Recently moved here from DC so this might be a naive and virginal take but I gotta say I did not expect “drunk driving” to be a staple of the culture here. Drunk drivers are everywhere but at least back home I never met people who clearly do it. If you’re out drinking it’s a huge taboo to get in your car at all; most people take some combination of public transit or Uber if they live in the suburbs or have cash / stayed out past Metro hours. Now it seems like every dude I go on a date with is getting in the car after a beer or two which, okay, fine, that’s legal BAC, but I get the impression people many don’t stop there while drinking casually on the weekend. I’ve had this all but confirmed by several locals.

Logically I understand how this happens - no usable public transit outside of a few expensive neighborhoods, bars are an easy and cheap way to socialize, even a non-rush-hour Uber is wildly expensive because of sprawl, and lots of people are atomized / transitory so may not be able to coordinate a carpool with a designated driver. I have a hard line against driving with a single drop in my system due to some meds I’m on that make me a lightweight. I only drink if my date is willing to drive, which requires a certain level of familiarity (firmly third-date-or-later territory) and sets up a power dynamic I don’t love. It’s basically killed my desire to go out to bars and chat with people, which is a lot less fun when you’re the only sober person. And then you get to drive home knowing a fair number of people on the road are not sober. Fun!