This could be you...

[NeilTheCop]

An open question.
If drunk driving is such a problem, why do bars have parking lots?

 

[ajkroy]

I think DUIs are not treated as seriously as some would like because the laws regarding DUIs reflect the lawmakers who made them. How many people in general have driven when they should not have, but did not have an accident or did not get caught? Do you think any in the state legislatures might reflect upon their own personal history while crafting DUI laws?

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

DUIs not treated seriously? Really? @ajkroy how old are you?

 

[not2cleverRed]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/mass-driver-in-nh-crash-that-killed-7-has-history-of-dui-charges-suspensions-5-investigates-says/ar-AADlYps?ocid=spartanntp

Next time you go out drinking think about the 7 people that were killed in N.H. . Then call a cab.

Well, drinking is just one of his vices. He's allegedly also a druggie.

But you'd think he'd at least *pretend* to look a little bit broken up/sad at his arraignment. That clueless innocent look when 7 people are dead is chilling. Methinks he's been using that look to get by for years.

 

[ajkroy]

PayrollHRGuy, the entire thread is about how people can commit drunk/drugged driving offences and be free to re-offend quickly thereafter. I do think that means they are not taken very seriously.

In my comment, I said that DUIs are not treated as seriously as some (myself included) would like. And I stand by it.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

In my comment, I said that DUIs are not treated as seriously as some (myself included) would like. And I stand by it.

I asked your age for a reason. It wasn't too long ago that the DUI laws had much lighter sentences than they do today. I remember when a DUI was on par with a speeding ticket.

 

[FlyingRon]

I asked your age for a reason. It wasn't too long ago that the DUI laws had much lighter sentences than they do today. I remember when a DUI was on par with a speeding ticket.

And the per se limit was a lot higher in most cases.

However, those of us who spend years scraping accident victims off the pavement (I was a paramedic/firefighter), know all too well the reality of DUI. More often than not, it's not the stinking drunk puking in the back of your ambulance who didn't survive the accident.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

I think you mean lower limit.

I'm not saying that there shouldn't be harsh punishment for DUI. I just question the statement that it isn't treated seriously enough.

 

[FlyingRon]

Eh? I meant what I said. Back when I was 18, I could drink beer and alcohol and the per se limit was higher than it is now. The .08 commonly in place in the US was a federal mandate done much later.

 

[NeilTheCop]

Do a quick search for DUI attorneys and you will be presented with literally hundreds of thousands of hits.
Any one of those attorneys will be more than willing to represent someone for DUI, but none will argue guilt, they all rely on the arresting officer not following the rules to the letter.
They will question the breathalyzer calibration log, officer certification to use the breathalyzer, time between the arrest and the breath test, FST's conducted in low light conditions, reading of rights, reason for the traffic stop, etc.
I can admit it now, but many officers would avoid stopping suspected drunk drivers simply because it took anywhere from 4 to 6 hours to process them before sending them to be incarcerated. They would bond out and go and pick up their car or truck from the towing company while the officer was still completing the paperwork.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Eh? I meant what I said. Back when I was 18, I could drink beer and alcohol and the per se limit was higher than it is now. The .08 commonly in place in the US was a federal mandate done much later.

I read "was" as "is". Nevermind.

 

[ajkroy]

I live in NH, where this particular accident happened, so it hits home for me. And I am nearly 50.

 

[cbg]

The head of the MA RMV is reported to have resigned over this.

ajkroy, where in NH are you?

 

[Just Blue]

I live in NH, where this particular accident happened, so it hits home for me. And I am nearly 50.

I live in NH, where this particular accident happened, so it hits home for me. And I am nearly 50.

I used to live in Peabody, across from the North Shore Shopping Center (now North Shore Mall), and would take my eldest out into the yard to watch hundreds of bikers heading up to Laconia via 128. It was a trip. You could hear them for miles!

The bikers killed were part of the Laconia annual gathering of bikers.

 

[Taxing Matters]

An open question.
If drunk driving is such a problem, why do bars have parking lots?

Answer: because (1) not all who go to a bar drink, or if they do, do not drink enough to become impaired, (2) those that do drink too much may be there with a designated driver who doesn't, and (3) employees, suppliers, and others also need to park there.

The problem with both the DUI and the gun debates on both sides is that people tend to resort to statements, not unlike the one you just made, that are meant to get an emotional response rather than looking at it more logically. I hate drunk driving. Four members of my family were killed and another injured all in a single accident because some idiot drove while seriously intoxicated — like falling down drunk — and should have known better than to drive. The drunk driver of course survived. As this was in the days before DUI was taken seriously, the drunk driver got a slap on the wrist. That isf part of the reason I have over the years supported many bills to crack down on DUI driving. But I don't get behind the more extreme ideas. All regulation should be reasonable and target as narrowly as possible what the real problem is. You don't use a nuke to swat a fly.

I take the same view of guns. I support the 2nd amendment but I also see a place for reasonable regulation. I have no respect for some of the most ardent gun supporters who take the stance that all regulation affecting gun owners must be opposed. That unfortunately seems to be the prevailing view of the NRA in the last several decades, even though it did not always hold that position. Just like with cars and DUI drivers, some firearm regulation is needed, but it should be reasonable, not overbroad, and target the problem we seek to address.