Would you be a taxi for your drunk neighbor?

If they were a friend, probably but I wouldn’t want them to make it a habit. It would be stretching the friendship. Why couldn’t they order a cab?

If I didn’t know them very well, no.

No. Like Bellatrix stated, it might become a habit or an inticement for the neighbor to drink more, knowing he had a neighbor that would furnish him a ride.

Nah, just tell em you’ll park their car after they drive home.

Once, and I would make that clear. After that it’s enabling. But One time, on new years, sure. I would rather pick them up than read about them in the paper.

@Judi “You get one of these a year, and you just used it.”

XD

@XOIIO , EXACTLY!

I’ll tell you about a conversation that I had with my kids when they started high school.

I told them that I didn’t want them to drink when they were underage, which they already knew. But then I told them that other kids often weren’t as well-behaved as I knew my kids to be. So they might find themselves in a situation where they had gotten a ride to a place and then the driver started drinking. I told them to be perfectly secure in the knowledge that they could call me at any time, from any place, and that I would come to them and pick them up. Further, I told them that I wouldn’t give them any “attitude” or embarrass them in front of their friends, and I would even cheerfully drive home the driver himself or anyone else who was stranded. And I wouldn’t lecture anyone at all. I also told them that if they were the ones who had drunk, that the offer applied to them as well – and we could talk about consequences some other time. I told them that if I couldn’t make it to where they were, then I’d call a cab for them myself and pay for it, with a generous tip to the driver.

So, would I drive my drunk neighbor home if called? Sure. Especially because my kids, my friends or my other neighbors might be on the road that night, too.

Yes. As @Judi said, I would do it once. Or, let’s say once every five years. More than that they need to stop drinking, pay for a cab, or sleep where they are.

@CWOTUS don’t you think your kids and other teens are different than an adult neighbor? Or you treat them all the same?

Yes, I would do it. Not happily, but I would.

Yes, absolutely. I’ve given people rides home under these circumstances.. not neighbors, but friends. (But, the neighbors that have my phone number are also my friends.) I certainly wouldn’t encourage them making a habit of it, but jeez, I can’t imagine what kind of guilt I would feel if I said no and they ended up hurting themselves or someone else, or worse. Screw that. I’ll pick you up.

I would. They’ve helped me out when I needed a ride because my husband doesn’t drive anymore. The neighbor took me to the hospital.

Yes, always. One night’s inconvenience versus a death from drunk driving is easy to balance.

When I was a teen-ager and allowed to date, my father (who was a rather distant and forbidding man) told me over and over that I could call him at any time and from anywhere if I needed him to come and get me, whatever the reason. Drinking, sloppy date, or just the need to escape…it was very reassuring for me to hear this from a man who didn’t give out hugs or compliments easily.

@JLeslie if they’ve had one drink too many, then they’re pretty much all the same: incapable of proper judgment. And my neighbor hasn’t made any demands on me – and has been a friendly and helpful neighbor – for over 9 years now. I’d be happy to help him out.

@CWOTUS I’m with you that I would happily help my neighbor, but I would not offer like I would to my children. My children, I would let them know to always call me if they wound up too drunk to drive, or the driver they went with became too drunk, or if the people they were with began to engage in activities that made my child uncomfortable, or were illegal. Call me, mommy will come and get you every time. Using good judgment in the end will be most important. But, adults should be better at predicting the situation, and being able to handle situations on their own. That is why I said one time, absolutely, happily, any time of night. More than once in a short time, I am starting to judge them, and am not going to enable their irresponsible activities, as much as I at least do find not driving home to be responsible.

If I were good friends with them I would the one time, that’ll be clear to them.

Yes. But I’d make it clear he has to plow my driveway for the next two snowfalls.

Yes if it is not a regular thing. If it is, do I get to name my rate?

Considering I don’t drive, no… at least not where I am in life right now. If I end up driving later on in life and feel confident in my driving abilities, I might consider it.