
