D U I......your opinions
- Thread starter Mafesto
- Start date
Co is .08 too low!
penalties are to high.
the reason they lowered it is because federal government made them do it or they would have lost highway funding.
If they REALLY wanted to end drinking and driving all they need to do is have every one install a mandated interlock system on their vehicles (breathalizer) BUT that will NEVER happen because why?
wait for it.....................
REVENUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They depend on that money, state, county and local law enforcement need the money!
Co is .08 too low!
penalties are to high.
the reason they lowered it is because federal government made them do it or they would have lost highway funding.
If they REALLY wanted to end drinking and driving all they need to do is have every one install a mandated interlock system on their vehicles (breathalizer) BUT that will NEVER happen because why?
wait for it.....................
REVENUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They depend on that money, state, county and local law enforcement need the money!
Wow,
I agree with everything you said!
I will add another opinion on lowering the BAC..........
most of the lawmakers are also........................................................................................
lawyers. Nothing like creating your own clientel.
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Limits are too low jmo. With that in mind, some of the punishment is too lax. I mean after your third or forth offence you should be put away for a long time. I would of saved a trip through a windshield from a head-on crash from a 5 time offender with no insurance or a drivers license.
I've voiced my opinion about it being all about revenue before & got a lot of angry comments for it, but it's a fact.
& since I quit drinking, I don't have to worry about it anymore.
& since I quit drinking, I don't have to worry about it anymore.
I don't know what the limit "should" be, but in MN its 0.08. I've drank till I could blow a .08 before and I realized, that's pretty buzzed.
As for the penalties go, if you are dumb enough to put yourself and innocent people in danger by driving impaired, you deserve whatever fate that becomes of your victims. You send them through a windshield, you need to be fired out of a cannon at a plate of glass.
Sorry if that makes some people mad, but its my opinion.
(I also have some creative ways to punish murders too......)
As for the penalties go, if you are dumb enough to put yourself and innocent people in danger by driving impaired, you deserve whatever fate that becomes of your victims. You send them through a windshield, you need to be fired out of a cannon at a plate of glass.
Sorry if that makes some people mad, but its my opinion.
(I also have some creative ways to punish murders too......)
It wasn't that big a deal to me until my kids got old enough to be driving. These days I feel like the limits should be low and the punishment high. If you drink and drive you should go to jail, not just for the night to sober up, the sentence should require jail time.
Raise it to .09 and also raise the penalties. First Offense is a mandatory 30 days in the county jail, 10 grand fine, go to drunk school, two years probabation. Second offense a mandatory one year jail term, 50 grand in fines, five years probabation. Third offense, never ever get a license again the rest of your life and 25 years in State Prison, no parole......................On edit, these penalties assume you did not cause an accident and someone got hurt, if so, the penalties go way up.
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I agree to a point.
My gripe is that it is not a black & white issue.
There are infinite levels of sobriety (or drunkeness).
The guy who had 2-3 beers is on a whole different level than the guy who drives
home because he's too drunk to walk.
Yet the law treats it as black & white, or drunk & sober.
Many of you have no idea what small town America really is either.
Like it or not, if you want to socialize in a community of less than 2000 people,
you go to the bar. That's really about the size of it.
Of course communities of this size have no taxi service, so drinking & driving
happens.....all of the time.
For the most part, the local law enforcement (city cops) respect this reality,
and only pull you over if you're breaking a traffic law.
But the state highway patrol use the bars as easy picking to meet their quotas.
It's like shooting fish in a barrel.
They have no respect for the fact that these businesses are members of our
economic community & vital employers as well.
Every time our area gets a new (read:young) state trooper, the bars revenues
drop until the fella get's the big picture & backs off a bit.
I'm not as pizzed at the first time offenders, it's the azzhats that don't get it and keep getting blasted and driving.
Not trying to pick a fight with ya just a vairing opnion but I dissagree with most of your statements above.I live in a small town also and have heard this arguement in the past.I've also lost a young family member to a DUI accident. Both were legally intoxicated .08 and .09 I belive,irregardless of levels neither will be the same one in the grave and one living his life knowing that he was a great factor in the death of another.Both of our family's have lost a lot due to one nght of "fun".
As far as baseing the local economy on the local tavern/bar I think I'd look for a new community.If the bar was so concerned about the welfare of their customers why dont they offer a delivery service for after the party ends,or call someone they know will come sober to drive them home( I for 1 will go get my friends or family when they need a ride and they will do the same for me as well)
As far as the police go they need to abide by the laws also,when arresting anyone for anything as well as they themselves.In my oppnion most of them are just as bad as the people they are arresting if not worse.I wish I had a dollar for every time I've seen them do something they cite or arrest some citizen doing.I've heard their arguement's and they seem to want one standard for the public and another for them.I also want this just in the opposite way,if a cop gets a DUI I think that he/she should get X2 the maximum,and the same with any other crimes they are involved with.I think they want some consession because they have a dangerous job but I think they have lost sight that they are paid very well for the job they do.
Certainly good points you've raised.
And no fight picking here, just a good debate topic.
I believe that none of us are right or wrong in our opinions.
I just enjoy seeing others opinions, especially if they differ from my own,
that's a good way to become enlightened.
Many will accuse me of not being touched by this subject since my views lean
towards more tolerance of alcohol.
This is not true.
I've personally been a pallbearer for 4 different friends lost in alcohol related deaths,
all before I ever turned 30. So I do realize the potential danger of D&D.
M
MPS
Well-known member
I will tell you my opinion. Yes East you have a point...I don't know about the revenue thing....that is too much conspiracy theory I think. But, I do know many cops that circle the bars to try to get DUI arrests. That bugs me. I have told them I have a problem with that. Most of them are gunning for something...most arrests for the month...promotions, whatever. I hear the revenue thing all the time....cops aren't driven by that, at least the ones I know. Well I do know many state troopers in various states do have to meet quotas.....so there may be some truth to the revenue thing.
Who knows what the appropiate intoxication level should be. Everyone's tolerance level is different. I have dealt with people that were .30 and over that were completely functional. If you can't pass the field sobriety test then you are too messed up to drive.
Like I said I have a problem with the cops fishing for DUI arrests....but on the other side I have a real problem with douches hurting people with a lethal weapon (a vehicle). I have seen too many deaths caused by it. I was almost hit one night when I was making an arrest in a parking lot. I had to push the guy I was arresting out of the way and I had to jump.....the drunk POS then hit a dumpster totaling his car. He was bleeding and crying.
The problem with DUI's is it is always going to be very subjective. I can agree to not hammer the first offense when some person makes a mistake. When it happens again and again....the hammer should come out!
Who knows what the appropiate intoxication level should be. Everyone's tolerance level is different. I have dealt with people that were .30 and over that were completely functional. If you can't pass the field sobriety test then you are too messed up to drive.
Like I said I have a problem with the cops fishing for DUI arrests....but on the other side I have a real problem with douches hurting people with a lethal weapon (a vehicle). I have seen too many deaths caused by it. I was almost hit one night when I was making an arrest in a parking lot. I had to push the guy I was arresting out of the way and I had to jump.....the drunk POS then hit a dumpster totaling his car. He was bleeding and crying.
The problem with DUI's is it is always going to be very subjective. I can agree to not hammer the first offense when some person makes a mistake. When it happens again and again....the hammer should come out!
D
Disco Dan Richter
Well-known member
Drunk driving is bad, mmmmkay? I am against it at all levels, I am also against driving while texting on a cell phone(intexticating), driving while talking on a cell phone anywhere in a bust area, blow j.....well maybe not that while driving! In a nutshell, you drink and drive you lose, and if you hit me and hurt me, or a member of my family and you are drunk.........ya best hope I be dead, cause if I am not, you will be.
M
MPS
Well-known member
Oh ya! There are those douches with the cell phones. Friday I was heading to Pocatello. Some idiot in front of me was on his cell phone....it was storming and it had been snowing all night. The roads were nasty! I was turning left onto the freeway on ramp. This guy cuts me off while on his cell phone to turn left suddenly and then a car is coming from the oncoming lane and this dude turns in front of him and starts to slide. Then he locks the breaks and starts to slide straight. The oncoming car had to swerve and almost hit me. The dude stays on his cell phone....he soon met me and got off that phone!
These kind of idiots are just as dangerous. He could have killed many that day.
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I grew up in a small town. We all drove after a few, and we all laughed about it. It was always the age old, "It'll never happen to me." arguement. One day not too long ago I was watching the Oprah show. She had a family that had a terrible accident on a wedding day. Read this story, http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/oprahshow1_ss_20070601 from beginning to end. See if it changes your mind. Put yourself there, as a third party observer, as a family member then as the person rsponsible. See if you still feel the same way. Chances something this terrible will happen to you are slim. Would you be able to live with yourself when it's all over? Would jail be enough? I used to think it was a joke, a game of cat and mouse. Now I see it is simply selfish and assinine. I wish there was a clip, one where that mother described what happened that day. It was something I will remember till the day I die.
my friend owns a bar in the down town. it's about 6 city blocks with about 12 bars. and the cops just wait for there next arrest. it has people so scared that they have no buisness anymore. owning a bar is really a dying buisness, things arent like they were 20 years ago. i will get back to the subject too many ****ing cops on the pay roll.
I agree with wonder bread. Why not install an ignition interlock that wont let you start the car if you blow over .08. Problem solved!!!!!!!!
Since thats not the case, as far as the penalties go I think that they should be just as harsh as they are if not worse. But I only think they should be worse in the form of fines, community service,license loss, etc. I think that they should back off on it screwing things up for the future. A DUI on your record closes so many doors in which I dont feel is fair. Although I agree that drinking & driving is stupid (and I should know) I think that when you're young you just dont think about the possible consequences, and you should be punished for it so it opens your eyes!. But to posssibly ruin someones future dreams/plans i think is a little harsh. just my .02
Since thats not the case, as far as the penalties go I think that they should be just as harsh as they are if not worse. But I only think they should be worse in the form of fines, community service,license loss, etc. I think that they should back off on it screwing things up for the future. A DUI on your record closes so many doors in which I dont feel is fair. Although I agree that drinking & driving is stupid (and I should know) I think that when you're young you just dont think about the possible consequences, and you should be punished for it so it opens your eyes!. But to posssibly ruin someones future dreams/plans i think is a little harsh. just my .02
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