DUI - A trip report

[inishowen]

Guids,

I was referring to the posts calling the OP dumb, retarded and stupid, like they are somehow immune to making a bad decision after having a few beers. The only way to say you will "never" be arrested for DUI is if you don't drink. I should have been clearer.

DUI is a lottery if you drink, simple as that. I don't mean the alcoholic who does it all the time but the average guy who drives a date home after having a few at dinner, someone who drives a half mile from home for a pack of smokes after having a few watching the game, etc. One rolled stop sign, going a few mph's over the speed limit, anything that attracts the attention of a cop enough to pull you over. The cop is trained to look for things, especially drinking. If he smells it and asks, regardless of your answer, you're toast because he has already decided whats going to happen next. Once he gets you out of your car you might as well say goodbye to it for at least a couple of months.

My brother is a cop, my best friend is a cop, my uncle is a sheriff. They have next to no leeway in giving anybody a break if drinking is suspected. It's driven into them every roll call.

[tuq]

LOL at you guys hating on inishowen. Whether we like to admit it or not, he's 100% right, particularly in the ever-punitive DUI environment in which we live. Very good posts by him IMO.

[tuq]

BTW, two examples to back up his point: a couple of times when I was living in a nice part of town, I was pulled over late at night for no reason at all. Well, they made up a completely BS reason for doing so - one time it was swerving (I wasn't, the cop and I were the only two on the road so I was driving super straight) and the other was for running a stop sign (another flat-out lie, I saw the cop driving around aimlessly, just he and I on the road, and made it a point to make a deliberate stop). One time was particularly LOL because I had my wallet stolen a week or so prior so couldn't prove who I was, and also didn't have license or proof of registration on me for some reason, and yet he still let me go as he could tell I hadn't been drinking.

Both of those happened nearly 15 years ago. I shudder to think of how aggressive they are now.

[guids]

[ QUOTE ]
BTW, two examples to back up his point: a couple of times when I was living in a nice part of town, I was pulled over late at night for no reason at all. Well, they made up a completely BS reason for doing so - one time it was swerving (I wasn't, the cop and I were the only two on the road so I was driving super straight) and the other was for running a stop sign (another flat-out lie, I saw the cop driving around aimlessly, just he and I on the road, and made it a point to make a deliberate stop). One time was particularly LOL because I had my wallet stolen a week or so prior so couldn't prove who I was, and also didn't have license or proof of registration on me for some reason, and yet he still let me go as he could tell I hadn't been drinking.

Both of those happened nearly 15 years ago. I shudder to think of how aggressive they are now.

[/ QUOTE ]

but you had been drinking correct? its not liek the falsified reports or something? the key to the equations is to NOT drive if you are going to drink, did i not make that clear?

[tuq]

guids,

In each instance I was stone cold sober. No drinks that night. That's my point. If I'd had a beer six hours earlier it coulda been brought against me, had I answered honestly.

While MADD and lawyers are steamrolling your rights, we should be paying more attention to things like due process and legal limit, but it's really hard for a politician to politic on the platform of easing the legal limit.

[[Phill]]

I dont know if anyone has said this yet, but i hope OP gets run over by a drunk driver tomorrow.

Karmic ironic justice.

(Note, i only hope he is paralysed from the neck downward and so cant drive ever again, not that he dies. That would be harsh)

[HitHard69]

[ QUOTE ]
I dont know if anyone has said this yet, but i hope OP gets run over by a drunk driver tomorrow.

Karmic ironic justice.

(Note, i only hope he is paralysed from the neck downward and so cant drive ever again, not that he dies. That would be harsh)

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks man... appreciate it. You really have no idea how terrible I feel about what I did. I don't look at this as "Hey, I drove drunk and only got a fine." I look at this as "Oh Jesus, I [censored] up... I could have really killed myself or someone else."

True story... I went out and found the officer who arrested me today so I could apologize to him for what I did. I actually thanked him for being there and doing what he did because he very well could have saved me from doing some serious damage to myself or someone else. He accepted my apology and wished me the best. We shook hands and parted like men.

Do I wish I could go back in time and re-live that night over again? Absolutely. But not because I got caught. Because of the many sleepless nights I've had since then thinking about what could have happened if I hadn't gotten stopped.

[HitHard69]

[ QUOTE ]
Btw, nothing personal OP, just drink driving is one of those pet peeves of mine, it seems you have learnt your lesson and i hope it sticks.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sure, yea.. Nothing personal...

[ QUOTE ]
I dont know if anyone has said this yet, but i hope OP gets run over by a drunk driver tomorrow.

Karmic ironic justice.

(Note, i only hope he is paralysed from the neck downward and so cant drive ever again, not that he dies. That would be harsh)

[/ QUOTE ]

[censored] you [censored]

[HitHard69]

[ QUOTE ]
LOL at you guys hating on inishowen. Whether we like to admit it or not, he's 100% right, particularly in the ever-punitive DUI environment in which we live. Very good posts by him IMO.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with alot of what he said. Anyone can get a DUI, the laws change all the time, don't drink and drive, they'll get you on something little. However, some of the things he said were flat out wrong. Examples...

[ QUOTE ]
The theory of refusing the breath test is proffered by attorneys who have a vested finacial interest in contesting the arrest. An attorney can't "get you off", they look for procedural mistakes made by the arresting officer and try to get the whole arrest voided. Cops are trained not to make procedural mistakes. The chances of getting the case thrown out on a technicality is remote.

[/ QUOTE ]

Untrue... If you don't blow or submit to any other criminal testing, it is very difficult to get a DUI conviction. Any DUI lawyer worth his salt can beat that unless the cops have VIDEO EVIDENCE of you swerving into traffic, falling down drunk, slurring your words, etc. There is no proof you were intoxicated above the legal limit. Thats why there is a longer suspension for not blowing.

[ QUOTE ]
The only thing you can do for yourself is mitigate the loss of license time once arrested. You're basically screwed on the legal end. Mitigating the loss of license time is done by TAKING the breath test.

[/ QUOTE ]

No. Are you aware as to what "Mitigating circumstances" actually are?

[ QUOTE ]
My guess is in about 2 weeks he's going to get a letter form the DMV suspending his license for 6 months. In other words, he's going to be treated just the same as everybody else, lawyered up or not.

[/ QUOTE ]

Again, this isn't how it works. The Secretary of State controls the DMV. They automatically suspend your license, ANY TIME YOU ARE ARRESTED FOR DUI. The court has the power to rescind your suspension.

[ QUOTE ]
Once he gets you out of your car you might as well say goodbye to it for at least a couple of months.

[/ QUOTE ]

No. Not at all.

[guids]

[ QUOTE ]
LOL at you guys hating on inishowen. Whether we like to admit it or not, he's 100% right, particularly in the ever-punitive DUI environment in which we live. Very good posts by him IMO.

[/ QUOTE ]


are you insane? if you are going to drink, do not get behind the wheel. wtf am I missing?