A friend and I went to see Valby at Melanies (Main & Transit). I was a passenger. We both got stinking drunk. I tell him"you keep am eye on the center line and I watch out for the line on the side of the road. Made it to Cheektowaga with no problem.
Another time at a local bar I hanged out at I was doing Alabama Slammeres. I was in my mid 20s. I tried picking up a 60-something year old. Got in the car and made it a block. New I was wasted and pulled on a side street. Back then, If the keys were in your pocke, they couldn't get you for DWI. Fell asleep until 8 AM Sunday morning. Was still feeling loopy and made it home.
Another time I'm hitting the Elmwood Strip, had to be early 80s. I remember having 2 drinks. Next thing I remember I,m backing into a chain link fence on Squaw Island. Next thing I know, I wake up the next morning at home. No marks on my car. Stopped drinking for a month or so.
As you said, god looks out for drunks.
The cops had a different attitude. My father's cousin was a Cheektowaga cop. He told us he's on the Kensington in the middle of the night and spots a car in the grass median. The driver has the door open and his feet out the door. When asked, he said "I'm drunk and I can't drive." He tells his rookie partner to follow him. My father's cousin drove the guy home. He said the guy had enough sense to get off the road. Also he said the paperwork would take at least half the shift to complete