Responsibility...

At what point do you have to just let someone who continuously behaves irresponsibly GO? 

Case in point.  There's a guy I work with who tends to drink more than he should when he goes out...and then proceeds to make the 45 minute drive home (he lives outside of the city). 

Now, you should know that we (his friends) have taken his keys, asked him to stop drinking/ordering drinks, offered a ride home, offered to drive his car, offered a place to crash, etc. - NUMEROUS times.

One time in particular...we were out to dinner and it was clear he should NOT drive home.  After what seemed like hours of convincing, we finally got his keys.  The plan was we would drive him to a location, and he would sleep there...then drive home in the morning.  He PROMISED us he would do this.  Well, we sent another friend to go back and see if he stayed.  He didn't.  As soon as we left him at the location, he got back in his car and drove home.

Now, there are a number of things that are bad about this.  He could get stopped by the police, and get an OWI...which would be bad on many levels, including his career.  He could get in an accident and hurt himself and/or others.  He could be killed.  Others could be killed.   

I think now is a good time for me to tell you how old this person is.  He is 30.  30.  30 years old.  I guess I would expect the above behavior from someone in their early 20s...but by 30, I would hope you would be a bit more responsible/cautious.

So, this past weekend, this guy, again, drank a bit too much.  Not crazy drunk, but probably shouldn't be driving home.  So, I guess the other guys had offered to give him a ride...and take his keys.  He told them he had to grab something from his car.  When they stepped outside, he had left. 

The guys came back in and were all worried.  Now, I'm not a horrible person.  I don't WANT anything bad to happen to him.  But I guess I also don't feel responsible for him.  If he drives home and gets stopped or in an accident, I'm not going to feel guilty.  Is that wrong?   

And they were trying to figure out how to track him down or call/text him.  Honestly?  I went ahead and left the restaurant.

If this guy is going to be so disrespectful to lie like this, I guess I'm not going to spend my time worrying about him.  Again, I feel like that makes me a bad person.  I don't care if he drinks, but pretty much everyone knows that you don't drive when you're plastered.

I guess I was kind of annoyed that everyone was trying to figure out how to chase him down, when ultimately, he made the choice to drink that much and get in his car - when he KNEW he had another option. 

End rant.