Few things can ruin a fun afternoon at the ballpark faster than a stop for driving under the influence of alcohol. When making your gameday plans, you look for the best tickets, pick out your favorite cap and invite your best friends. Picking a designated driver, though, may be the most important part of your plan.
Not everyone in your social group is an ideal candidate to be a designated driver. After all, if the person you choose cannot abstain, he or she may not be reliable. The same is true if your designated driver tends to leave games early. Good designated drivers often share a few characteristics.
Willpower
It can be difficult to stay sober when friends are drinking and having a good time. Still, your designated driver should not take even a sip of alcohol. When looking for the right driver, consider how each candidate has behaved in the past. You may also want to find a designated driver who abstains because of religious, health or social reasons, as these individuals tend to have the strongest willpower.
Patience
While patience is always a virtue, it is critical for designated drivers. When you and your friends imbibe, you may tend to behave gregariously. If your designated driver loses patience and decides to leave, you may not have a legal way to get home.
Safety
While selecting a designated driver helps you avoid the consequence of a DUI stop, you do not want to endanger yourself or your friends. If a candidate is not safe and responsible behind the wheel, he or she should probably not serve as your designated driver.
Even though ballpark vendors often provide free soft drinks and other perks to designated drivers, it may not be fair always to ask the same person to do the job. Therefore, when you are sober, you may want to make a list of your relatives, friends or acquaintances who have the qualities of a good designated driver.
