Society already pays for the negligence of those individuals involved in drunk driving. Now someone else should pay? When does the accountability begin?
And yes, I do imbibe in adult beverages. I am not a teetotaler by any means. I also have payed my dues for a DUI. It cost me around $8,000 in fines and mandatory counseling. Fortunately no other innocent parties were involved. Had there been, I would not expect my company to pay on behalf of my stupidity.
As an insurance broker and defensive driving instructor I feel the laws on DWI are not strong enough. If someone opts to drive drunk and sustains injuries they should pay for their medical treatment. Doctors and hospitals should be able to tell if a driver is drunk or not. For those drivers who are drunk take a credit card or some other means of payment. If the insurance companies must foot the bills this will only cause more increases to insurance rates.
So I am driving home from the Company holiday gathering. Had a few drinks, feeling happy but not drunk. My car skids on some ice, I lose control of the car and crash into a tree. Someone calls 911. The ambulance takes me to the hospital. Hospital checks me out and draws some blood. Determines I am just over the legal limit to drive. I run up a hospital bill, say they have to keep me overnight. Then my NY insurance carrier denies payment of my medical bills. I don’t have the money to pay out of pocket, naturally, because I am an insurance worker. Eventually I get turned over to a collection agency and my credit gets wrecked. Oh dear. Perhaps laws such as this one contribute to the estimated 50% of today’s bankruptcies that are the result of people’s medical misfortunes.
Let’s just outlaw all alcohol, period. Let’s ban it in bars and restaurants like we do tobacco. If any driver is found to have any in their system at all they should get the same punishment as a “drunk” driver. In fact,while we are at it let’s deny medical coverage for any driver who has an accident while using a cell phone or smoking.
if you cant afford to pay then dont play.
stay home and get drunk, or get a designated driver. people can still drink but only to legal limits! i dont want to pay for your nigght out on the town!
any dummy knows any alcohol or drug in your body impaires you. a responsible gov and legislative body would not have done this. if you do it you pay, not the rest of us. helmet laws apply too
There is no way to get around how messed up our society is with accountability and the actions of a minority paid for by the majority. Currently, cigarettes are highly taxed because of the higher costs to the public for those that choose to risk their health. Let’s do the same for alcohol. Repeal the law and raise the taxes per bottle to cover the increased expenses of alcohol related injuries.
While PIP currently won’t pay the drunk driver’s medical bills, his or her private medical coverage would then pick up the tab. The unfortunately uninsured among us are the ones left with the “tab”. They already are under-employed, will now lose their means of transportation and their job, have worse credit, spiral downward until social services takes them and pays all their medical, food and housing bills. Isn’t the answer a universal, single payor national health program? Then watch the costs of workers comp; no-fault auto; group health, medicaid, medicare, etc drop dramatically. Workers will not be slaves to the companies that offer these benefits and can freely move to any job anywhere. Drinking and driving is just one of many social ills and you can’t jail and beat down all the people all the time.
If you dig deep enough, you will find that “sin taxes” go mainly to projects not in any way associated with the sin. In other words, it simply revenue generation, not saving for the ills brought by the sin.
Increasing the tax on alcohol would only serve to line the pockets of our politicians further.
An insured should be covered if they have paid their premium. Should an insured have a poor driving record with alcohol related tickets, their rates are increased to compensate or they are denied coverage. Allow the insurance companies to do their jobs, and keep the government out of this. The insurance companies do a very good job of being selective. People who overdrink and drive need help, they will not get that with legislation.
Alcoholics, drug users, and gang members who sustain gunshot wounds all fall into the same category when it comes to raising the social costs associated with their behavior. A significant portion of our already taxed medical resources are exhausted on these people and who pays for it? You and I. They can’t, and won’t.
I concur totally with those who advocate the offenders be held personally responsible for their medical expenses. Med coverage is there for unexpected or unforeseen occurences; not for those that are known to occur with the above behaviors. Unfortunately, our society will never allow these people to go un-treated.
Society already pays for the negligence of those individuals involved in drunk driving. Now someone else should pay? When does the accountability begin?
And yes, I do imbibe in adult beverages. I am not a teetotaler by any means. I also have payed my dues for a DUI. It cost me around $8,000 in fines and mandatory counseling. Fortunately no other innocent parties were involved. Had there been, I would not expect my company to pay on behalf of my stupidity.
LETS GIVE MORE BENEFITS TO DRUNKEN DRIVERS SO THE DOCTORS AND LAWYERS CAN MAKE MORE MONEY…ONLY IN AMERICA BABY
As an insurance broker and defensive driving instructor I feel the laws on DWI are not strong enough. If someone opts to drive drunk and sustains injuries they should pay for their medical treatment. Doctors and hospitals should be able to tell if a driver is drunk or not. For those drivers who are drunk take a credit card or some other means of payment. If the insurance companies must foot the bills this will only cause more increases to insurance rates.
So I am driving home from the Company holiday gathering. Had a few drinks, feeling happy but not drunk. My car skids on some ice, I lose control of the car and crash into a tree. Someone calls 911. The ambulance takes me to the hospital. Hospital checks me out and draws some blood. Determines I am just over the legal limit to drive. I run up a hospital bill, say they have to keep me overnight. Then my NY insurance carrier denies payment of my medical bills. I don’t have the money to pay out of pocket, naturally, because I am an insurance worker. Eventually I get turned over to a collection agency and my credit gets wrecked. Oh dear. Perhaps laws such as this one contribute to the estimated 50% of today’s bankruptcies that are the result of people’s medical misfortunes.
Let’s just outlaw all alcohol, period. Let’s ban it in bars and restaurants like we do tobacco. If any driver is found to have any in their system at all they should get the same punishment as a “drunk” driver. In fact,while we are at it let’s deny medical coverage for any driver who has an accident while using a cell phone or smoking.
if you cant afford to pay then dont play.
stay home and get drunk, or get a designated driver. people can still drink but only to legal limits! i dont want to pay for your nigght out on the town!
any dummy knows any alcohol or drug in your body impaires you. a responsible gov and legislative body would not have done this. if you do it you pay, not the rest of us. helmet laws apply too
There is no way to get around how messed up our society is with accountability and the actions of a minority paid for by the majority. Currently, cigarettes are highly taxed because of the higher costs to the public for those that choose to risk their health. Let’s do the same for alcohol. Repeal the law and raise the taxes per bottle to cover the increased expenses of alcohol related injuries.
While PIP currently won’t pay the drunk driver’s medical bills, his or her private medical coverage would then pick up the tab. The unfortunately uninsured among us are the ones left with the “tab”. They already are under-employed, will now lose their means of transportation and their job, have worse credit, spiral downward until social services takes them and pays all their medical, food and housing bills. Isn’t the answer a universal, single payor national health program? Then watch the costs of workers comp; no-fault auto; group health, medicaid, medicare, etc drop dramatically. Workers will not be slaves to the companies that offer these benefits and can freely move to any job anywhere. Drinking and driving is just one of many social ills and you can’t jail and beat down all the people all the time.
Germany did this a few decades ago.
THEY ALSO HAD CONCENTRATION CAMPS A FEW DECADES AGO, SHOULD WE FOLLOW THAT MISTAKE AS WELL???? LETS GET SERIOUS
If you dig deep enough, you will find that “sin taxes” go mainly to projects not in any way associated with the sin. In other words, it simply revenue generation, not saving for the ills brought by the sin.
Increasing the tax on alcohol would only serve to line the pockets of our politicians further.
An insured should be covered if they have paid their premium. Should an insured have a poor driving record with alcohol related tickets, their rates are increased to compensate or they are denied coverage. Allow the insurance companies to do their jobs, and keep the government out of this. The insurance companies do a very good job of being selective. People who overdrink and drive need help, they will not get that with legislation.
Alcoholics, drug users, and gang members who sustain gunshot wounds all fall into the same category when it comes to raising the social costs associated with their behavior. A significant portion of our already taxed medical resources are exhausted on these people and who pays for it? You and I. They can’t, and won’t.
I concur totally with those who advocate the offenders be held personally responsible for their medical expenses. Med coverage is there for unexpected or unforeseen occurences; not for those that are known to occur with the above behaviors. Unfortunately, our society will never allow these people to go un-treated.