Driving drunk is one of the most irresponsible and brain-dead actions anyone can do. It kills innocent people and puts everyone on the road at risk.

This is a message that has been drilled into our heads since we got our driver’s license, and it is a message worth repeating.

So when people who have been drinking decide it isn’t a good idea to drive and therefore do not get in their car, they should be commended for sound thinking.

This was the situation I was in Thursday night. I spent maybe a little too much time on Water Street celebrating being caught up on homework, and when bar close rolled around I knew I wouldn’t be driving my car home.

It’s not like I was wasted, but I certainly wasn’t sober. But you see, I don’t drive if I’ve been drinking. Ever. It’s a good policy.

So I got a ride from a sober friend, and left my car in front of The Pioneer on the 400 block of Water.

When I went to get it Friday morning, I was greeted by a green ticket on my windshield that demanded $20 for being parked there between 2 and 6 a.m.

Needless to say, I was pretty upset. Not many people are thrilled to get the opportunity to give the city of Eau Claire money, but I believed this situation was different – I had made the responsible decision, and was being penalized for not being stupid or unsafe.

Really, I had been a posterchild for a Mothers Against Drunk Driving campaign.

It isn’t like I had parked in a meter spot, or in a space for handicapped parking. I was parked as legally as I could be (I thought), and was furious.

The message this ticket sent made me so mad. It seemed to contradict all the messages not to drive after drinking, kind of a you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t approach.

So I pouted and whined for a couple of hours about how I had been unfairly penalized, and then I talked with Bruce Van Valkenburg, the community relations crime prevention officer of the Eau Claire Police Department.

“It’s not an issue of penalizing people who consume alcohol,” he said.

He explained all business districts in Eau Claire don’t allow parking between 2 and 6 a.m., mostly because delivery people stop at businesses early in the morning and because renters often took advantage of the street parking and never moved their cars. This is also a time used to clean the streets.

His advice was not to park on Water Street, and to find a spot on a side road. But remember that now we are under winter parking regulations, which kicked in Nov. 1 and last until May 1. So the odd/even system is in full swing, so don’t forget that either.

After talking with him, I’m not as angry about the ticket. I still don’t think it’s fair and I will cringe as I write out the check, but I grudgingly admit that there might be a basis to the system.

So here’s the lesson to be learned: It’s better to get a parking ticket than to drive drunk. And if you want to drive to Water Street, don’t park in front of The Pioneer.