I think Jlee has pulled me over before. Not sure if it was him though.
Nice try policeman.
I see you driving around quite often.
This person was under 21. Just being intoxicated, PERIOD, is an offense. Are you talking about this case, or are you using this as a tangent to your own personal opinion of what laws should or should not be?
Yeah, and drunk gun owners with a round in the chamber should be charged with murder. :roll;
Well, I was talking in generality. We should ENCOURAGE someone that is too drunk to drive, to stay off the road. ANYONE that is too drunk to drive.
I didn't even know you could get a DUI for being drunk and in your car.
There goes my whole "well I'll sleep it off in the car theory" Guess it's a better idea to just drive home then. If I know I'm over .08, but can still drive safe enough to not get in an accident or get pulled over, it's safer for me to drive home? No accident, no DUI. Than it is to sleep in the parking lot and get a DUI when someone calls about a "suspicious vehicle"?
To reduce drunk driving, an alternative should be provided. Hell, there should be a "safe harbor" type protection for someone who sleeps off their drunkenness. Maybe "Give your keys to the bartender, go back in the morning and get a free coffee with your keys" No "public intoxication" in the parking lot of the establishment that sold you that intoxication. It doesn't make sense.
In regards to "under age"... Well turning 21 doesn't make you magically able to handle alcohol. It's an arbitrary number assigned by a law. The fact of the matter is many, many, many underage people drink. There is nothing you, or a law, can do about it. Wouldn't you rather ANYONE who realizes they've had too much to drink, could have a safe, free way to deal with it?
The laws, being how you describe them, would give someone under-21 MORE motivation to drive home, and put more lives at risk.
Are you serious? What a fucking psycho bitch.
And a $6,000? Holy shit. My buddy got a DUI one night I rode with him back from a bar. His fine was $1,600. I think he'd blown only a .12 BAC.
Total cost of my last DUI:
$1500 in fines/court costs
$2000 Driver Responsibility fee
$1000 court ordered substance abuse classes
Then call it 30-45 minutes before you want to leave.Taxi's around here would usually require 30-45 minutes wait.
....
Total cost of my last DUI:
$1500 in fines/court costs
$2000 Driver Responsibility fee
$1000 court ordered substance abuse classes
As I indicated, I'm speaking in generality. The stupid laws don't only exist in your area.For those who don't know where I work...it's in a very affluent and very small college town. Money is not a concern for most people, and the majority of drinking is done at fraternities, not bars. This guy was 1.6 miles from home.
That is admirable.I understand what you're saying, but the point remains - if you're going to drink yourself into oblivion, you should have a plan to get home beforehand. Hell I've given people rides home in the cruiser..
I ended up releasing this guy to one of his neighbors - obviously he's not going to call us since he's under 21 and intoxicated, but if he was of age and called us explaining his predicament, I can almost guarantee that one of us would've given him a ride home. I don't work for your typical big-city police department.
Then call it 30-45 minutes before you want to leave.
Because drunk people have the best advanced planning skills.
Bottom line is... If someone is not taking a taxi, for whatever reason, if they get to their car and realize they shouldn't drive, they should feel free to sleep it off in the car. There should be no motivation to attempt driving, because you know you can get a DUI for being in your car despite not driving.
Should have been more, dont mean to be a dick, but you were careless and could have killed someone
How much did your car insurance go up?
Taxi's around here would usually require 30-45 minutes wait.
I'd much rather sleep in my car than pay for a taxi, and leave my car unattended in some weird parking lot overnight. Then have to have get another taxi back to pick up my car.
You can't expect everyone to have the money on them to pay for a taxi...just spent all their money at the bar, or never took money in the first place.
Hell, I've rode in a taxi once in my entire life. That was only because my friend didn't want to park his car in downtown Seattle.
In my class there were people that got arrested for sleeping in their back seat, a guy that got arrested and his corvette impounded (New york city) for washing his car in his driveway while drinking, many that were arrested at parties for going out to their car for cigarettes usually,....none of them driving.
I officially hate you. They shouldn't just take your license away, you should be executed.
On the news in WI, you hear about people who get their 16th or 17th OWI. No one can figure out why these people are still on the streets. It's sad.
Here's how I think it should be:
1st time - I can see a person making an honest mistake. You're should be punished badly with a huge fine and be forced to take classes and such, but I can see how this might happen.
2nd time - You're stupid. Plain and simple. You should face jail time for endangering others and be forced into rehab at your own expense. Community service should consume your weekends for the next 6 months.
3rd time - You're most likely mentally retarded because you haven't learned your lesson yet. You should face serious jail time and be forced into rehab at your own expense and you should face a minimum of 9 months of community service.
4th time - You should be taken to the middle of town and hung. Hopefully you haven't reproduced yet as your children will probably end up a retard like you.