What is your position on DUI?

[KJS]

It never ceases to amaze me that more people don't use the method I try to employ: don't drive TO places you are going to drink. The temptation to drive after drinking is super strong when you have to consider an alternative way home and a way to retrieve your car the next day. That, plus not thinking straight after some drinks, convinces way too many people to drive when they shouldn't. For me, the best thing to do is find a cab THERE so I can drink like a fishie and I don't have that drive or don't drive quandry at the end of the night. I just know myself and know that I am way less likely to cab home when my car is there than when it isn't, no matter how fine I think I am.

KJS

[Tom1975]

Ok, I just took this online reaction time test at this site:

link

I'm dead sober right now. Below is a picture of my results. I'll take this again later tonight after I've had a few beers and we'll see the comparison. If anyone else wants to do this, be my guest.

[NicksDad1970]

That test reminds me of Dr. Johnny Fever.

[ThaHero]

Not driving to where you'll be drinking is fine if it's actually possible to get a cab. Getting a cab in L.A. is pretty impossible depending on the area you live in. Cabs don't come to all areas and they don't drive around looking for people to pick up very much either, especially in poorer neighborhoods.

I not trying to say driving drunk is o.k. I'm saying the people in MADD and the police depts. and govt. are going about things totally wrong. It's obvious punishment doesn't work, and a perfect example is the "War on Drugs."

If the govt. took money and put it into better education about the issue, better public transportation, and better treatment for those that do have problems, the deaths would go down much more than just setting up random checkpoints, which is total b.s. in my opinion.

Also the "fishing" for drunks is absurd too. They see me in a predominately white neighborhood, assume I was leaving a party, and pull me over for no good reason("you ran through the stop sign" when there was none) and are totally thwarted when they see I'm coherent, over 21, and my car isn't stolen and I'm not a gang banger. Don't the cops have better things to do than harass me? Excuse me officer, while I turn up my NWA c.d.

[dustyn]

I think comparing the US to Europe when it comes to DUI laws is apples and oranges. The reason DUI deaths are so high (and deaths due to normal car accidents) is because of the American dependency on cars as a method of transportation. This is a cultural value that extends when people are sober and when drunk. To expect people to suddenly change their primary method of transportation when drinking is a bit unrealistic given how dependent everyone is on cars to get from place to place (and this is to a degree the result of no other options in many cases to travel, and another degree the result of laziness). Also infringing on constitutional rights in order to solve this problem is a poor solution.

In order to truly reduce DUI deaths there needs to be a cultural change which would include things like: programs to increase public transportation, harsher DUI penalties, lower dependency on cars, government subsidizes for private companies to offer services to take people to/from bars, etc. Simply increasing penalties without doing anything else isn't going to work - there is a problem of lack of availability to get home in many cases - or it's so difficult that people see as driving drunk as a reasonable risk (at least at the time). If people can get to/from (not just someone to drive them home, someone to drive them there as well) bars relatively easily via public transportation they are much less likely to drive home drunk.

Driving drunk is wrong and people should do much less of it. But it's important to understand WHY people do it, and how to correct it, and why people do it less in other countries. DUI checkpoints and vilifying offenders are short-sighted solutions to a larger problem.

[cbloom]

[ QUOTE ]
Not driving to where you'll be drinking is fine if it's actually possible to get a cab. Getting a cab in L.A. is pretty impossible depending on the area you live in. Cabs don't come to all areas and they don't drive around looking for people to pick up very much either, especially in poorer neighborhoods.


[/ QUOTE ]

Well LA is a pretty lazy example. You can easily get a cab in LA, you just have to call the cab company. Put the number in your cell phone and don't make excuses to drive drunk you putz.

In other parts of the country you literally cannot get a cab because there are none. The US is large and sparse and there are huge parts of it with no cab where you have to drive to a bar. Your only option then is to get some kind of designated driver thing going or just sleep it off, both of which suck pretty hard.

In rural Texas, for example, a cop will never give a DUI to a local unless they're really driving dangerously. (hell you can get drive-through beer)

In SLO there were like 2 cabs working late night and at 2 AM good luck getting them.

[Chump Change]

[ QUOTE ]
And this shows my ignorance of the laws right now, but let's say person x has 2 beers and crashes. They blow a .04 or something so they aren't drunk. Does the alcohol come into play at all or is completely disregarded because they weren't over the legal limit? I would probably be pretty upset if someone crashed into me after drinking but they weren't 'drunk' and thus nothing happened.


[/ QUOTE ]

I want to say, 'You can't be serious...' but this is El D's so I know you are.

Dear god that is frightening.

[guids]

Ps, there is an awesome service here, its pricey, abotu 30 or 40 bucks a ride, but you call, they come to you on a skooter, fold it up, put it in your trunk, and drive your car home for you so you dont have to get it the next morning, its awesome.

[flatline]

[ QUOTE ]
Ps, there is an awesome service here, its pricey, abotu 30 or 40 bucks a ride, but you call, they come to you on a skooter, fold it up, put it in your trunk, and drive your car home for you so you dont have to get it the next morning, its awesome.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is genius. Seriously.

[riverdance]

guids,

where is that? link to website?