A tale of a McHenry New Year’s Eve with police and ambulances that could be avoided

Situations, such as this, are easily avoided for

McHenry revelers New Year's Eve. Don't drive.
Hire a cab, an Uber or a limo and focus on
the celebration without worries.

It’s 1 a.m. and the neighbors, those who went out to parties on New Year’s Eve, are safely arriving at their McHenry homes in taxis, Ubers and limos. But that’s not how it’s worked out for you.

Over your wife’s objections, you insisted you could drive yourself. Now, red lights are flashing and you’re anxiously trying to see if your wife is okay after you lost control and ran into a tree. But you’re having trouble looking after your wife because an officer is insisting that you take some tests while an ambulance is anticipated.

The tests aren’t usually difficult. In fact, any other day, you would probably call them simple and easy.

There’s this bit about doing the alphabet. Then there’s the part where you touch your nose. Finally, you have to walk a simple line. But it’s not so simple now with the influence of all the drinks you were enjoying just a short time ago.

As the ambulance arrives and they strap your wife into a stretcher, the officer snaps handcuffs onto your wrists. The paramedics slide you wife’s stretcher into the back of the ambulance as the officer slides you into the backseat of the SUV with the word “POLICE” printed on the sides.

This is distinctly not how you expected the night to go. In fact, as you and your wife dressed up for the festivities, her in a shimmering silver dress and you in a black tux, the emotion you felt about the evening was anticipation, the way a young boy looks forward to going to a theme park.

It didn’t work out that way. But you’re still lucky.

Your wife will survive the accident and, though you’ll spend several-thousand dollars on lawyer fees, court costs, DUI classes and the deductible on your insurance, the higher insurance costs is a penalty delayed until you renew your insurance policy.

The inconvenience until you get your license back will pass. And, next year, you’ll have another shot at New Year’s Eve without the drama, pain and shame of another DUI.

This year is a good year to start calling a taxi or Uber. Or, you might just have a limo come to the house and pick you and the wife up in style. You can have a wonderful time without the slightest worry about how you’ll get home to your McHenry home when the party is over.

Of course, maybe you can drive yourself without trouble. But, on the other hand, even if you don’t crash into a tree, there are extra police on McHenry roads keeping an eye out for those few who decided to drive themselves to the parties.

Have a Very Happy and Safe New Year!

Comments

Is your antifreeze safe from freezing this Richmond winter

You still have time to have it checked Well, there’s no denying it – winter tends to get chilly here in Richmond. We have to deal with snow and ice on the roads, scraping the same off our windows and windshield, and staying warm while we drive. Of course, you had your antifreeze checked before winter rolled into town. What?! You didn’t have your antifreeze checked before winter clamped down on Richmond? So, how’s your antifreeze doing? If you haven’t had it checked, there’s really no way of knowing, is there? This car has overheated in the middle of a Richmond winter. But, on the other end of the spectrum, the antifreeze can also freeze if it's not up to its job. Hopefully, you haven’t had a serious problem with your antifreeze already. If you did, you’d probably know. When antifreeze fails, it’s a potentially catastrophic condition for your vehicle’s engine. You could have hoses that have burst because of freezing antifreeze. Worse than that, your engine block may have crac...

Blocks of ice falling from cars in McHenry could cause accidents or damage

We’ve all seen those blocks of snow falling from behind the rear tires of a car when the snow rolls into McHenry . Fortunately, they’re just packed snow that will disintegrate under your vehicle’s tires as you simply drive right through them, right? Don’t count on it. Those blocks of snow are often packed so tight, condensed by the thaw-and-freeze cycle, that they’re anything but oversized snowballs . They’re often more like boulders. Hit one of those blocks and the collision between the block and one of your tires could send you careening off the road or into oncoming traffic. In some cases, they’re so solid you could pound them with a sledgehammer with little effect. They truly can represent a serious road hazard. The problem is that it’s difficult to tell how solidly they’re packed when you see them on the road, left their unwittingly by another driver. Either way, your best bet is to try to avoid them. But you want to be careful dodging blocks of ice in the road, too. You need...

Timely maintenance is even more important with your Johnsburg Electric Vehicle

Even if you have an electric vehicle in your Johnsburg driveway, maintenance is still critical. You pull out of your Johnsburg driveway and you watch the gas stations go by as you smile from behind the wheel of your EV – Electric Vehicle. Of course, at some point, you will have to stop and charge the battery but you still take some comfort that you’re not standing next to your car as the fuel pumps into your tank. One of the true comforts you take with your EV is that the mechanics of your vehicle are simplified. You don’t have to worry about the engine breaking down anymore, and we all know how costly that can be. But there’s more to your EV vehicle than you may have considered when you first parked it in your Johnsburg driveway. Many of the parts found on gasoline-driven vehicles are also present on your EV. These require the same maintenance as your gasoline-powered vehicle. For instance, you EV still has: Tires and Wheels Brakes Steering and Suspension Windshield Wipers and So...

Performance Unlimited Blog

Search This Blog