are dwi laws to harsh?

[shovelhead518]

What is the name of your state?ny

just wondering opinions, not looking for a flame war(if possible)

[CdwJava]

Nope. They are largely too weak. And in comparison to the DUI laws of most other countries, they can be pitifully weak.

- Carl

Originally Posted by CdwJava

Nope. They are largely too weak. And in comparison to the DUI laws of most other countries, they can be pitifully weak.

- Carl

Yep; try driving drunk in Europe. Over there, they even put royalty in the clink for drunk driving. Our laws are way too lenient.

[snostar]

Of course the answer all depends on who you are asking, the drunk behind bars will tell you, "yes," and the average citizen will tell you, "they're not strict enough!" And those of us that have lost loved ones due to drunk drivers will say, "burn them at the stake!"

[JoeDren]

The question is not whether DWI laws are strict enough, rather are DWI laws serving their purpose. One way of looking at it is that DWI is one of the most common crimes in the US and if DWI laws were more strict, less people would drive drunk out of fear of punishment. Another way of looking at it is that DWI is one of the most common crimes in the US, even though the penalties for doing so can be stiff, therefore stiff penalty is not the proper remedy. It is my opinion that DWI in the US is not a problem that can be solved by a prison sentence. This is mainly because people usually do not have their full capacities when making the decision to commit this crime, thus stiff penalty does not come into consideration when chosing whether or not to drink and drive. Other crimes such as murder for instance are not like this. If a person wants to kill someone, logical reason warns them that doing so will result in prison, and usually this is enough to deter such action. In this case, stiff penalty has brought about the desired result, yet the situation is much different in the case of DWI. When deciding to drive, a person that is too drunk to drive does one of two things. #1.The driver misjudges their impairment (because of their impairment), and feels that they are committing no crime and have no reason to fear punishment. #2. The driver, who would normally abide by the law to avoid punishment, is too impaired to fully understand or care about the possible consequence of their actions. Now, before I get a bunch of posts, "But Joe, if DWI penalties were stiff enough, (lets say prison for first offense) people would alter their drinking habits so that the they weren't put in the position of having to make the choice of drinking and driving." While I must concede that DWI rates would probably fall a little, I would be willing to bet that it would still be one of the most common crimes in the US. This turns one problem into two. While DWI would remain to be a common crime, otherwise productive citizens would add to the overcrowding of the prison system. Clearly, the most efficient, cost-effective solution to the DWI cannot be prison time. It is my opinion that money used to process and convict drunk drivers could more effectively be used on proactive solutions. Some possibilities might be free short distance(less than 10 mi.), night-time transportation and increased education on responsible decision making to young people. The free taxi service has been implemented in many college towns and have proven to be quite successful. The objective of DWI legislation should be to cure the source of the problem. Very harsh penalties for DWI, is like cutting your head off to get rid of a headache, when you could have just taken an asprin. By any means, the proper solution to this problem will not come easily. Angry people can bark, lock em' up and throw away the key, but this will ultimately do no good. Not only is alcohol a big part of American culture (especially amongst the age group most likely to DWI), but Alcohol is big business in America. Producers of Alcohol will continue to agressively market their product, which serves as a barrier to solving the DWI problem. Also, in a country where money equates to political power, it will be difficult to get extremely stiff alcohol legislation past the rich alcohol lobby. Even if extremely harsh DWI penalties got through the legislature, there will still be lawyers to find ways around it, and people would be more inclined to purchase these services to avoid prosecution. This equates less plea bargaining and a bigger caseload on prosecutors, and would add to the disproportionate number of poor people in the prison system.
Ok, thats it, thats all I have to say about that. I know that 90% of you will think that this little tirade of mine was 100% bull****, but if no one ever disagreed then this country wouldn't be what it is today. I welcome your comments and criticisms, as I hope to further improve this concept.

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

Ask a stupid question, get "War & Peace" as a response. Sheeeesh!

IAAL

[minerzlegal]

I have stated before on this website I personely have had 14 DUI's in my life, not a record I am proud of, but nevertheless true. As I drank most everyday the 14 DUI's are just 14 times I was caught. I thank God I never killed or harmed anyone in my drunken driving, although I drove plenty of times with one eye closed to see the white line. I live in a rural area so there was never much traffic to deal with. I seemed to buy my way out of them, until the last two of which I received both in a thirty day period. This put me in line for a stay at the state pen. I was lucky and took some action. I spent no jail time, although the probation,fines, and attorney fees were way up there. I wonder myself if the laws had been stiffer, if I would have taken some positive action after the first one. While at a treatment center I was asked to figure what my drinking cost me including divorces, loss of homes and autos, insurance, attorney, probation fees, and all associated with my 38 years of drinking. Estimated total was close to $750,000.00. Had laws been stiffer I would have had a greater balance in my checking account. The first three years after my last two DUI's I was spending $233.00 a month for just one auto in insurance. I now insure 4 trucks, 1 auto, 2 ATV's, 1 motorcycle, and all equipment for $112.00 a month. Have a good day.

[HomeGuru]

I vote for the death penalty. We have too many idiots in the US.

Originally Posted by HomeGuru

I vote for the death penalty. We have too many idiots in the US.

If we got rid of the idiots, who would run the country?

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by seniorjudge

If we got rid of the idiots, who would run the country?

**A: the dummies who lost the elections.

[moilamonkey]

do you mean idiots like the prosecuter in WI or the state rep in MN who both got DUI's?? how many others? face the facts, even the people who make the laws and enforce the laws don't follow the DUI laws. It's time to focus on prevention, not prosecution. Destroying lives by jailing people who have a few drinks is idiotic. The only thing more idiotic is someone who has the time to post 50,000 times on this site. Get a life.

Originally Posted by moilamonkey

...The only thing more idiotic is someone who has the time to post 50,000 times on this site....

Amen!

HG, you need to get your numbers up.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by moilamonkey

do you mean idiots like the prosecuter in WI or the state rep in MN who both got DUI's?? how many others? face the facts, even the people who make the laws and enforce the laws don't follow the DUI laws. It's time to focus on prevention, not prosecution. Destroying lives by jailing people who have a few drinks is idiotic. The only thing more idiotic is someone who has the time to post 50,000 times on this site. Get a life.

**A: too funny. And tell me just where in my post did I make reference to prosecution? My post stated the death penalty which should actually apply to idiots such as yourself. You are not only an idiot but a grandiose joke as well.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by seniorjudge

Amen!

HG, you need to get your numbers up.

**A: we see that this idiot voilamonkey can't even count.

[ENASNI]

Get em Guru!!!

I know a grandiose joke but I would get kicked off this forum for telling it.

I would rather get kicked off for saying I didn't vote for the Shrub...

Uh-oh ... duck and cover