Are DUI laws too tough?

Number 3

I think the sentences are too lenient. You should be punished for your intention, not the outcome. A drink driver who kills someone should have the same sentence as someone who doesn't kill someone. You shouldn't be 'rewarded' with a lighter sentence just because you got lucky and didn't kill someone. I think that all drink driving offences should be punishable by 10 years in prison. There is no excuse to be driving over the limit. The law is the law - you cannot choose to ignore it as you think you know better. There is a reason why the alcohol limit is as it is. There are a hundred alternatives to drink driving.

Gemma

Shame on you for asking a question like that. You drove drunk and you're lucky you didn't kill anyone. How many times did you drive drunk before getting caught? I think you should have had at least 90 days.

Jay

You'll be hard-pressed to find many people that would agree with you.

We object to DWI because it's a serious danger. It's also trivial to avoid. Before you drive, don't drink. Problem solved.

roo

DUI laws are not tough enough. You broke the law, you deserved to be punished.

bergy_us

No the laws are not to tough. You may want to risk your own life. But what about the other people on the road.

sarge927

The DUI laws are not tough enough. You're fortunate you only got 30 days in jail. Your statement that you were barely over the limit but could drive OK is BULL$H!T. EVERY drunk driver says and thinks he/she can drive OK -- how the hell do you think the cop caught you, genius? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out when a person has been drinking and driving, and it also doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the chances of a traffic fatality go WAY UP when someone gets behind the wheel even with a BAC of .04, which is half the legal limit. What you don't get is that people years ago were NOT fine to drive with a few drinks. I have three friends from high school that didn't make their 10-year reunion because they were killed by drunk drivers. So take your lumps and be thankful you didn't hurt anyone else.

Dogsbody

Not tough enough in my view.
Don't drink at all if you're driving, then you wouldn't have to worry about it.
Imagine how your views on this subject would change if a member of your family or a loved one was killed by a drink driver? Even if, in his opinion, he was 'ok to drive'? Do you think your views would change?
It's such a simple thing to do. Just don't drink if you're driving. Simple as.

If you drink and drive, you should be jailed and license suspended for 6 months for the first offense. Second time, jailed and license suspended forever....

When you drink and drive, you are a killer with a deadly weapon pointed at everyone......

dlgfdg

When we talk about innocent law abiding citizens who drive our highways everyday, as I see it, no DUI law can be too tough. When the stats tell us that over 50,000 innocent people were killed by drunken drivers this past year, no DUI laws can be too tough. There is no excuse, drinking and driving do not go hand in hand. All drivers know the laws, therefore, when they drink and drive, they must pay the consequences. Even to extent of losing their license for a lifetime. You know the laws, obey them.

csucdartgirl

Years ago the limit was 0.10, now it is 0.08. So you're really only talking 2 hundreths of an allowance.

If you were over the limit, you should not have been driving. Reap what you sow.

davethenayber

Not tough enough.

Please think about what you could do to yourself or someone else while driving impaired.

keeprockin

much better you spending time in nick than some innocent child spending time in Hospital,or worse.

loretta

DUI laws need to be tougher. i don't believe in driving drug or under the influence of anything. b happy you got off with a easy 30 days. if I'd been the judge, you would of got 10 years. to many people especially children get killed by drunk drivers. booze should be lawed completely.

EVH 5150

they are`nt tough enough! if you had a bump or hit someone.... got to think of that!

bmac

This just blows my mind. You even ADMIT to drinking and driving and you still won't accept responsibility for doing that.

AND you've been in trouble before you so you are used to making excuses for yourself.

Rachel M

DWI laws are way to lenient and contain far too many loopholes.

"I was only barely over the limit." You know, I bet the guy who hit Bailey said exactly the same thing.

http://alcoholism.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=alcoholism&cdn=health&tm=36&gps=125_6_788_432&f=00&tt=14&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.madd.org/victims/0%2C1056%2C2433%2C00.html

fr_chuck

sorry no, they are not near tough enough. not the answer you wanted. Drunk drivers kill for to many innocent people.

Pooky Bear the Sensitive

Even at just .08 you are already 15 times more likely to be involved in an accident. Enough said.

loco_tech85

Hell No - they aren't to tough, their not enough by a long shot. In NYC, a person charged with DWI and just being over the limit (say .09 - NYS limit is .08) and there aren't any mitigating factors (accident, 2nd offense), the person will probably be charged only with a violation and charged $300 w/no jail time other than what they spent while being processed and being arraigned.

If the person happens to blow higher than a .15 and be involved in an accident, then they usually get offered 1 out of 2 misdemeanors, which means a suspended license for 6months and a $500 penalty & maybe a mandatory stop drinking & driving class.

If the person happens to kill someone, and alcohol is the only factor, guess what - IT'S JUST DWI. If there is another violation besides the DWI, like speeding, then it gets bumped up to Vehicular Manslaughter on the high end or Negligent Homicide on the low end. For Negligent Homicide you might, might get 3 years & for Vehicular Manslaughter maybe 5-7. In neither case is your license revoked permanently.

So, I think you got off easy.

Ask this question of any relative of someone who has been killed or injured by a drink driver! I have been driving since 1960 I can tell you that driving today is more dangerous and demanding than it has ever been and demands all your faculties.You new the rules take your punishment and stop whingeing.

Erica, AKA Stretch

I think the laws for alcohol and motor vehicle related offenses are too lenient, not too strict.

My husband is in prison due to past drug use from when he was a TEENAGER. His sentence is a more severe than most people with alcohol problems.

I know people who spend 6 months in jail for drunk driving, get out and do a mandatory alcohol course. Later on they end up back in jail for another 6 months because they drove drunk again and it keeps going on.

Someone with an drug addiction does not get help if they cannot afford health insurance and if caught with someone else's prescription, even just picking it up from the pharmacy for a family member, then they get 2-7 years in prison.

There are more help for people with addictions to alcohol than drug addictions. My husband is in prison for 2-7 years...you got off very easy.

Tommy

You are correct in stating that the law is too strict. MADD started out as a grass roots organization to stop the most grave of offenders. Today however the organization has morphed into a big lobby and big business. The result is a group that has pushed state and Federal government to make ever stricter laws.
In a country founded on freedom why should we punish people in such a harsh manner for the fear of what might happen? If you drink and drive and cause an accident you should be penalized. However the mere act of driving under the influence down the road does not kill people. This country is headed down a path of ever stricter laws and as we continue to remove things like the fourth amendment rights and punish people based on what "might" happen we edge ever closer to totalitarian rule.

Barry

Be grateful all you got was 30 days in jail and a suspended license. I could care less if it was your first offense. You shouldn't have been driving, period.

Be glad I didn't hand down your sentence. You would have gotten 10 years with NO chance of parole. I would have put your license through the nearest shredder.

I have no use for those who drive while under the influence of anything.

noeusuperstate

You were lucky you got caught.

Don't be a dumb *** this is not the 60's with a few old bangers on the road.

Do you really want to risk becoming a murderer by killing someone?

Would you walk around with a loaded gun in your pocket with the safety catch off? That is in effect what you do when you drive with too much alcohol in your blood.

egol

honestly,they are a little harsh but you have to understand why??Driving is not a right it is a priviledge.So when u drive u must follow all the proper and mandatory rules which are essential to keeping are highways and roads safe for the public..so the reason they are so harsh is deterence which is suppose to make u make the right decision.Thats why its such a wide range of punishments u can receive for violating the drinking and driving laws.It could be a number of reasons that u got a stiffer punishment,for example what didi u get pulled over for??did u have a seat belt on??was there open bottles in the car???and u might have been driving ok to u but what about the rest of the people on the road ???the officer didnt pull u over for nothin i would assume..but those are just some the possible reasons...

kmo

If this is the law then if you are caught speeding and kill someone you should go to jail and have your life taken from you to these extents. For first offenders with clean records the results are too harsh. The goal is to rehabilitate not annihilate someones life. Everyone of you hear sounding off, I bet has gotten in a car and drove with alcohol on your breath, or broken some other violation. Speed kills too so why do we not have stiffer penalities.

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