What drives me crazy about this topic is the amount of coverage drunk driving gets and the other forms of bad driving get virtually nothing.
I believe most states are now at .08 for the BAC to get a DUI, however in certain states (AZ comes to mind), if you even blow a .01 and they think you ‘seem’ impaired you can be arrested, and spend thousands of dollars to defend / pay fines. Also, the MVD will suspend your license before you are even convicted.
We all know that the #’s on DUI related accidents / fatalites are completely overblown. When you look at some studies, even if the passenger is drunk and the driver is stone cold sober, it’s counted.
I would like to see these crackdowns on people that dart in and out of traffic, those that speed excessively and the people that drive 45 mph on the freeway.
Bad driving is bad driving. Dangerous driving is dangerous regardless if it’s because you’ve had too much to drink or whether you change 4 lanes at the same time.
Drunk drivers make up a very large share of revenue, even at .08 Let’s have a look:
1. Citation
2. Impound Charges
3. Attorney
4. Fines
5. Reinstatement fees for driver’s license
6. DUI Classes
7. Drug and Alcohol Counseling
8. Victims Impact Seminar
They’re never going to let up as it’s now a multi billion dollar industry.
“Our message is loud and clear. If you drive drunk you will be arrested and prosecuted. There will be no exceptions and no excuses.” NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said. Then why is it we hear so often about the repeat offenders who have been pulled over / arrested 5, 6, 7, 8… times?
BINGO!! It’s because our legal system sucks and nobody wants to get tough with drunks. Until and unless there’s a perceiveable, serious consequence, the problem will continue. Here’s how to get not only the drunks attention, but those around him/her. You get busted for DUI here’s what should happen.
1. ANY vehicle you’re driving get’s impounded for 90-days at the owners expense. Whoever loaned the idiot the car now is now part of the solution.
2. Mandatory 30-day jail term.
3. Notice to the auto insurance carrier.
4. No plea bargaining.
5. On the second conviction, ANY vehicle gets impounded for 180-days at the owners expense.
6. Mandatory 1 year jail time.
7. Notice to the auto insurance carrier.
8. If there’s a 3rd conviction, loss of driving priviledges for life. If caught operating a vehicle, a mandatory 5 year jail time.
Oh, I forgot. This is America and nobody has the stomach to deal with jerks. The ACLU would think this to be cruel and unusual punishment.
Technology is in place NOW where a GPS transmitter is installed on the frame of a vehicle and is virtually impossible to remove. Likewise….
An alcohol detector and transmitter has been developed by the makers of Nissan and Mercedes where if the slightest trace of alcohol is detected the friggin car won’t start, even if the driver is sober and a drunk is in the backseat. Make it mandatory in every state backed by the Fed. Special for taxi’s, limo’s, etc.
Mess with an odometer, you’re in trouble now, mess with a cat converter, you’re in trouble now, mess with an alcohol detector, and get caught, you lose your license or tag plus a hugh fine (2500 or so). Inconvenient? YES, Expensive? YES. Any cars on the road on Fri/Sat? NO…for a few years.
Ritchie, that pretty much is the law in AZ. Check it out. I guess you agree that even a .01 is enough to do that to a driver. You’ve never had a beer at dinner and then driven have ya?
any one else notice that “8%” have driven drunk, and that the BAC limit is .08? hmmmm? Coincidence? Or is it a (insert: political party/religious group/social awareness group here) conspiracy?
Should the harsh punishment Ritchie proposes also be imposed on drug intoxication, or does the MJ crowd want to be excluded since medical marijuana is a “medicine”.
Everyone knows a Kennedy can out drink a Bush and a Clinton can hold his breath much longer than a Bush can inhale. And, we all know what Barney Frank and can do.
Acutally, they get you for that too in AZ. If they “suspect” your under the influence of weed, they will take your blood. Even if you haven’t smoked in a week and it’s still in your system, BAM, DUI.
Give me a break with the DD crap. MADD is a neo-prohibitionist special interest group filled with professional victims doing all they can to take away rights afforded under the constitution in the name of public safety. The right against unreasonable search without probable cause all in the name of someone with a substance in their blood. Give me a break.
Take a look the the FARS (pronounced farce) datbase used by NHTSA and do some critical analysis. Of all the drink drive trips NHTSA claims to be occurring, less thatn 2,000 drivers over .08 actually kill someone other than a passenger in their car. Not all 2,00 are at fault either.
Someone wrote it’s a billion dollar a year money machine. Nail on the head sir. 1.8 m arrests per year at 12k / arrestee = 21.6 BILLION dollars going back to good old municipalities because you MIGHT have hurt someone. Speed and inattentive driving is the number one killer, not alcohol. But there is no well organized special interest group lobbying for prison sentences for people who are arrested 3 x for speeding.
It’s scary to hear what type of naive people are out there. If you think MADD’s agenda is to stop DD you’re sadly mistaken. They want you to stop drinking period! They are against: designated drivers, responsible drinking campaigns, and personal breathalizers. Solely because these things send a bad message that ANY drinking is ok. If you are ok with this, welcome in the erosion of your rights. Wake up people and put an end to the nonsense.
Brilliant idea. Boy are you gullable. I bet you believe every word you read in newspaper articles as well. Yes drunk driving is an issue and often a tragedy. But there are much greater tragedies out there every day that also. If you believe MADD’s inflated numbers then I have a bridge to sell you in the desert. MADD’s sole interest these days is making money and moving toward prohibition, even the organization’s founder has stated that. Fortunately for them, they have people like you that take their claims at face value and don’t think for themselves.
Hank- You hear about these things because they are used by MADD as attention grabbers and scare tactics, and it works. You can use this tactic for any issue in our society. There is a definite need to remove repeat offenders from the roads but unfortunately an enormous amount of fringe people are having there lives ruined by MADD’s agenda. First time offenders without accidents are getting more penalized than some drug dealers. The truth they don’t want you to know is that very few first-time DUI offenders ever repeat that crime. Furthermore, the majority of fatal accidents happen at a high BAC. MADD feels .01 and .20 are one and the same. Read up on their organization before making a judgement and you’ll see the light.
What drives me crazy about this topic is the amount of coverage drunk driving gets and the other forms of bad driving get virtually nothing.
I believe most states are now at .08 for the BAC to get a DUI, however in certain states (AZ comes to mind), if you even blow a .01 and they think you ‘seem’ impaired you can be arrested, and spend thousands of dollars to defend / pay fines. Also, the MVD will suspend your license before you are even convicted.
We all know that the #’s on DUI related accidents / fatalites are completely overblown. When you look at some studies, even if the passenger is drunk and the driver is stone cold sober, it’s counted.
I would like to see these crackdowns on people that dart in and out of traffic, those that speed excessively and the people that drive 45 mph on the freeway.
Bad driving is bad driving. Dangerous driving is dangerous regardless if it’s because you’ve had too much to drink or whether you change 4 lanes at the same time.
Drunk drivers make up a very large share of revenue, even at .08 Let’s have a look:
1. Citation
2. Impound Charges
3. Attorney
4. Fines
5. Reinstatement fees for driver’s license
6. DUI Classes
7. Drug and Alcohol Counseling
8. Victims Impact Seminar
They’re never going to let up as it’s now a multi billion dollar industry.
So let’s toast to the big DUI money machine!
Is this what they’re counting as “drunk driving?
“NHTSA’s research revealed that about one in five Americans have driven within two hours of drinking alcohol in the past year.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re impaired…
“Our message is loud and clear. If you drive drunk you will be arrested and prosecuted. There will be no exceptions and no excuses.” NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said. Then why is it we hear so often about the repeat offenders who have been pulled over / arrested 5, 6, 7, 8… times?
BINGO!! It’s because our legal system sucks and nobody wants to get tough with drunks. Until and unless there’s a perceiveable, serious consequence, the problem will continue. Here’s how to get not only the drunks attention, but those around him/her. You get busted for DUI here’s what should happen.
1. ANY vehicle you’re driving get’s impounded for 90-days at the owners expense. Whoever loaned the idiot the car now is now part of the solution.
2. Mandatory 30-day jail term.
3. Notice to the auto insurance carrier.
4. No plea bargaining.
5. On the second conviction, ANY vehicle gets impounded for 180-days at the owners expense.
6. Mandatory 1 year jail time.
7. Notice to the auto insurance carrier.
8. If there’s a 3rd conviction, loss of driving priviledges for life. If caught operating a vehicle, a mandatory 5 year jail time.
Oh, I forgot. This is America and nobody has the stomach to deal with jerks. The ACLU would think this to be cruel and unusual punishment.
Technology is in place NOW where a GPS transmitter is installed on the frame of a vehicle and is virtually impossible to remove. Likewise….
An alcohol detector and transmitter has been developed by the makers of Nissan and Mercedes where if the slightest trace of alcohol is detected the friggin car won’t start, even if the driver is sober and a drunk is in the backseat. Make it mandatory in every state backed by the Fed. Special for taxi’s, limo’s, etc.
Mess with an odometer, you’re in trouble now, mess with a cat converter, you’re in trouble now, mess with an alcohol detector, and get caught, you lose your license or tag plus a hugh fine (2500 or so). Inconvenient? YES, Expensive? YES. Any cars on the road on Fri/Sat? NO…for a few years.
I wonder how much of this 8% are Kennedy’s…just wonderin’…
Either a Kennedy or Bush strung out on cocaine. Either way I guess.
Ritchie, that pretty much is the law in AZ. Check it out. I guess you agree that even a .01 is enough to do that to a driver. You’ve never had a beer at dinner and then driven have ya?
Yup…or, a Clinton who didn’t inhale.
Yup, or Rush and oxycontin.
Ok we get it. Substance abuse/addition is bipartisan.
“8% of Drivers Have Driven Drunk in Past Year”
any one else notice that “8%” have driven drunk, and that the BAC limit is .08? hmmmm? Coincidence? Or is it a (insert: political party/religious group/social awareness group here) conspiracy?
Sorry Seer, I know it’s annoying, but Jeff has the right idea…you can’t let any snide comment go. That’s how they win.
Should the harsh punishment Ritchie proposes also be imposed on drug intoxication, or does the MJ crowd want to be excluded since medical marijuana is a “medicine”.
Everyone knows a Kennedy can out drink a Bush and a Clinton can hold his breath much longer than a Bush can inhale. And, we all know what Barney Frank and can do.
Acutally, they get you for that too in AZ. If they “suspect” your under the influence of weed, they will take your blood. Even if you haven’t smoked in a week and it’s still in your system, BAM, DUI.
I wonder if Barney Frank can hold his breath as long as the Florida Foley? At least Franks isn’t doing it on Kids! Next!
Hit the nail right on the head!!!Opps…I said head…
Give me a break with the DD crap. MADD is a neo-prohibitionist special interest group filled with professional victims doing all they can to take away rights afforded under the constitution in the name of public safety. The right against unreasonable search without probable cause all in the name of someone with a substance in their blood. Give me a break.
Take a look the the FARS (pronounced farce) datbase used by NHTSA and do some critical analysis. Of all the drink drive trips NHTSA claims to be occurring, less thatn 2,000 drivers over .08 actually kill someone other than a passenger in their car. Not all 2,00 are at fault either.
Someone wrote it’s a billion dollar a year money machine. Nail on the head sir. 1.8 m arrests per year at 12k / arrestee = 21.6 BILLION dollars going back to good old municipalities because you MIGHT have hurt someone. Speed and inattentive driving is the number one killer, not alcohol. But there is no well organized special interest group lobbying for prison sentences for people who are arrested 3 x for speeding.
WHAT A JOKE
Couldn’t agree more anon. This is a made up “epidemic”.
of NOT getting hit by a drunk driver?
It’s scary to hear what type of naive people are out there. If you think MADD’s agenda is to stop DD you’re sadly mistaken. They want you to stop drinking period! They are against: designated drivers, responsible drinking campaigns, and personal breathalizers. Solely because these things send a bad message that ANY drinking is ok. If you are ok with this, welcome in the erosion of your rights. Wake up people and put an end to the nonsense.
Brilliant idea. Boy are you gullable. I bet you believe every word you read in newspaper articles as well. Yes drunk driving is an issue and often a tragedy. But there are much greater tragedies out there every day that also. If you believe MADD’s inflated numbers then I have a bridge to sell you in the desert. MADD’s sole interest these days is making money and moving toward prohibition, even the organization’s founder has stated that. Fortunately for them, they have people like you that take their claims at face value and don’t think for themselves.
Hank- You hear about these things because they are used by MADD as attention grabbers and scare tactics, and it works. You can use this tactic for any issue in our society. There is a definite need to remove repeat offenders from the roads but unfortunately an enormous amount of fringe people are having there lives ruined by MADD’s agenda. First time offenders without accidents are getting more penalized than some drug dealers. The truth they don’t want you to know is that very few first-time DUI offenders ever repeat that crime. Furthermore, the majority of fatal accidents happen at a high BAC. MADD feels .01 and .20 are one and the same. Read up on their organization before making a judgement and you’ll see the light.