Tazman53

I drove drunk all the time, if I had been caught everything mentioned would have been a HUGE wake up call for me to do something about MY DRINKING PROBLEM! I had one DUI back in the day when it was basically a financial slap on the wrist and that was it.

I have never viewed it as the states responsibilty to rehabilate drunk drivers, the fines and the classes help those that are not ready to quit drinking to find a reason that may lead them to want to quit drinking. I drank until the pain of drinking got to much for me.

I have 2 sponsee's that are going through the classes right now, they both view all of the fines and classes and one of the many reasons they got and are staying sober. They both also say that they have learned a lot about how much carnage is created by drunk drivers and how many millions of dollars they cost the eceonomy every year due to the people that are killed and crippled each year by drunk drivers.

The answer is VERY simple, do not drink and drive, of course that is easy for me to say now that I am sober, but to be honest I never had a problem with the penalties as they stood when I was drinking and driving, if I had got caught I would have deserved everything I got!

TheShallot

OK, it seems you folks are confusing this post. You see I am asking you a question if its fair the court is so harsh to many. This has NOTHING to do with me. Im not an alcoholic and I wasnt convicted of a DUI.

Im just asking a question. And I still feel the courts are WAY to harsh. The BAC should be brought up to .1 and there should be no restriction driving to and from work. Maximum fines should be adjusted according to income. What good does it do making someone homeless that doesnt earn much???? And then the same fine is just a pin ***** to a well-to-do person.

And if you look at actual statistics, 195,000 people are killed by hospital accidents per year Nationaly opposed to 14,700 on alcohol related car accidents. Neither are good but you can see the HUGE statistical difference. SO divide 14,700 by the population of the United States.

Look if the State wanted to cure a DUI problem it isnt about fines. Its about installing breathalyzers in cars, banning bars, banning alcohol served in restaurants, putting a huge tax on liquer and so on. If you think this mainly isnt about taking your money and getting re-elected if youre a politician then I dont know what to tell ya.

And listen to THIS folks..... if your govt wasnt about taking your money then why isnt there a license issued to be able to BUY liquer??? Or get into a bar??? Or to get served booze in a restaurant!?!?!??
If you ever get a DUI or are regarded as an alcoholic you get your booze license revoked! And ANYONE buying you booze gets a felony!!!!

In my opinion, the State along with every other company and laywer too is all about the money. And let me say that I know many people in public safety who feel the same as I do. Its political. If the State was serious, it would actually DO something constructive and positive to nip abusive drinking in the bud!!!

I say we should all ask the State for each resident to get a liquer license in order to buy or be served alcohol!!!! WHOS WITH ME!?!?!?

bugsworth

I'm confused, didn't you post about needing a public defender for a DUI?

The rest of your post just blows me away.

Anna

I'm confused too.

You posted that you were arrested for a DUI and the officers smelled alcohol on your breath.


These are your words from that thread:

""I wont go into the "I didnt have anything to drink" crap. I did""

endzoner

commit the crime pay the fine . its that simple .. people myself included did so . I am a grown adult and know its illegal to do anything and the costs come w/ getting caught for that crime .. sure one can do it for yrs and never get busted . but sure enuff one day YOU WILL .. I beleive if you can afford to drink you can afford to take a cab .
I paid my outta this world fines , SR22 3 yrs , and all the other stuff that wasnt even required of me but did it anyways . I was WRONG ! there for I PAY THE PRICE ! .. Im so greatful that I didnt take ones life and am greatful to things I had to go thu to teach me a lesson .. cry a river for paying all that , nope never did ... I just did what I had to do , to make it right and learn from my actions

Freedom1990

If I choose to drink, and then get behind the wheel of a car and drive, I should expect to receive all the consequences of a DUI if I am pulled over, and rightfully so. I don't expect to get an adjusted fine according to my income, a restricted license so that I can drive to or from work, or an adjusted BAC to determine my level of intoxication.

Driving while under the influence is against the law.

The legal system is not there to accommodate the offender. The legal system is there to punish the offender. End of story.

TheShallot

It was dismissed. I had alcohol spilled on my shirt and pants at the gentlemans club. And I had a few beers nearly six hours before I went out. Im beyond happy the court was fair!

And Im NOT saying people that ARE guilty SHOULD go away without punishment. But let the punishment not make someones life into a mass destruction of everything they HAVE! Let people drive to their damn job!

The State needs to get TOUGH on alcohol abuse!!!! They need to get past the revenue DUIs generate and get SERIOUS on restricting a potentially VERY DANGEROUS DRUG!!!!

Anna

You really don't seem to understand, that driving under the influence, can ruin someone else's life, in an instant. It can kill someone.

bugsworth

Given the potential devastation that drunk driving has I think the punishment should fit the crime.

btw...I have used the old "I spilled a drink on me" excuse...lame at best.

smacked

Maybe if they did lose everything, they wouldn't do it again.. how does that not make sense? Are you just skimming over the heartfelt replies here?

Seems like again, a post was put out there, responses made that don't follow your thinking, and so it's all dismissed.

Throw the book at them, they don't deserve to drive to work or anywhere else for that matter if they made the choice to commit this type of crime.

I doubt the courts or the prosecutors care if someone gets help, it's not like the person driving drunk was seeking any..

But, I guess disagree, and what not. You asked for opinion and boy did you get it

least

The possible consequences are more severe than any penalties could ever be.

Taking5

OK so what, $15k for a DUI? That is severe, but it is not a financial death sentence.

A lot of people do not realize that they do not have to pay the fines, go to the classes, AA meetings, etc., if they don't want to. Instead, you can just get sentenced to jail for a year, and you'll be out in six months.

When you get out, you will not be subject to AA, alcohol classes, or anything else. No court ordered fines or fees. This is called "rejecting probation" I believe.

The most famous case of this is (although not alcohol related) football star Jim Brown beating up his wife and he told the judge he would not attend anger management classes and to just throw him in jail. The Judge did, and he was out in 6 months.

If I made minimum wage and thought it would take every spare penny I made for 4 years to pay off the court system, I would do the 6 months. But that's just me.

Trust me, the courts do not want you to do this, but it is your option.

Sara9009

Honestly, I am happy the fines are high and it is a royal pain in the ass. It has caused more than one people I know to take a hard look at themselves. If it was pay $50 bucks and pass go people would keep doing it because the punishment is worth the risk.

Others just think they got "screwed" which is hard for me to comprehend. I really, really do not understand the flippant viewpoint on DUI. I have always had it drilled in me DO NOT DRIVE DRUNK and as a result I haven't. I have walked a few miles at stupid times to get liquor but my car never looked like an option even for the short trip.

Live

Shallot,

I used to serve alcohol. I am not proud of that.
I also used to drive home with booze spilled on me.
Driving to a small town in the wee hours got me pulled over fairly often.
I also had an anxiety/panic disorder.
I didn't panic because I knew I wasn't intoxicated and could pass any tests.
I was never asked to take any kind of test.
Had I have been asked to take a breathalyzer, I would have...
in fact, the last time...I asked why I was pulled over and I was told that
I had a tiny light out.
I was surpised because I had had the car at the mechanic's that week, so
I asked to get out and see which light was out.
No harm, no foul as someone here would say.

PLUS my daughter works for a judge.
She does the job of 2 1/2 people and only gets paid for the 1/2 person.
She does a worthy and honorable job of community service in her position.
Her insider stories have brought me to a level of awareness and admiration
that I would never have had or known to think about.

I hope in the future you take a cab.

Freedom1990

Remember the prohibition era? It wasn't very effective.

NoelleR

This is a longun folks, so I apopogize in advance; sometimes a person just has to blow off steam...... (o:

When I first read this OP.....all I could think of was AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

More harmful than helpful.....? Where in the world did you get the idea that the penalty for ‘any’ crime was supposed to be helpful.....,? They’re punitive, punishment, ‘hit em where they hurt,’ but, to be ‘helpful...?...well, that may be an aside, but definitely not the purpose.

#1---I think that if you check out your state’s penal code, you will find monetary fines attached to most, if not all, of the punishments, for both misdemeanors and felonies, and that would include both DUI’s and DWI’s.

#2---Regarding ‘consent’ ..... I’d be willing to bet that if you check your state’s driver’s handbook, under the chapter on alcohol and drugs, you’ll find a paragraph similar to the following......:

“...If a person is arrested for an offense arising out of acts alleged to have been
committed while the person was operating a motor vehicle in a public place, or a
watercraft, while intoxicated or an offense under section 106.041. Alcoholic beverage
code, the person is deemed to have consented to submit to the taking of
one or more specimens of the person’s breath or blood for analysis to determine
the alcohol concentration or the presence in the person’s body of a controlled
substance, drug, dangerous drug, or other substance...”

There’s probably also some small print on the sheet you sign for your license where it states something similar.

Now, in most states, if a person is stopped for a possible DUI or DWI, and that person refuses, it’s only been a misdemeanor. This has led to a number of folks getting away with their DUI’s/DWI’s when and/or if a trial even resulted.....Some states are thinking of changing this to a felony.....

Texas is one of those states; in fact they have been experimenting with this recently. Going over some numbers, they found that, here in Houston, almost 30% of all accidents over a weekend had alcohol involved. Here in Houston, for the past two weekends, and for the next three weekends, some tests have been and are being implemented. Some spot-check places were set up (complete with cops, attorneys, judges, nurses....etc.). If a person refused breath or blood testing, he/she was immediately arrested, on the spot, the police went to the attorney to draw up a warrant, the warrant was presented to the judge, who signed the warrant, and the nurse would immediately draw blood....and off to jail goes the individual......so, now, no matter what happens with the DUI/DWI offense at trial, this individual will have a felony on their record.

Anyone with a license, hopefully, has read their state’s driver’s handbook, and therefore should know, at least some of, the possible consequences of their driving while under the influence. It’s unfortunate that when we are under the influence, our thinking is impaired to the extent that all this info just doesn’t compute, and we get into our ‘four-wheeled- weapons’ and ......... off we go...................

#3---Regarding the other consequences you mentioned.....: losing a job; losing where you live; losing your vehicle; causing major family problems; divorce.....well I’m not even going to get into those; common sense should cover those. I will say that for about 20 years, I did not have a car (this was not due to driving infractions, but cost----I just didn‘t have the money to pay for a car, insurance, etc.) (and Houston is as large as the state of Rhode Island), and I used public transport.....it CAN be done..... (o:

#4---....and hopefully my last point......and SR-22....? This is for proof of insurance, not related to DUI/DWI; I’m guessing you didn’t have insurance on your car either.....? Tsk, tsk, tsk.

In closing, just let me make a small comment regarding your opinions re......: In my opinion folks should be able to at the VERY least drive to work every day. and Finally I strongly feel NONE of what the State is doing will stop or even help an alcoholic from drinking. As others have stated.....owning a motor vehicle and driving are privileges NOT rights and it’s NOT any state’s responsibility to stop or help alcoholic from drinking.

Well.........enough of this.....I’m tired of my rant/vent, and I’m sure that y’all are too; those of you who actually read all the way through this.....bless yer hearts. I guess I’m just tired of folks not wanting to take responsibility for themselves. ........aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhh

For all you sober folks out there, just think of the money we’re saving.....wooooooweee!


NoelleR

sfgirl

Alright, I think your posts have just hoisted me on my high horse. I know I am supposed to have humility and stuff in recovery but in some cases (ok, a lot of cases) I am just not there yet. I am sort of anal about drinking and driving. I am vehemently against it. Like Carol said earlier, I moved to cities, I lived near the bars I wanted to frequent, I walked, I took public transportation, cabs. I did not drink and drive and if one the few occasions where I think I probably woke up a little drunk and drove, I would accept punishment if it came my way.

First of all, you are only talking about your state, and you are probably talking about sentencing guidelines. Sentencing guidelines do not mean that they are always uniformly applied. So for all your kvetching about not being able to drive to work, here in California on the first DUI I think the suspension is 30 days and you can get conditional use. Second, money is the least harsh to me of all sentences. I mean really— money—you can make payment plans, take out loans, the state is usually lenient about how you pay them back. Would you rather go to jail? Where they strip you of your freedom and lock you up with some violent offenders. I don't understand your tone of entitlement. I used to work with criminals and petty thieves had no problem with restitution and court fines even though I think stealing a sweater out of TJ Maxx is relatively minor compared to driving drunk and endangering lives.

Where I think the state fails is it has a chance to rehabilitate the drivers. So often drunk drivers reoffend and while fines are one type of punishment which honestly hit some people hard and others not so hard, a well constructed long-term class to show and really teach the effects of drunk driving would be the best thing. I know my friend did one here that was experimental and very long term with visitors who had been directly affected or drunk drivers who had killed people and she afterwards became a vehement anti-drunk driver and now seven years later remains so.

However, what would be even better is prevention. It is such a common problem that those types of classes should be taught in the high schools. Also in most of the country our public transportation systems leave much to be desired. Hopefully, with the "green" movement we will see some improvement there.

justsomeguy

I agree it's a bit excessive, especially when you consider in my opinion %90 (yep %90) of people who drink casually and drive have driven drunk at one point or another.

I think there needs to be WAAAYY more education, and a 0 tolerance limit, none of this .08 maybe I'm good stuff.. you expect an inebriated person coming out of a bar to make a valid decision on weather or not they should drive?

I think you should have to go through a DWI, and Madd class to get a license, I think you should be given in this list a list of lawyers and their average fees for representation at that class.

I think you should be given the Avg cost of a DWI in that class. I think it's about 8-10K.

Mine cost me about 12K, luckily no one was hurt. Was the fine excessive.... I don't know... I've never done it again, but I've never been hurting that bad for money. 12K to me is probably less than 2K to some of the people in my classes I took.

I can tell you I take ALOT of cabs now... it's $7 to the 7/11, $6 to the liquer store, and $60 each way for me to take a cab to my office.. $120 round trip... and I've taken it probably 4 times...

but I don't drink and drive any more. Now it's just the drinking I have to quit. Antabuse is in the mail.

Aysha

I still havent seen any kind of remorse for what was done.
Zero.
You got away with it and thats all that matters to you.
Not even an "I am so lucky not only for not being convicted. But also not injuring or killing myself or anyone else."
Thats is so awful.
Not only are you not taking responsibility for the crime you commited. Regardless of what the courts found. Because you already admitted here you did do it.
But absolutely no responsibility for what your careless action may have cuased to not just your own life but anothers.
I have to say. Not alot gets to where I am speechless. But this is one.
I dont even know what to think about that.
No regard for human life.
I really hope you never drink and drive again. You have shown true disregard to the more important issue from all this. And it has nopthing to do with your fines or driving priveledge.
Unbelievable.
I am sorry if I am running my mouth again when I shouldnt.
But I just cant comprehend how someone can just be so oblivious to the severity of what could have happened.
Not one mention about what could have happened to someone else.

Taking5

Chiy,

You are not reading this thread very well. The original posted said he/she was not an alcoholic and never had a DUI.