Ending to my 0.07 DUI Story

[xylene]

while i agree with the overall arguement...

Yes, the 18th Amendment was repealed... but in doing so, the Constitution does not enumerate a specific 'right' to drink alcohol, as it does the right to free speech, worship as you choose, etc

Please bone up on your constitional law a tiny bit.

Read Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Also Amendment XXI

Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

Section 2. The transportation or importation into any state, territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several states, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the states by the Congress.

It is even of keen interest to note the 18th amendment does not ban the consumption of alcohol nor the intoxicated state.

 

[paguy88]

However as we all know, most of the ones stopped are breaking the law, and they get popped.

This is what the problem is... we do not know that most being stopped are breaking the law.... Innocent until proven guilty in America... that is a staple of this country's foundation.

Bottom line it always costs money. It is just not worth it, to even get into the fight, to begin with. Some again, have the money, most do not, so why even take the chance.[/

Yea most do not have the money to fight these DUI charges.. I actually get the "i only had 2 beers thing" at this point I see where they are lieing to make them selves feel better.. lost track... whatever... 2 sounds safe

But here is what the cold hard rerality is.

DUI is demonized in society not the the point that say your uncle get a DUI and you are not going to invite him over for Xmas dinner... but it's nto a gold star...

in my state you know what's funny... the demographic from what I remember is

white male age 30-42 single income less than 19,000...

that tells me they are low incoome males out on friday and sat (the two most pouluar nights to get popped for a DUI) most are out drinking looking for women in bars parting with buddies ect...

cops know it you know it we all know it..

odds are they have drivin drunks 100's of times.. they have a patter as the harmful drinker harmful and social drinkers have mixed in todays culture...

I also get this .08 99% of the people just don't understand it how you get to .08... and some just dont care.

I was out friday night at a local bar.. nice place and wacthed 100's of people pounding down beers mixed drinks. Then some guy getting into his car take a leak on his tire and drive way....

Odds are he is drunk.. do i know it for a fact? nope.. I am guessing after watching him pound down a few shots and drink 3 beers in about 50 minutes...

and I thought to myself this is going on EVERYWHERE.... all over bars across my city and around the country.

did he get caught? who knows..

then you get the guys who is out with his wife for dinner and drinks get popped.... just might not understand how to drink and not hit .08

then you have the raging drunk.. drinks a 2, 6 packs everynight..... drives does not care either way just wants to be drunk...

I would prefer a zero tolerence... law then no excuses... but that is just me.

 

[RatPackLar]

I Am With You The Problem Is

We all have these ideas of how the laws are supposed to work. What we were taught as kids, and growing up, is nice on paper, but does not cut it, in the real world.

Most people get their ideas of how the legal system works, from what they see on TV or the Movies.

In reality, it does not work that way as you have found out.

DUI, yea the little guy gets pounded and demonized, but nobody hates the movie stars and the jocks who get popped for DUI.

Paris Hilton, I mean come on, and yea she boo hooed her jail, but her DUI, really did not effect her one bit.

Now Joe Blow, his DUI can really mess up his life.

Now they both did DUI, and both could have killed anybody, as that is always brought up.

She is still famous and fine, still making great money, and everbody forgets.

Heck, Lohan got two, and she is not in jail, she did not do anywhere near the time my brother did, for his two.

Nicole Riche, did 80 minutes, in jail for hers, yep, 80 minutes, ha ha ha ha - Gee, so much for the deterrent of jail for her.

Joe blow, would not have gotten off so easy.

Joe Blow, has a hard time just keeping his job, letting alone, trying to get another one, after DUI.

DUI is big business for that industry and they know it.

If the rich and famous cannot get off, what makes anybody else think, they really can, now does it happen, yea, but not for most who get nailed.

Bottom line, do not do it. it is just not worth the risk.

 

[Ajosin]

Please post a link to that analysis [DUI laws unconstitutional] .... unless you're just talking out of your butt.... Again.

Ok, here is one example from the many that are out there,

http://www.duiblog.com/2005/05/09/the-dui-exception-to-the-constitution/

So... if your BAC had been .08 or .10... would they have gotten enough "false evidence"?

I'll answer your "if" question with a "No, they would have gotten true evidence and correctly convicted me if by BAC would have been 0.08 or 0.10". Now, I ask you to please answer my "if" question below,

If the police are purposely delaying giving me the breathalyser test so the sample is taken at the time they believe by BAC is peaking, are they trying to get "false evidence"?

You have no idea of what you're talking about.

I wish that were true. Unfortunately, I lived through this painful experience and learned how the real world works.

Come back when you get arrested again.

I assure I will not be arrested again. I have stopped drinking socially. I will not give the police any opportunities to jeopardize my families future again. I am also warning my friends about the "one drink an hour" rule of thumb; If the police smell alcohol in your breath at 2:00 am they will give you a FST which you will "fail" even though it is designed for you to pass with BAC < 0.10, you will be arrested, and prosecuted even if your BAC is below 0.08 (the guy next to my holding cell blew 0.06 and they prosecuted him).

 

[Ajosin]

I would prefer a zero tolerence... law then no excuses... but that is just me.

I agree. After having to deal with my own DUI case I would propose,

(1) A drinking-and-driving penalty moving scale;
Greater than 0.01 and less than 0.05 - $500 traffic fine.
Between 0.05 and 0.07 - $1000 traffic fine.
0.08 and above DUI.

(2) Do not reward police by number of convictions/arrests, to avoid the temptation of bringing up arrest numbers by targeting the social drinker population on the road (see http://www.reason.com/blog/show/120843.html for an example). Instead, reward them for lowering the number of deaths/accidents on the road. Some counties have reported a big reduction in accident rates if they increase their focus on aggressive rush-hour driving.

I think that this way we can reduce the sad cases of people who think they are following the rules and end up with DUI charges after blowing below the legal limit (which in my opinion is great injustice that happens all too frequently).

 

[Ajosin]

Again, you got lucky, but tell us, how much did it cost you? Who paid that bill?

The lawyer fees were $3,500. It would have been $12,500 if we had gone to trial. I payed the fees with my own money and we (my wife and I) were saving for the trial fee by not going out, eating a lot of rice, etc. Since there was no trial, we ended up with an extra $9,000 which we are now planning to put into a college savings account for our two-month old daughter.

 

[Ohiogal]

I agree. After having to deal with my own DUI case I would propose,

(1) A drinking-and-driving penalty moving scale;
Greater than 0.01 and less than 0.05 - $500 traffic fine.
Between 0.05 and 0.07 - $1000 traffic fine.
0.08 and above DUI.

(2) Do not reward police by number of convictions/arrests, to avoid the temptation of bringing up arrest numbers by targeting the social drinker population on the road (see http://www.reason.com/blog/show/120843.html for an example). Instead, reward them for lowering the number of deaths/accidents on the road. Some counties have reported a big reduction in accident rates if they increase their focus on aggressive rush-hour driving.

I think that this way we can reduce the sad cases of people who think they are following the rules and end up with DUI charges after blowing below the legal limit (which in my opinion is great injustice that happens all too frequently).

Any amount of alcohol can impair driving and lead to deaths. And quite frankly if you cause a death while impaired with any amount of alcohol you should be charged with murder. If you cause injury while driving while impaired, you should be charged with attempted murder. Because everyone has heard do not drink and drive. Also, if you go to a bar by yourself or driving and do not have a designated driver, then you are planning to drive home impaired most likely.

 

[Ajosin]

In what state does THAT rule exist [DUI automatically at fault]? This is plainly NOT the case in CA. here, the fault would be determined to be DUI ONLY if the cause of the collision belonged to the driver who happened to be impaired.

- Carl

Here is the usual argument used in most parts of the country to attribute fault to the DUI driver,

The DUI party could not avoid the collision since they were impaired. Since the state laws require that a driver must avoid a collision at all costs, the DUI driver is at fault (example: Washington http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_a_DUI_driver_automatically_at_fault_in_an_auto_accident_in_Washington_state).

In short, if you are sober, you can play demolition derby with a DUI driver and get away with it.

Bottom line - Do not drink and drive! Ever! The average driver will be in one serious accident during his driving career. Trust me, you do not want it to coincide with the time you had two glasses of wine and a champagne toast at your cousins wedding.

 

[Ajosin]

Any amount of alcohol can impair driving and lead to deaths. And quite frankly if you cause a death while impaired with any amount of alcohol you should be charged with murder.

OK, let's try to agree on this,

(1) The actual law of the country works/behaves in the way you describe above.
(2) A lot of good citizens do not realize (1). They believe in the "0.08 BAC limit" and "one drink an hour" rules.

(1) + (2) = A lot of good citizens have their life ruined/altered after the weight of the law unexpectedly falls on them.

 

[Ohiogal]

OK, let's try to agree on this,

(1) The actual law of the country works/behaves in the way you describe above.
(2) A lot of good citizens do not realize (1). They believe in the "0.08 BAC limit" and "one drink an hour" rules.

(1) + (2) = A lot of good citizens have their life ruined/altered after the weight of the law unexpectedly falls on them.

First, number one is wrong. The law does NOT work the way I have described.
Two, ignorance of the law is NOT an excuse. The 0.08 limit is a per se limit meaning no other evidence quite frankly is necessary if that is established to determine that someone is drunk or impaired.

 

[Ajosin]

First, number one is wrong. The law does NOT work the way I have described.
Two, ignorance of the law is NOT an excuse. The 0.08 limit is a per se limit meaning no other evidence quite frankly is necessary if that is established to determine that someone is drunk or impaired.

Ok, you are right in the statements above.

I was trying to make a point that with DUI laws there is a huge disconnect between the law, after it was allowed to be re-written by a victims advocacy group, and its understanding from the citizens. This causes a lot of pain in this country with 1.5 million people convicted of DUI annually (may of them being pulled over by trivial traffic violations and having low BAC levels), a traumatic event that changes their life and financial future forever.

 

[BigMistakeFl]

I was one of them too

I was one of those arrested for DUI whose life was traumatically affected by the event. It did change my life and financial status, yet still, I have a life and did not sustain a life changing injury. I also learned a lesson and have never and will never drive after drinking again. So I guess you could say that the DUI event did change me forever.

I wonder if it has such a lasting effect on people who are injured or killed by people like I used to be, who drive after consuming alcohol or drugs.

 

[paguy88]

Two, ignorance of the law is NOT an excuse. The 0.08 limit is a per se limit meaning no other evidence quite frankly is necessary if that is established to determine that someone is drunk or impaired.

OK if this .08 is so dead on accurate... to establish someone is to drunk or imparied to drive...

please explain why at one point the legal BAC was .15.. then suddenly dropped (by a law being passed to .10, then to .08 now keep in mind that states where forced to low to this .08 limit... to contiune to get funds from the federal government)

what over time has changed so much in the human body to justify this change in the BAC...

Now some people will say that 1 drink can have an effect to alter someones decision making skills... and I agree it could... for some

I can not think of another law that could land you in Jail.... that MILLIONS of people are getting arrested for each year.... and Millions more are breaking each and every friday and sat night who never get caught. you have some drinks and have NO IDEA what your BAC is...

If I walked into a local grocery store and wanted to steal some candy... I know I am stealing it and I know it's against the law. big differance than drinking and driving..

yet in atleast my area.. as far as DUI is concerned... I see no work shops or classes whatever on how this works.... how to figure out your BAC.. classes put on my local townships, cities police... to show the effects of drinking and driving...

yet I see neighbor hood crime wacthes they help the community... and improve quality of life.

maybe if people had a better understand on what booze does to the body and judgement... it would scare some stright... to atleast educate them..

maybe the anwser is before you can buy booze you need to take a class that would give this info... and you get a licenese to say you took the class and can buy the booze..

or better yet for each DUI check point that is set up.... the local department that is running it has to offer a class to the community... someone D&A professional teaches it and have a cop there to talk about his/her end and have some DUI victim familes...

all I see now is people getting busted for DUI... but no one doing anything to improve the situation at the problem source for many . lack of education on what bozze does to the body.

 

[BigMistakeFl]

Buy one

I know this might not sound practical, but we can all buy a personal alcohol breath content tester. Granted it might not be as completely accurate as that into which cops ask us to "blow", but it's a start. I'd like to see something along this line as standard equipment on cars someday. Not an "interlock" that prevents us from driving, but at least a tester that can tell us if we've passed that so-called "legal limit". If we blow close or over and decide to drive anyway, that's our foolish choice:

http://www.alcohol-breathalyzers.com/

Is this going to the extreme? Ok, but from around $60.00 dollars and up, we can at least know where we stand and thus NOT leave judging while impaired, whether or not we may be impaired. And this is a helluva lot cheaper than the DUI arrest and prosecution process.

 

[Clock]

I know this might not sound practical, but we can all buy a personal alcohol breath content tester. Granted it might not be as completely accurate as that into which cops ask us to "blow", but it's a start. I'd like to see something along this line as standard equipment on cars someday. Not an "interlock" that prevents us from driving, but at least a tester that can tell us if we've passed that so-called "legal limit". If we blow close or over and decide to drive anyway, that's our foolish choice:

http://www.alcohol-breathalyzers.com/

Is this going to the extreme? Ok, but from around $60.00 dollars and up, we can at least know where we stand and thus NOT leave judging while impaired, whether or not we may be impaired. And this is a helluva lot cheaper than the DUI arrest and prosecution process.

Definitely. I'm planning on buying a 100 dollar unit to put into my glovebox. Not as a "Hey, I'm good to drive!", but as a reminder of "no, this is what your BAC actually is right now." kind of thing.