Honesty, and the Law #2

Long time readers may remember the case of the government official and his answer regarding the use of hosepipes during the water shortages. A while ago we were reminded of that during, oddly, a discussion about speeding, drink driving limits and police checks.

At the time the police were having one of their periodic increases in the number of car spot checks they carry out. In Aradippou, where we were based at the time, the main local police station was halfway between the house and the nearest access point to the motorway. The police took to setting up a mobile speed traps nearby, catching motorists who exceed the speed limit as they head towards the motorway. Friends commented that they had also seen more checks in other locations too.

In the midst of this a friend reported a tale regarding another mutual friend. The mutual friend, a woman, was on her way home after a late dinner at someone else’s house, when she was stopped by the police as part of these random checks.

She was asked if she had been drinking, to which she replied that she’d had two glasses of wine with dinner. That amount of alcohol, over the course of several hours and consumed with food, should have left her well within legal blood alcohol levels.

She was somewhat surprised when the policeman asked her what type of wine she had been drinking. Really, what bearing could that have on her fitness to drive? Confused, but honest, she gave details of the wine that had been consumed: a locally produced red. The policeman nodded and then questioned her on the food that had been eaten. Now totally baffled at the line of questioning she recounted the evening’s menu. Again the policeman nodded, frowned a little and then proclaimed;

Ahh, that is ok. But really you should have been drinking this wine rather than that wine. It would have complemented the food much better.

With that he wished her a safe drive home and sent her on her way. Such is life in Cyprus!

Advertisement