It could happen to anyone. You’re at a party or a bar or a restaurant, and you notice that a friend of yours has had too much to drink and has become inebriated. You know that the situation is getting hazardous for both them and others because they still intend to drive home. How would you go about persuading them to listen to logic? How would you convince them to be cautious? How would you persuade a drunk friend not to drive? It might seem that, no matter what you do, they’re just not going to listen, but there are some ways you can help. Read on to find out more.
Tell Them Not To Drive
To start with, you must tell your friend not to drive. This is crucial. If you say nothing, then you won’t have played your part. If necessary, be more forceful than normal. Regardless of the statements and comments that may follow as a result of the drink, stay calm and polite. Don’t take anything personally. Instead, tell him you’re doing it to keep them safe. You could even talk about how, if they insist on driving home, they’ll get into trouble and could hurt someone who would then use smart motorcycle accident attorneys to sue them and cause them even more problems.
Be Consistent
Given their situation, your friend may not understand what you’re saying or listen to you the first time you talk to them. Don’t give up. For example, ask them to repeat what you just said to see whether they understand the issue at all. Find additional excellent reasons for them not to drive by discussing the repercussions on his job, life goals, family, or worse if he causes an accident while drunk.
Throughout whatever you’re saying, maintain your clarity, firmness, kindness, and be calm. The aim is not to be correct or to win a fight; the aim is to ensure your friend does not drive drunk.
Refuse All Excuses
Your friend will almost certainly attempt to persuade you that they will be fit to drive after a strong cup of coffee or a good cold shower. Unfortunately, these – and other – ideas won’t remove the alcohol from their body or the repercussions of a positive test or an accident.
No matter what plans they might have to sober up, it’s never going to be enough. Alcohol takes many hours to leave the body, so much so that driving even the morning after a night of drinking might be too soon. They must simply not drive, and instead get a lift or a cab home.
Get The Car Keys
If all else fails, you’ll need to get their car keys away from them, and this might mean you have to be sneaky. One way to do this is to wait until your friend has their keys in their hand, and then you can request them along with a valid reason (you might need to get something from the car, for example). Then, either move their vehicle or conceal the keys so that they can’t find them. Given their drunken state, your friend might have soon forgotten that he had given you his keys, so don’t mention it yourself.
