DUI's
 

It's crazy how common DUI's are now. Almost everyone knows someone with a DUI on their record. Obviously the laws aren't stiff enough because there is so many repeat offenders out there.

What's crazy, is that I was watching the news earlier and the Ft.Worth Police Chief was being interviewed about the amount of DUI's his officers racked up in 2012. EIGHTEEN...yes 18..police officers in 2012 alone got DUI's! So he is starting some program to not have a single Ft.Worth police officer to be arrested at all in 2013.

What does that say about our society when police officers are being needed to be looked after for something as brainless as this?

Maybe the Mayans were right. lol.

The reason you notice more cops getting busted is because their buddies used to let them go. I don't think are more doing it just more getting arrested then used too.

As for the punshment it isn't that light. Cost a lot of money to make it go away.
It's a money maker for the cities so they really go after it. I know a state trooper that will pull you over at night if you hit the solid white line just so he can check.

Yep it is a HUGE problem and honestly for every one we catch there are prolly 10 on the road we didn't. That is part of the reason you see it so much is because people do it a few times and don't get caught so they think they never will. Another part of the problem is b people don't realize what a 0.08 blood alcohol concentration feels like. Any decent buzz and you are prolly at or over 0.08. But the biggest problem in my eyesbis the system. You would not believe the amount of paperwork I have to do for a dwi. Then almost everyone of them goes to court so that is another day of my time. I know a lot of officers that do not like doing them so they will not go out and look for them. Now if one falls in their lap they wont just ignore it but they don't like to go out looking for them. Until they change something and dont make us jump through so many hoops to where more officers WANT to find dwi's so more people get caught nothing will change

As far as FWPD goes they have LOTS of problems. Like officers getting caught smoking weed in the patrol car. All professions have their idiots, ours just make the news. I know at my dept we have not had a single officer arrested since I started working there. But the majority of officers that lose their certification is due to something alcohol related

And just to clarify DUI is for minors only and DWI is for anyone over the limit, over 21, or on something other than alcohol

As far as im concerned, its not severe enough. The first one should be a huge fine and 30 days in jail. Second one a year and then add a year for every one after that. After someone gets their first one they should be hit over the head HARD to make a lasting impression to make them think twice about doing it again.

Its not that fuckin hard to get - dont drink and drive! If you want to drink have a DD, take a cab/bus or stay home and drink.

I agree.

100% agree

It's hard to believe that you agree coming from you. LOL

So because you had 3 beers before driving you should lose your job, maybe your house or at least not pay any bills go on unemployment or just suck off the government tit. You go to jail for 30 days and that's what happens. What do you consider a huge fine, should we bankrupt somebody for 3 beers? I think you need to get off your hit horse there pal. Shouldn't the penalty for street racing be just as bad since it kills people also

I've never understood why people cannot be responsible and stop drinking an hour or so before they go home and have water and whatnot. I never have a problem and if I'm trashed I always have a place to stay and sleep it off. Maybe I'm just more alert to it because I have known people that have suffered from the aftermath of drunk driving.

If your intoxicated after three beers then yes. It might make some people thing twice about doing it if the penalty is more than just a slap on the wrist and some lawyer fees. You wouldn't believe the number of times I will arrest someone for DWI and it will be there third or fourth one. the penalty obviously isn't bad enough when you have people that do it time after time and are still on the road risking peoples lives. Come out next time I work an accident where someone is killed or badly injured because someone had "3" beers and decided it was more important for them to get their car home than not risk the lives of everyone else on the road. and the penalty or street racing is the same as a DWI. Class B misdemeanor with enhancements along the same lines as DWIs...

I've never heard of anybody paying $3000 in fees, having to get bailed out of jail and impound pees, not to mention a 30 day suspension on their license for street racing. Let's be real here its not the same punishment.

But I do think they need to change the rules for dwi. But I think Steve is on another planet. 1st offense should not have jail time and if it does should not extend past a week. Higher fine yes but what should that limit be 5k. How about this we charge by what you blow if you blow a .08 your fine and penalty is less than the guy that blows a .18, would that be the fair way. We do every crime like that. If you steal something under $20 dollars you don't pay the same as over $1000.

your right we can seize your car if your caught street racing so you would lose it all together..... they just passed an enhancement last year that makes it a class A if you blow over 0.15 and the difference in theft of $20 to $1000 is that $20 would be a Class C, same as a ticket, and $1000 is a class A.

The main problem with your logic is that you think it is OK to drink and drive so you think the punishment shouldnt be that bad. until you see it in person or are affected by it personally then your mind will change. until you see a man decapitated because he decided to drive home drunk and the pain that it caused the family and his young daughter. Until you are searching backyards for the body of a child because you found a car seat in the back of that car and are unsure if the child was in the car with him or not you will never get it, and I dont expect you to. Thought process like yours where its OK to drive after drinking is the problem and until that changes nothing else will change....

I spent 2 nights in jail for "street racing".
It is also a 1 year suspension of your license.

In my opinion, yes. If the penalities for it are so severe it will make people think twice about doing. It's crazy to me that people will stop and think if it effects their wallet or some jail time, but it doesn't make them think twice if they might lose their lives or kill someone else. You can say I'm on my high horse about it all you like but that doesn't mean drinking and driving is okay.

How big is the problem?

•In 2010, 10,228 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (31%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.1
•Of the 1,210 traffic deaths among children ages 0 to 14 years in 2010, 211 (17%) involved an alcohol-impaired driver.1
•Of the 211 child passengers ages 14 and younger who died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2010, over half (131) were riding in the vehicle with the alcohol-impaired driver.1
•In 2010, over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.3 That's one percent of the 112 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year.4
•Drugs other than alcohol (e.g., marijuana and cocaine) are involved in about 18% of motor vehicle driver deaths. These other drugs are often used in combination with alcohol.5


Agreed. I don't think it's okay for someone to have three beers only to leave and plow into my family because they didn't want to be bothered with making other arrangements to get home like a responsible person.

LOL, I'm not on another planet, I think my opinion on the subject is perfectly logical. Clearly the punishments we have now are not working at all because it doesn't stop people from drinking and driving at all. The punishments are still light enough where some people are willing to take the chance to drive. In fact, the punishments are so light there is a LOT of people out there with multiple DWI's on their records.

Agreed 100%. I'll never get my friend back and his son can't be brought back from commiting suicide for feeling so guilty for killing his own father because he was drinking and driving on the way home from a football game and his father was a passenger.

And yet you still do it

Life in prison sucks for murder but people do that every day

Of course, it's human nature to be destructive. But you're taking the conversation off course for the sake of arguing. lol.


There is far less murders than there is DWI arrests and accidents. Perhaps if the penalties were stiffer there would be less drinking and driving. So you kind of helped me make point there. lol.

Charges were dropped.
I have never broken any laws.

If its illegal, people will do it. No matter the consequences. That's the nature of people.
IMO the laws and punishments are set to accommodate a wide variety of people. Those who abuse drinking and driving obviously will face harsher punishment depending on prior offenses, but what about those that learn from it and change their lifestyle?
EDIT
To be be clear, im speaking on the DWI charges alone and leaving the manslaughter charge alone as i think that's a separate charge altogether anyhow.

That's my point smash someone's life for a first offense. Second yeah that's different you should have learned your lesson. But Steve and his 30 days in jail for the first offense is ridiculous. People would lose their jobs and maybe homes. That's why they will never make the law like that.

Sometimes in order to get people's attention, you have to do more than tap them on the shoulder. Some people need a sledgehammer over the head. It's your opinion that 30 days is ridicuous. In my opinion it would work because it's so severe it would make a lot of people think twice about doing it. The "ridiculous" is what would make it work.

So you want to punish drunk drivers worse than most violent crimes. Can we do texting and driving the same way. If we are going to throw the book at one you have to do it to everybody. I don't think people should lose everything for a first offense, that's where I think you crazy

Having never had a DWI or DUI i don't have a dog in this fight, but i see both points.

I never have either

I think the biggest problem is how many people don't realize they are over the limit. I have no clue when my BAC is around .08 or what it even feels like. The law allows people to use their judgment on what they think is ok and thats the problem in my opinion. Imagine cars without speedometers lol

Next DFW/5.0/Terminators/and a couple of 3vs and V6s.com meet we should all get drunk and race.



GO KARTS!

It's a guessing game, you want to help put a breathalyzer at the bar. You hit the limit and the bar calls you taxi. That would be better than any hammering the shit out of somebody who didn't realize they had one to many.

Sounds fun but how would we get home?

I'm not talking about violent crimes or texting. We're talking about DWI here. Yes, they need to be severely punished. I know you like to go out and have some drinks, don't take my opinion personally.

piggyback

<-----Always the DD.

<----- Sober enough to call you a cab.

Race in reverse!

Not taking personally. I just feel you are being a little out of whack on this one. Punishment should be equal with the crime and for a first time dwi that is above the crime. That is something they would give for felony not a mr meaner ( if you don't get that then you won't get it ). In my opinion if you made the bars more liable for letting their patrons leave wasted then there would be a lot less drunk drivers.

In all honesty with the punished Steve wants you will have more drunks run from the cops the you have ever had before and that will cause more death and destruction. People aren't going to stop drinking because of fear of punishment. Drugs are illegal and millions of people do them everyday. You will just make people try to get away. I would guess the amount of dwi chases would double

Its not up to the establishments to police their patrons. They are in busuness to make money. People should be accountable for their own actions and control the amount of consumption. If they fail to do so they should punished accordingly.

Correct accordingly not some ridiculous plan you have to bankrupt somebody for having one to many. It's nice to see you on top of your hill looking down on people, since you have never done anything to break the law.

Quit being overly dramatic there is no need for it just because we have differing opinions on something. You think it's okay for people to drink and drive, I do not. No need to try to make it an ugly arguement.

You say my plan is to bankrupt someone, it's actually to deter someone from killing themselves or someone else. It is NOT okay to drink and drive in anyway you try to justify it.

Not trying to justify drinking in driving. I just saying make the penalty match the crime which your not. Someone with a .08 is no where near the same as someone with a .18 which is double the limit. Every time you hear about some asshole driving the wrong way on the highway that is around their blood level, the cowboy that just killed his buddy was a .18 that's my point. If you are going to through some ridiculous laws out there they should fit the crime. There is a hell of a difference in drinking 4 beers vs a 12 pack. I just don't see how you can't recognize that