Agree with you 95% as someone who was a “functional” alcoholic for a few years and am just barely out of it.
The thing about being a really high functional alcoholic is that you understand the line between stopping the withdrawals and getting plastered. That’s how you get away with it for so long. And that’s why I have doubts about this case and what really happened.
Those of us who have been in that withdrawal phase know that we have to medicate in small doses to stave it off, and might do what she did (get some food, pain relievers etc) but getting to the blackout stage when you’re that heavy into alcoholism that you can’t function without being constantly buzzed? It takes quite a bit to get there. You don’t get that drunk on accident when you’re that practiced and your tolerance is so high.
When you’re self medicating to keep yourself functioning and out of tremor territory, you are definitely paranoid about what’s happening. And you get really good at lying. If you want to maintain appearances, you make a sipping drink with little alcohol, not a strong drink.
She knew she had to get those kids home. So if she was really in the range of functioning, she would know that you make something weak and sip on it so you stay level and don’t overdo it.
I’m embarrassed to say that I drove buzzed or drunk at that stage in my life, but when I did, I was hyper conscious about any driving infraction that might get me pulled over. If I was to find myself on an on ramp that was clearly meant for traffic going the other way, I would have immediately been terrified about being uncovered and puked over and exited to the side of the road to get my head straight.
And I’m saying this as someone who smoked, as well.
If she got away with this for years and held a job and was seen as a solid person in her community, she knew her tolerance and wouldn’t have over-done it to that extent when she had kids in the car.
I don’t have an answer. But I don’t think that if Dianne was really a functional alcoholic like it seems like she was, that she would have completely surpassed her limit and gone blackout dumb Shit drunk in the car full of children.
...I find that hard to believe.