7 Years 72 days Sober - Another Ordeal7 Years 72 days Sober - Another Ordeal
I'm Quitting Alcohol
Comedian David Boyle recounts a chaotic Spanish roadside police stop that ends with hefty fines and some blunt self-reflection. The story highlights how sobriety means facing everyday mistakes and stress without alcohol, using humour to get through it.
14:53•26 Jul 2026
Roadside Chaos and Sober Consequences: Boyle’s Spanish Police Drama
Episode Overview
- Careless driving decisions can lead to serious legal and financial consequences, even when sober.
- Foreign drivers may face immediate, on-the-spot fines that must be paid or risk losing their vehicle.
- Lack of an international licence and proper child restraints can significantly increase penalties.
- Sobriety doesn’t remove stressful situations, but it allows you to face them directly instead of escaping through alcohol.
- Questioning whether events are “bad luck” can shift focus towards personal responsibility and behaviour.
“I would rather pull the gun out of your holster and shoot myself in the head than pay you 500.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? In this short episode of **I'm Quitting Alcohol**, comedian David Boyle shows that even seven-plus years sober doesn’t mean life suddenly gets smooth. Boyle recounts “back-to-back days of fucked upness” on a Spanish road trip with his family.
What’s meant to be a chilled two-hour drive turns into another ordeal when he pulls out to check the lane, ends up almost fully in oncoming traffic, and finds himself staring down the only car on the road – a police car. His “guilty swerve” back into his lane sets off a chain of events that’s funny, stressful and painfully relatable.
Through his trademark raw humour, he talks through the language barrier, on-the-spot fines, and the surreal feeling of being cleaned out for dangerous driving, no child seat, and no international licence. As he puts it, “I would rather pull the gun out of your holster and shoot myself in the head than pay you 500.” After phone help from his mate Sammy, he ends up paying 350 euros to avoid having the hire car impounded.
Underneath the swearing and jokes, there’s a clear thread: sobriety doesn’t magically remove chaos, but it does mean you’re present enough to face it. Boyle questions whether this was bad luck at all, eventually landing on a harsher truth about his own carelessness: “This just is.
Just like I am just retarded.” For anyone on a recovery journey who thinks everyone else has it figured out, this daily, unscripted check-in offers a different view: you can be years sober and still making mistakes, but you face them head-on instead of numbing out. Ever felt like sobriety just gives you a front-row seat to your own madness?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.