ToABetterMe

So as Ive said I had to spend a weekend in the work house & attend a 2 day DUI awareness class. I actually got a ton out of it.

I don't know if all states make you do this class, but it was very informative.
I did learn that 40% of all licensed drivers have at least one DUI.
(we have one city in MN that 75% of all licensed drivers have one)

The other thing they did was make us add up what each drink really cost us that night.
We had to add up lost wages, court cost, fines, lawyer, damage to cars & property, towing, insuance rates, everything.
You divide that by how many drinks you had that day.
It was a real eye opener. Not sure if anyone that has had a DUI had to do that. But I learned that each drink I had that night cost me over $1300!!!
Keep in mind I had 10!

Anyone else with a DUI have to do that?

Anna

I'm glad it was a positive experience!

Fubarcdn

Never had to do that.
I got a DUI in 1986 and that was the last time I drank and drove.I wouldn't have been able to have done it as I have no idea how many I had.
I am glad you got something out of it.
I really dislike people that drink and drive now after the course that I was forced to take.

sfgirl

I never really drank and drove (although I am sure there were exceptions of me in the morning being still drunk from the night before), it was something my parents beat into me, and also I always lived in cities and had other options. My parents also always said they would pick me up instead of me driving. However, I was having a conversations with one of my really good friends who got a DUI a few years ago and she had to attend a class as well. Her class lasted a few months though and she thought that it was one of the most amazing, eye opening experiences and she could not imagine ever drinking and driving again after taking that class.

Normally in San Francisco the punishment on the first DUI is a fine. However, her lawyer got her this creative sentencing thing they were testing out which was this class. She isn't sure it even still exists. But they had people come in who had been affected by drunk driving and speak to them, people who had been in accidents, learned all the statistics, just about every angle and aspect of driving drunk that you could ever want to know. It seems to me that that type of sentencing is so much better for such a pervasive and dangerous issue (40% of licensed drivers— insane) than a simple fine which is either quickly forgotten or looked over.

Glad the class was so enlightening! Maybe it should be part of high school curriculum— right? Prevention seems better than punishment.

totfit

Don't know where you got your stats about percentage of licensed drivers with at least one DUI, but its funny that in every other state in the Union "besides yours" it is actually less than 1%. In Illinois for instance it is .529 %. I think your statistics are a little skewed. It is good that you got something out of it, but just want you to know that you AND I are acutally among a very small minority nowhere near 40% anywhere. Not anywhere near 40% of alcoholics have DUI's much less the "normie" population. It might be the statistic you heard was .40 percent which would be 4 in every thousand. I only mention this, because it is not NEAR as common as your stating and you and I don't need to believe this. I have had several DUI's many years ago. I am not proud of it, but its my history. Fortunately it has been many years ago since my last.

Pinkcuda

I believe it is as common as stated. Colorado alone processes 38,000 people a year through the machine. We're a sparsely populated state too.

Enough21

Pink, the population of Colorado is just under 5 million people, if 38,000 of them were processed for DUIs, that is still only about 0.7% of the population.

Enough21

Just wanted to add that I wasn't trying to sound bratty, I was just curious about the numbers. 75% sounds awfully scary!

sfgirl

That makes a lot more sense. I didn't actually think that one through, although I think the wording is slightly different. According to the MADD website in 2006, the rate of arrest for driving under the influence in the United States was 1 person for every 139 licensed drivers or 0.72%. There is tons of interesting statistical information on the MADD website if anyone is interested:

- Mothers Against Drunk Driving - Drunk Driving Statistics and Underage Drinking Statistics

Pinkcuda

Half of them are licensed drivers. Now we are at 2.5 million Therefore we are at 1.4% right off the bat. That 38,000 is per year. In the course of 5 years we can multiply that 1.4% by 5 and get a full blown 7% In 10 years we can hit 14%. In 20 years we can be at 28% We lose some to death and we gain some when they begin to drive. Either way the numbers are staggering and not the 1% to 3% like some think.
On the bright side if you multiply each DUI by the 10 thousand dollars they say it costs, you will find that 380 million dollars is pumped into the Colorado economy each year.

jamdls

I'd bet that for every one of those that are caught there are at least 5 who aren't. I never got a DUI but I can't tell you how many times I woke up in the morning wondering how I got home only to realize (not remember) that I had driven myself, or the times I'd drive home with 1 eye closed hoping that would help me see just one line in the road instead of several. I think all cars should be required to be equiped with those meters that detect whether or not a person is drunk before it even lets them open the doors.

SoberforME

Oh yeah me too.

I had a friend get a DWI the other day and I felt guilty. Why? Because she doesn't drink very much and her meds conflicted with the 2 drinks she had. I on the other hand would drink until I couldn't see and drive home and wasn't stopped once.