Free Republic

A Lafourche Parish man was arrested on a DWI charge early Saturday (May 19), after deputies saw him swerving into and out of traffic on a riding lawnmower, according to the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office. Brian Cheramie, 59, admitted to drinking several beers before riding the lawnmower along La. 3162 in his hometown of Cut Off in South Lafourche, the Sheriff's Office said in a news release. Deputies noticed Cheramie about 12:15 a.m. Saturday, as he was driving the lawnmower along the shoulder of the highway--and swerved into the westbound lane of traffic and then back onto the shoulder.

Thirty-five percent of people in U.S. bars who said they were designated drivers had blood-alcohol levels high enough to impair their driving, researchers say. Adam Barry, an assistant professor of health education and behavior at the University of Florida, and his team recruited patrons as they left bars in a restaurant and bar district of a major university town in the Southeast between 10 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. across six Friday nights before home football games in fall 2011. …

When Eliseo Hernandez came to the United States 30 years ago, he thought he drove better after a few beers. Driving drunk had been normal back in Mexico, he said. But Hernandez, 54, learned of its perils firsthand. He quit the practice after falling asleep at the wheel and hitting a tree 18 years ago. Then, last year, a young Hispanic man who authorities say was drunk nearly killed Hernandez's only son, Diego, in a crash on a rural Johnston County road. Eliseo Hernandez's daughter, who was nine months pregnant, lost her unborn child in the accident. Hernandez has spent...