"Dude, where's my car?"

To say I'm not a fan of drunk driving is an understatement. So on New Year's Eve, when a friend asked for a ride home, I didn't hesitate.

"Tomorrow we'll do brunch and pick up your car afterwards."

On National Hangover Day, I picked him up, we had brunch, and drove Downtown to pick up his car, parked on Bay Street outside TSI.

The only problem is, his car wasn't there.

After a couple phone calls to the city, he determined that his car had been towed off the street to ease the flow of traffic because of a game at Alltel. We got the address of the wrecker company and were on our way.

However, the wrecker company closed for the New Year's Day holiday. (Sidebar: How can a tow company be available to tow your car at 3 am, but not be available to release your car the next day at 3 pm?)

-

Law enforcement officials have no problem telling people not to drink and drive. They don't hesitate to pull drunk drivers off the road. These are in the interest of public safety, and these are great things.

But it's reprehensible when someone listens to the "Don't drive drunk" advice and get penalized for it.

City law enforcement leaders know that New Year's Eve is one of the biggest nights of the year for over-consumption. That's why they set up sobriety checkpoints and increase officers on duty.

My friend did the responsible thing. He realized he was too drunk to safely drive home, and he asked somebody for help. And in the process, he got screwed.

When law enforcement punishes good behavior, is it much different than condoning bad behavior?