Drunk driver gets 50 to life for murder

LikeAnOcean · December 2010

Shawshank wrote:

Any mother fucker who would ever drive drunk, even a "little" drunk, and think it's ok is a complete waste of skin. I just lost a friend to some drunk ass. Now his wife is without a husband and his daughters are fatherless. Grow some brain cells and stop thinking it's no big deal before you add someone to the death toll.

Define "little" drunk.. because the 95% of us who drove home from a bar with at least one or two drinks in us at one point in our life are a waste of skin, is that what you are saying?

Shawshank · December 2010

LikeAnOcean wrote:

Define "little" drunk.. because the 95% of us who drove home from a bar with at least one or two drinks in us at one point in our life are a waste of skin, is that what you are saying?

My statement applies to anyone who drives after drinking, especially those who think it's no big deal.

tvismyfriend · December 2010

LikeAnOcean wrote:

keeponrockin wrote:

Good. I always thought that the second someone gets caught over the limit, it should be a LARGE fine and a license suspended for 5 years. After 5 years you can get your learners permit/G1 etc, and start the process again, no exceptions.

It depends where you want that limit. Should it be no alcohol?

I got pulled over for going 55 in a 45. I rarely drink a lot and drive, but this particular night I blew a .085. I wouldn't have if the bartender didn't offer everyone a free one on the house as we were leaving the bar.. I passed all of the physical tests with ease, and the officers let me drive myself home, but they could have thrown the book at me.

For every 1 hour lack of sleep you have is equivalent to one drink, so If you have insomnia, you should not be behind the wheel either.

Maybe there should be levels, like if you blow a .05 to .1 you get a ticket. If you blow .1 to .12 you get a pretty big fine, lose license for a month.. and anything over that, fine and jail time, suspended license.. Usually these offenders are several times over the legal limit when they kill.

Either make it illegal to have any alcohol in you or set these levels. There's no way somebody knows wether they are getting into a car with a .079 or .081 in them. Imagine an ounce of alcohol being the difference between legal and 5 years of your life ruined. There's no way.

Those penalties you described aren't particularly harsh. Where I live a first time offense for a .08 gets you a three-month driving ban. That's before the fines kick in.

catefrances · December 2010

Shawshank wrote:

LikeAnOcean wrote:

Define "little" drunk.. because the 95% of us who drove home from a bar with at least one or two drinks in us at one point in our life are a waste of skin, is that what you are saying?

My statement applies to anyone who drives after drinking, especially those who think it's no big deal.

i would never drive drunk but i certainly know i can drink 1 or 2 over the course of 4 hours and be totally capable of driving unhindered.

mickeyrat · December 2010

catefrances wrote:

Shawshank wrote:

LikeAnOcean wrote:

Define "little" drunk.. because the 95% of us who drove home from a bar with at least one or two drinks in us at one point in our life are a waste of skin, is that what you are saying?

My statement applies to anyone who drives after drinking, especially those who think it's no big deal.

i would never drive drunk but i certainly know i can drink 1 or 2 over the course of 4 hours and be totally capable of driving unhindered.

depending on when that 2nd drink was consumed , you could show a BAC of 0. Takes the body approximately 1 hour to process 1 oz of hard liquor, 12 oz of beer, or 6(?) oz of wine. And THAT is depending on body type, height, and weight. Its said gender plays a role too.

catefrances · December 2010

mickeyrat wrote:

catefrances wrote:

i would never drive drunk but i certainly know i can drink 1 or 2 over the course of 4 hours and be totally capable of driving unhindered.

depending on when that 2nd drink was consumed , you could show a BAC of 0. Takes the body approximately 1 hour to process 1 oz of hard liquor, 12 oz of beer, or 6(?) oz of wine. And THAT is depending on body type, height, and weight. Its said gender plays a role too.

aah mickey.. i said i. ive been drinking long enough to know how my body processes alcohol. im not speaking for others, the only person im talking about here is me.

UpSideDown · December 2010

Paul David wrote:

UpSideDown wrote:

I trust myself driving drunk more than after I work a third shift, or having worked 1st shift and had insomnia the night before. If I have alcohol in me I make it a point to drive slow and carefully. When I am tired like that I can barely even keep my eyes focused.

I can't believe what I just read. :shock:

Why?

I have caught myself drifting or with my eyes out of focus a handful of times while driving on no sleep. I have never had a close call after leaving the bar. I am well aware of what level of intoxication I am at any given time. And I understand how it affects my reaction time.

I live in a medium sized town, and the roads are mostly bare late at night. I also know the roads, intersections, stop signs well. Combined with intentionally driving slow and carefully, I think this does make a difference. I'm not saying that what I am doing is safe. But it certainly lowers the chance of something horrible happening as compared to driving 65 mph on roads that you dont' know.

I am not justifying drinking and driving - I understand what it does to people. But I am saying that I personally trust myself driving after a few drinks more than being dead tired. I am serious with that statement. I know people have a lot of emotion when talking about this issue, but I am just trying to approach it honestly.

catefrances · December 2010

UpSideDown wrote:

Paul David wrote:

UpSideDown wrote:

I trust myself driving drunk more than after I work a third shift, or having worked 1st shift and had insomnia the night before. If I have alcohol in me I make it a point to drive slow and carefully. When I am tired like that I can barely even keep my eyes focused.

I can't believe what I just read. :shock:

Why?

I have caught myself drifting or with my eyes out of focus a handful of times while driving on no sleep. I have never had a close call after leaving the bar. I am well aware of what level of intoxication I am at any given time. And I understand how it affects my reaction time.

I live in a medium sized town, and the roads are mostly bare late at night. I also know the roads, intersections, stop signs well. Combined with intentionally driving slow and carefully, I think this does make a difference. I'm not saying that what I am doing is safe. But it certainly lowers the chance of something horrible happening as compared to driving 65 mph on roads that you dont' know.

I am not justifying drinking and driving - I understand what it does to people. But I am saying that I personally trust myself driving after a few drinks more than being dead tired. I am serious with that statement. I know people have a lot of emotion when talking about this issue, but I am just trying to approach it honestly.

i too trust myself driving after a few drinks more than when im fatigued. the only time ive ever came close to having an accident was due to fatigue. and if id have been alone that time, id probably be dead... it was only my brother sitting beside me who screamed my name that had me coming to and missing that tree @ 100 kmph. it was also fortunately for us that it was a divided road. anyhoo im not condoning drunk driving and certainly not belittling death by drunk driver, just stating that fatigue and micro sleeps can sometimes be bigger killers than a few drinks.

LikeAnOcean · December 2010

I would argue, cell phones, conversations, insomnia, age, vision, stupidity can be much more dangerous than having a few drinks in you alone. Generally after a few drinks my nerves are much more controllable, I get better at bowling, pool, etc, but anything more and I get rapidly worse.

Again, these deaths involve people with ridiculous alcohol levels most people never achieve. .19% is about a dozen drinks in you over a few hours of drinking. I would be sick if I had that much. I'd barely be standing.

catefrances · December 2010

LikeAnOcean wrote:

I would argue, cell phones, conversations, insomnia, age, vision, stupidity can be much more dangerous than having a few drinks in you alone.

Again, these deaths involve people with ridiculous alcohol levels most people never achieve.

being sideswiped on a freeway whilst doing 110kmph by a 4WD whose driver was texting.

being forced to slam on the brakes because some idiot decided to turn left directly in front of me from the right hand lane without warning or indication... twice. all because they had no forethought.

stupidity x 3.

mickeyrat · December 2010

catefrances wrote:

mickeyrat wrote:

catefrances wrote:

i would never drive drunk but i certainly know i can drink 1 or 2 over the course of 4 hours and be totally capable of driving unhindered.

depending on when that 2nd drink was consumed , you could show a BAC of 0. Takes the body approximately 1 hour to process 1 oz of hard liquor, 12 oz of beer, or 6(?) oz of wine. And THAT is depending on body type, height, and weight. Its said gender plays a role too.

aah mickey.. i said i. ive been drinking long enough to know how my body processes alcohol. im not speaking for others, the only person im talking about here is me.

Meant more for general thread info Cate. No offense intended.

Cliffy6745 · December 2010

People have problems, people make horrible horrible mistakes. Many families are ruined because of this.

TriumphantAngel · December 2010

hey i'd be down with drinking and driving as long as the person drinking and driving only killed or maimed themselves. you wanna kill yourself go for it. it's your life right?

just leave the innocents out of it.

catefrances · December 2010

TriumphantAngel wrote:

hey i'd be down with drinking and driving as long as the person drinking and driving only killed or maimed themselves. you wanna kill yourself go for it. it's your life right?

just leave the innocents out of it.

just because you drink doesnt mean youre drunk. no one here is condoning DRUNK driving. im a responsible drinker just as i am a responsible driver. i dont support zero tolerance when it comes to drinking and driving but i do support legislation against DRUNK driving. but as mickey pointed out there are many things that factor into an alcohol reading and people should be responsible enough to know their limits.. unfortunately that isnt the case... and that is why there is an acceptable BAC limit and why it is set, at least here, at .05, .02 and for some such as learner drivers and those on their provisional license at zero.

Godfather. · December 2010

DWI laws could be changing..some of you might like this.
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/politics/t ... -probation

Godfather.

AzWicker · January 2011

Drinking and driving is one of the most arrogant selfish things you can do. If a drunk driver took out my wife or kids or grandson. My life would be devastated. I would hope that it would be me who got killed if a drunk hit us, otherwise I would be in jail myself within a week for doing some really twisted things in retaliation.

Hugh Freaking Dillon · January 2011

young people have this invincibility factor about them. they don't believe anything bad will happen to them. I once was not a responsible driver. I drank and drove all the time. All my friends did. I wised up. So did most of them. Not because of any tragic event. Just maturing and realizing that it COULD happen to me, and it COULD end up costing someone else their life. All I can hope for is that most other people mature and wake up too so none of my loved ones end up being on the bad end of someone else's decision.

redrock · January 2011

catefrances wrote:

just because you drink doesnt mean youre drunk. no one here is condoning DRUNK driving. im a responsible drinker just as i am a responsible driver. i dont support zero tolerance when it comes to drinking and driving but i do support legislation against DRUNK driving..

When are you 'drunk' and when did you 'just have a drink'? Impairement already starts at 0.2.

"02 BAC Level
At the .02 blood alcohol concentration level, experiments have demostrated that people exhibit some loss of judgment, begin to relax and feel good. But tests have also shown that drivers at the .02 level experience a decline in visual functions, affecting their ability to track a moving object, and experience a decline in the ability to perform two tasks at the same time.

These changes may be very subtle and barely noticable to the person who has had only one drink, but in an emergency situation while behind the wheel of a vehicle, they could cause the driver to react (or not react) as they would without having had a drink."

Zero tolerance.

http://alcoholism.about.com/od/dui/a/impaired.htm

Drunk driver gets 50 to life for murder

Comments

Categories