Whining
Roommate Wants To Drink And
Drive Borrowed Car
Dear
Harlan,
I travel for work from time to time, and when I'm out of town
I allow my roommate to use my car, since she does not have
a car of her own. One of my major rules for letting her drive
my car is that she cannot drink alcohol AT ALL if she's planning
on driving my car - not even a drop. Recently, she admitted
that sometimes she'll have one drink before going home after
work when she has my car. Her rationale is that after one
drink she's not technically drunk, so it is OK to drive the
car. When she told me this, I told her it was OK if she has
one drink, but absolutely not any more than that. After thinking
about it a little more, I don't want to let her use my car
anymore, because what if one drink leads to two, and two leads
to three, and three leads to a DWI - and my car ending up
in impound. How can I tell her this, or how can I convince
her that she needs to follow my rules when she has my car?
She says that she means no disrespect, but she thinks that
my no-drink rule is too strict. What do you think?
Driving
the Point Home
Dear Driving,
I think she can complain to the bus driver, cab driver or
friend who's driving her about how strict you are.
No. No. No. You're VERY generous. I'd never let a roommate
drive my car. I'm too worried something would happen. There's
the issue of insurance (I hoped you checked to make sure she's
covered). Then there's the deductible if there's an accident.
And if she should hit someone and that someone should decide
to take action against you, claiming that the car wasn't properly
maintained (people sue for anything) for instance, you're
now in trouble. She's lucky you allow her to borrow it at
all. Being a friend sometimes means telling a friend what
he or she doesn't want to hear. It goes for bad hair, bad
pants and bad choices. Explain how you feel, and don't expect
her to love your rules. BUT, your car equals your rules.
