Originally posted by: MotionMan
I think that is the root of the problem with your point of view - You do not believe that drinking affects ones ability to drive. Accordingly, you believe that drunk drivers are being punished for doing, in effect, nothing.
I will no longer try to debate with you any further since we simply have no common base to start from.
MotionMan
I never said that drinking does not affect one's driving. I will say at lower limits it's less of a hamper than being on the cellphone, trying to read, driving while looking / talking in the backseat, putting on makeup, etc. If you are fall down drunk, you are not going to drive well....yet these are usually the people we read about killing someone...yet are not the ones getting arrested. To me it's akin to arresting anyone with an open or concealed weapons permit and saying because they have a loaded weapon they can murder someone, yet most have no intention of that...nor will ever fire upon another person in their lifetime. At 0.08% BAL, most of those that drink have a extremely minor affect of them. Those that are overly tired have a much more significant affect on them.
I said there are accidents that despite the driver in one or both vehicles drinking, that they were probably not caused by the alcohol.
No one is perfect, but as soon as someone has had even one drink...they are first to cry it HAD to be the alcohol.
If you look at the numbers based on how many people are picked up each day with a DUI, vs how many are probably on the road, vs how many accidents are actually happening...it's not worth the effort they put into it. It's obvious money is the reason.
To VIAN: I take it you don't go out too much with those that drink at all. Most people arrested are arrested through no indication that they had been drinking.
Meanwhile houses and businesses are being broken into to, people are getting mugged, etc because a dozen or so officers are on 'roadside' duty.
It's the way most of the law works...it's what's easiest to farm the most dollars. You would think that in my pretty large city (West Palm Beach) they would have their officers running speed traps on the roads people die all the time on here. Instead they have these roads which go from 45 to 35 for about 5 miles and have about one motorcycle cop at each block. Everytime I pass they have up to 4 cars at one time stopped. I have not seen more than one person in my time travelling this road every morning really hauling down it. It's all probably 5-10mph tickets.
I am not saying let's let everyone drink and drive, but being that I went through it...it's a tremendous amount of resources and tax money just being wasted.
I think they should raise the limits and make the penalties harsher. For lower limits, it should be treated like a major ticket where you must have someone pick you up...you get some points and a fine of several hundred bucks. Get two of these and then escalate it.
The funny part is most of anyone that drinks more than likely has driven and would fail a breath test at 0.08%. It's about the same as those that insist they never practiced unsafe sex....unless of course they have really haven't done neither.
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