Don't ever get a DUI.

[ANNAMEL]

OK i will make this as short as possible.
Nov 23 1986 standing on the side of the interstate in between two jeeps. (one my own broke down) Went to walk in between them and there was this nice lady with a family and all that crusin down the interstate over the legal limit. After a extracation ,helicopter ride,1 month in a coma,3 months in the hospital,9 months in a wheel chair,1 year on crutches,the rest of my life with some busted up legs and 1 knee.(other knee is GONE) All at 21 years of age. Just because we have all done it and got away with it doesnt mean when you get caught we should be leneant. It is no accident or a mistake on their part. Its a concious decission. Yep i am a lil testy when it comes to this. Dont drink and drive. POINT BLANK. Believe me when i say i would give up everything theese dui offenders have lost to get my life back to what it was when i was 21. It has been a life changing experience for me and my famil through out the years. Sorry but I do not have 1 ounce of pitty for anyone drinking and driving.........oh yeh she payed a 170.00 fine.

 

[donsrods]

I'm so sorry to hear that happened to you, and wish you well. I understand your dislike for drinking and driving.

I think there has to be some middle ground though. It is one thing to be way over the limit, but another to have one or two beers in you . She was telling me that in the class last night she had to attend that a cop was there and gave part of the presentation. He said 1 and 1/2 beers puts you over the .08 in most cases. I would bet my last dollar that almost every one of us has had one or two beers at a restaurant and driven home, I know I have. If the cops wanted to really rake in the money all they would have to do is sit outside every restaurant and night spot and stop every car that is leaving. Designated drivers are fine when going out with a bunch of friends, but if you are on a date or taking the wife out for dinner, it is a good bet both of you have had one or two with your dinner.

I realize how drunken drivers have ruined a lot of lives, but I'm talking about the guy or gal who is responsible and stops after one or two. I rarely drink, even at home, but at a restaurant, if I have a drink, it is just one, then I switch to soda or iced tea or something like that.

Don

 

[donsrods]

I guess I dont see what good it does to refuse any field sobriety test because as soon as you get to jail they do a manditory blood test so if you have had anything to drink your skrewd anyways at one time you could refuse the blood test and lose your license for a year, but now you can refuse and they will hold you down and take it anyways and report that you didnt quaperate sorry i cant spell

I think that is illegal to take a blood test unless you have been in an accident with injuries. Gastrick will know better, because of working in law enforcement, but I think they can't legally do that.

Don

 

[ANNAMEL]

I dont think it is over the top to just not Drink and Drive. As long we have resturants or bars and cars we will have dinking and driving but there should be a steep penality for doing it. Should the penalty only be severe when you injur or kill someone. To late for that person. I have some good friends that are troopers and they target DUIs. Its a choice that people make. As far as a blood test when you are on a public road I am kinda at a loss for words

 

[hwscowboy]

i guess i should clarify that if you refuse to blow here you don't get a dui you gat a refusal to blow,which carries the same penalty and fines.If you are charged with dui you can challenge the competence of the roadside officer and/or breathalyzer tech back at the station.Also the police must prove a valid reason for the initial stop(swerving,crossing lines,etc).Thats why most cop cars have cameras now so they can use the footage in court to prove their point if necessary.If you refuse to blow you automatically forfit the right to challenge any of those things.So it actually makes the officers and courts job easier to convict you.i'm not saying i have always been an angel,there was a time when i would have a few and hop in and drive home.Especially living in a small town.Now in the last 9 years of being a volunteer fireman i have attended probably attended 3-400 accidents,a good 100 of those fatals.The one that will never leave my mind is kneeling next to a beautiful 16 year old girl lying in a field.Locking eyes with her as she struggled to breathe and stay concious,all along knowing that despite the medics best efforts that she was dying.Then finally feeling her grip on my arm loosen and then she was gone.Then to top it off hearing the mournful wail of her mother who had arrived on scene being told by the police that her daughter was gone.Its something that as much as i love being a firefighter i remember every time i pass that cross on the side of the highway.All because they had a few drinks before heading to the bar and were in a hurry to get there.Hot rod safe people,as its been said driving is a privilage not a right.

 

[Blue Eyed Devil]

.08 DUI is just a money racket. Plain and simple.

Bingo. Just another way for the government to dip into your pocket. Not only that, but the insurance companies are getting their cut. Now you have companies that produce, calibrate and maintain breathalizers to start your car??? WTF? Money racket doesn't even begin to describe that. That is outright prostitution of an already corrupt system. I'm really sorry to hear about your friend Don. Unfortunately this is usually the case. They want to make an "example" out of someone who had a couple drinks with dinner. Sorry folks, but that doesn't mean squat to the guy behind the wheel with a .38 BAL, nor will it. I lost a good friend to a drunk driver in 1995. On September 27, 1997 I myself was struck by a drunk driver while walking down a street in Cincinnati, OH. Luckily I survived but my leg was broken in 3 places. After surgery putting 5 steel pins in my leg I spent 2 weeks in the hospital in traction. I spent the better part of a year in a wheelchair & on crutches, and another year after that walking with a cane. I don't defend drunk driving whatsoever, but I will ALWAYS condemn the government railroading of otherwise law-abiding citizens for the purpose of an "example".

It's easy to say the best way to not get a DUI is to not drink. Ok sure - that's a no brainer. So let's take the social stigma of "DUI" out of the equation. Let's say... speeding. I KNOW everyone here has done that. I'm no statistician, but I would say the number of accidents resulting in injuries and fatalities where speed was a factor is pretty high. I would further a gamble that number is much higher than DUI. Regardless, according to the law speeding is a "crime" and dangerous to yourself and others on the road. So let's say you get pulled over doing 70mph in a 65 zone. You are arrested, receive a 180 day jail sentence, a $1000 fine, court & lawyer fees, insurance drop and lose your license. Maximum punishment for a minor infraction of the "law". That is just for starters - then you get to start trying to get your license back. You're going to need it if you want to find a job, because you lost your last one because of all this. But hey, you could have killed someone. Wouldn't that seem a little excessive? Perhaps as excessive as all this BS the woman Don is describing is going through? HOW can this happen to someone like this? WHY is there no review process? Nothing is definitive - you cannot say this woman was more of a danger on the road as when you were speeding last weekend or your daughter was text messaging while driving. The simple fact is she is caught in a system that can only scapegoat someone in a lame attempt to make up for losses suffered elsewhere.

The funny thing is, the guy who hit me didn't face much more of a punishment than what this 60+ year old woman received. I would hope that your friend could fight this Don, but it seems she is a victim of the BS system currently in place, and all the tear-jerking stories in the world aren't going to change that. If people can't see that then they are way too up on that high horse...

 

[CR55]

I have to disagree with the .08 being a money racket. We have probably all been guilty of drinking a little too much and proceeding to drive anyway, I know I have in the past. I won't do it anymore! Too many people simply can't handle drinking and then driving home. I'm sure each of us has seen the person who is overboard on only a coupe of beers. I had a friend who would become almost falling down drunk on only 3 beers! Yes, 3. I saw him do it many times. How many other people have the same reaction as him? I'm guessing a few. Do you want that person driving in the opposing lane after only having 2 or 3 beers with his dinner? I don't! I think if you drink and drive you should have to face the consequences, no matter how severe for each state or county. You knew you were breaking the law when you did it! My
.02!!!...CR

 

[Willowbilly3]

It is a complicated subject. I think every person should be responsible for their actions. Bad things happen. Lots of behavior is dangerous. Lots of accidents get blamed on drinking because it was involved when they would have probably happened anyway. I would almost bet there are more bad accidents directly caused by yapping on the cell phone, texting or messing with the cd changer than are directly related to alcohol. That doesn't mean we should lighten up on DUI but there needs to be some kind of focus on other dangerous driving.
As a motorist, nothing is guaranteed to you and you can't legislate common sense. I can't say this enough but your own sense of situational awareness will keep you out of accidents, no matter whose fault.
I have had good friends crushed between cars and I personally would never stand there. Nor in front or behind any motorized vehicle that's being started. I expect every car to pull out and never enter an intersection, even on a green light, without being aware of every vehicle, even in the mirror. The world is full of idiots and we can't make enough laws to save us from them, you have to be responsible for your own awareness of what's going on around you and be ready to react. You need to know what a conditioned response is, always have a way out.

 

[ANNAMEL]

I agree that DUIs are a money racket so why not just lock your but up for a couple of weeks to give them some time to think about it. Oh no we cant do that they have kids,jobs,things to do. That would be too tough on the family.LOL But then they complain. Why dont we just let them decide what the penalty should be.lol I have never shot myself or anyone else but am VERY CAUTIOUS when it comes to GUNS. We all have our own personal opinions and experiences on this. Lets pray that it doesnt take a tragedy in anyones family to change it. Thank you for letting me be a part of this conversation.

 

[donsrods]

No, Thank YOU for being part of this discussion. You have real, first hand knowledge about how a drunk driver can do serious damage to another person or even kill them.

Don't get me wrong, I certainly am not condoning drinking and driving. I'm pretty much a non drinker when out, and even at home I might have one or two beers or glasses of wine a week. But there have been times when I would go out for dinner and a beer goes so well with Italian food, or a nice glass of Merlot with a steak, that I have had a glass or two and then driven home. If you go to some of the chain restaurants at happy hour and order a beer, two show up at the same time..........it is just the way it is. I just think that for a first time offender, who has had no record of any infractions, the penalties are a little over the top and smack of just making every penny they can.

This lady was telling me that in the class she was in the other night she was actually in with normal people for a change. Everything else she has had to attend (probation meetings, visits to the interlock place, jail, etc) she was thrown in with true criminals who were there for various crimes. (I sat with her in the waiting room of her last probation meeting and I had to leave the room when she went in to see her PO.........I couldn't stand sitting there with some of the seedy charactors who were there for God knows what) But she said that in that last class there were Attorneys, Attorney's wives, older ladies, etc who were just normal, everyday people who, like her, had a drink or two and had the misfortune to get stopped on the way home.

I just think that not everyone who gets caught up in the DUI system is a criminal.

Don

 

[Sam_Fear]

It's all about taking personal responsibility for your actions - before and after. The problem with alcohol is that it distorts your reasoning abilities. The laws are strict to catch those that can't seem to be responsible on their own and catch the rest in the same net. Irresponsible people will be irresponsible no matter what the risks/fines. .08 doesn't affect their thinking - that's why I think it' just a money maker.

My other thought is: How many of us go driving around with little sleep or sick? A good bout of flu can be as disorienting as a six pack. 2 Hours of sleep is no better. Even worse is, you knew you were bad off and drove anyway!

At least drunks on motorcycles usually only kill themselves. [SARC/]

 

[ANNAMEL]

Well said sam. Being a victim am makes me look at it different. I hope none of yall ever are, and those that are we deal with it every day. Something as simple as riding a bike I have never done with my daughter because of someones drinking and driving. But i did teach her. i am so greatfull that my life has followed the path that it did or I may have done the same to someone elses dad,or son. I would think it is easier to be the victim then the one who did it. Life is GOOD!!!!!!! I used to go and talk with people at the hospital and help them understand what life is going to be like from now on. Seems like yesterday.

 

[ratrodz]

bottom line is don't drink and drive. you now what happens when you get caught but people keep doing it. cab fare is really cheap compared to a dui or call a friend to come get you.when my girlfriends 27 year old son goes out on weekends one in the group doesn't drink that night and drives them home they take turns every night they go out they been doing this for 6 years and no ones got a dui.