So I'm going to Prison for 2 years

[CallMeIshmael]

I'm always amazed when reading through a DUI thread.


Also, as a general thought wrt to level X (be it 0.08 or whatever) being too low: if a government is charged w/ a task of setting an arbitrary number, where the consequences of setting it too low are not allowing people to drink the maximum amount of alcohol they can and still be completely OK to drive / charging someone with an offense for it, and the consequence of setting it too high it possibly allowing people to legally drive in a state that puts others in danger, Im going to err on the side of too low a number.

[Leaky Eye]

err on the side of too low even when the consequence is taking the "offender" away from their family and caging them for years? That isn't really consistent with the principals of our justice system, or any just system.

[gumpzilla]

[ QUOTE ]
err on the side of too low even when the consequence is taking the "offender" away from their family and caging them for years? That isn't really consistent with the principals of our justice system, or any just system.

[/ QUOTE ]

But this isn't what happens to most mild DUI offenders. The OP is clearly in a different category.

I personally don't have a problem with .08. You need to come up with some guideline, that one doesn't seem wildly unreasonable. It's better than zero tolerance. I just think that as a moral offense DUI can be a verrry wide spectrum, and so unqualified outrage usually strikes me as silly. As further details of the OP's case came up, I would say that he is worthy of some outrage.

[Leaky Eye]

I am obviously not talking about OP there. Though I still think his sentence is too harsh.

[CallMeIshmael]

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err on the side of too low even when the consequence is taking the "offender" away from their family and caging them for years? That isn't really consistent with the principals of our justice system, or any just system.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you suggesting that most (hell, even a non-trivial number) of the people who are in the "you're still OK, but legally above the limit" zone are going to jail for years?


Personally, if Im going to weigh the fact that some people might have to pay fines / go on probation for being over a limit that is set a tad too low, though its very easy to take reasonable precaution to avoid the situation against a counterplan of raising the limit so they dont get fined/put on probation, but along w/ it possibly endangering others, Im cool w/ a low limit. Maybe we just have to agree to disagree.


Obv, Im assuming that something like 0.12 vs 0.08 would have a tangible effect on safety.

[ArcticKnight]

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Smiley, I'm an idiot and retarded, addressing idiotic retards is a waste of time IMO so just stop addressing me plz.

ikes, my obsession with the injustice is based off of many, many first and secondhand accounts of people being pulled over for no reason and ending up getting busted for DUI even though they were completely unaware they were over the legal limit. This tells me that people have no idea how artificially low .08 is. If any of these people remotely thought that they were over the legal limit they either wouldn't have driven or would have refused tests.

I feel I want the road cleared of impaired drivers as badly as you do. I also think a lot of you live in places where BS pullovers are not the norm, not in Scottsdale, AZ, where cops swarm like flies over horse [censored] to pull over people who they see coming out of bars. It gets old after awhile, and people get pissed.

[/ QUOTE ]

Tuq, I'm a fan of yours but this seems inconsistent with the rational positions you usually take.

If I get caught over the legal limit (.08), is it someone elses fault that I didn't realize how few drinks it would take to do that. Man, there is enough literature and commercials out there telling us that any amount of alchohol impairs us. Even you think you are even remotely close to blowing over .08, don't drive.

Life deals lots of unfair [censored], but blowing over the limit can't be blamed on anyone but the driver. Period.

[jackflashdrive]

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err on the side of too low even when the consequence is taking the "offender" away from their family and caging them for years? That isn't really consistent with the principals of our justice system, or any just system.

[/ QUOTE ]

But this isn't what happens to most mild DUI offenders. The OP is clearly in a different category.

I personally don't have a problem with .08. You need to come up with some guideline, that one doesn't seem wildly unreasonable. It's better than zero tolerance. I just think that as a moral offense DUI can be a verrry wide spectrum, and so unqualified outrage usually strikes me as silly. As further details of the OP's case came up, I would say that he is worthy of some outrage.

[/ QUOTE ]

I could understand if he hurt someone or if he acted with reckless disregard and got away light. Is a week before he goes away for a year really the right moment to express your outrage?

['Chair]

OP,

- how are you preparing for this stint mentally?
- are you currently in college? if so, are you taking a leave of absence/get kicked out or what?
- how big are you...height/weight?
- you mentioned something about this being a "DUI Prison"...please elaborate on this facility and your expectations.
- how are your parents reacting?
- are you going to get a tattoo?

[Bicycles_Biatch]

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I just can't bring myself to point out for the millionth effing time in these threads how artificially low .08 is and how the proselytizers probably drive over that limit fairly regularly without even realizing it.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're an idiot.

[/ QUOTE ]

God what a [censored] Faustian choice: To ignore these [censored] who have nothing better to do than act holier than thou when people are down, VS to point out to the douches that they are douches, thereby derailing an otherwise great thread.

I guess I choose the latter, because I just can't abide you barca lounger judge judys in silence.

[/ QUOTE ]

5 beers in an hour in a 180lb male blows a .08

I've never had more than 2 and drove.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is ABSOLUTELY NOT correct...

As the newest recipient of a DUI... I sat through a ton of expert testimony and the average social drinking can have x2 12 oz beers per hour and be AROUND .07 - .08 (i.e... might be legal, might not).

[Bicycles_Biatch]

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blowing .08-.10 is 5-6 beers in an hour in most guys (180-200 lbs). If a person isn't impaired at all 5-6 beers downed in a hour, they are probably an alcoholic. Most people are significantly impaired 5-6 down, but if someone isn't, and that someone is driving, that person is heading down a dark road.

[/ QUOTE ]
You stumbled across another interesting point about why the laws are effed: people who are regular drinkers function "normal" at much higher BAC thresholds than those who are light/occasional drinkers. Take the guy I know who 8+ hours after his last drink was still somehow >.03, despite not being hungover or drunk. From what I've discerned he probably has a problem with the bottle but deliberately never, ever drives after drinking anymore to avoid putting himself or others at risk or to get popped again.

As for the "dark road" where they are over the legal limit but can function just fine, are you suggesting that people be punished for having a problem with alcohol? That's sort of adding insult to injury, isn't it?

[/ QUOTE ]

Ugh, Tuq you are retarded. There is a huge difference between feeling impaired and being impaired. No human being can blow a .08 and not be measurably impaired despite how totally in control they feel.

[/ QUOTE ]

You do realize that the legal limit in ALL states, and still in some is 0.10. There is NO impeirical scientific evidence that shows a driver is worse of from 0.10 to 0.08... this is just an arbitrary number that MADD somehow got pushed through congress.

Currently, several states (including CA) have pending legislation to decrease the amount to 0.05...

For those of you who live in states with great public transportation, I envy you. In CA and other states of MASS urban sprawl, it's pretty standard to have a couple drinks with dinner and drive home SAFELY.