DUI Punishments In Your State???

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I live in IL. I am not proud nor ashamed but I have 2 DUI's. The first one was basically a "slap on the wrist", however, the second one I paid a large amount of money. However, it wasn't just the money but the time I invested to get my license re-instated. A DUI is the crime that the law abiding citizen will most encounter. I am curious as to others experience in this awful process.
 
I've been a juror on a drunk driving case. All of us on the jury was somewhat mystified as to why the case was being tried as we all concluded he was guilty in the first 15 minutes but spent another hour going over the evidence just so everyone was in full agreement he was guilty. Turned out it was his 4th offense and he was fighting a 6 month jail sentence. The defense attorney tried to imply that maybe he had a leg injury or that he dropped his phone which is why he hit a parked car, but none of us were buying it.

Anyway, there's really no excuse for a DUI, you're basically playing Russian roulette with your life and other people's lives on the road. I just hope that if you kill someone, the only person you kill will be yourself. It's just better to never drink and drive. I never have and never will.
 
wolf, do you believe alcoholism is a real disease? I really just want to hear other peoples experiences with the offense. And the process they went through. Thank God, I don't drink anymore because I really didn't care about any innocent victims on the road. Kudos to you Wolf, for "sticking it" to the driver. Back in the 70's and 80's this wasn't even considered a real crime. I hate the stigma of being convicted of DUI.
 
A lot of people have driven after a few drinks, not been caught and then pretend to be holier than thou and condemn those that weren't as fortunate. I realize drinking and driving does cause a lot of accidents and death, but it needs to be put into perspective. There is a big difference between driving after 2 drinks with dinner, and driving after hitting bar after bar all night long.
 
Originally Posted By: qwerty1234
wolf, do you believe alcoholism is a real disease? I really just want to hear other peoples experiences with the offense. And the process they went through. Thank God, I don't drink anymore because I really didn't care about any innocent victims on the road. Kudos to you Wolf, for "sticking it" to the driver. Back in the 70's and 80's this wasn't even considered a real crime. I hate the stigma of being convicted of DUI.


We didn't "stick it to the driver". We were just asked if we thought the driver was drunk. Based on the testimony that we heard, we concluded that he was. Glassy eyed, stumbling walk, reeked of alcohol, slurred speech, just came from a bar, failed field sobriety test, police, eyewitnesses, pretty open and shut case. We weren't told that it was the 4th time, it wasn't mentioned til after the trial when the judge thanked us for our service and gave us a little info. I guess they don't normally mention prior convictions in a trial but the judge said that if someone on the jury had asked, it would have been revealed.

As for whether it's a disease or not, I'm not really sure I have a position on that, but if it were, you would normally take steps to treat it, one being not to drive if you are drunk.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
There is a big difference between driving after 2 drinks with dinner, and driving after hitting bar after bar all night long.


I'm not sure how that difference relates to being dead or not being dead. Someone who is killed that just had 2 drinks in them is just as dead as someone who had a lot more.

On another note, it seems that many pedestrians that are killed are also drunk and mostly in the area around bars so even if you're not driving, being drunk can also be dangerous. And be careful while driving near bars.
 
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Originally Posted By: dishdude
There is a big difference between driving after 2 drinks with dinner, and driving after hitting bar after bar all night long.


I'm not sure how that difference relates to being dead or not being dead. Someone who is killed that just had 2 drinks in them is just as dead as someone who had a lot more.

On another note, it seems that many pedestrians that are killed are also drunk and mostly in the area around bars so even if you're not driving, being drunk can also be dangerous. And be careful while driving near bars.


Personally I think .08 is way too low to set the limit for intoxication. .08 is a drink or two with dinner, and at that point driving or crossing the street is not at all dangerous. When you get to .12-.16 that changes.
 
Originally Posted By: qwerty1234
wolf, do you believe alcoholism is a real disease?

I hope this doesn't turn political, because this is a good discussion so far, and it was good that you brought it up. Here in Canada, the big thing is the suspensions. The fines can be very high, and jail time is possible, but the suspensions and the hoops to get one's license back is the big issue, and it's only gotten stricter over the years.

With respect to the disease portion, I'm not so sure. But, I don't consider alcoholism, whatever it is, an excuse for drinking and driving. I had to quit drinking years ago. I've had family and friends that were raging alcoholics. One of them is a consistent drunk driver, and he won't stop until he kills himself or someone else. The other two wouldn't get behind the wheel of a vehicle under the influence if you pointed a gun at them. They simply drank wherever they were and didn't see any need to get behind the wheel.

With respect to the limit of .08 and whether or not one thinks it's suitable, it certainly is suitable. At that point, motor skills are diminished in a significant portion of the population. Some people are blitzed at .08, while a seasoned drunk can go a lot higher than that without looking "that bad."

As an aside, new drivers here can have no alcohol register in their system when behind the wheel. In this province, if they do, they face an immediate 30 day roadside suspension, plus other consequences.
 
Originally Posted By: qwerty1234
I live in IL. I am not proud nor ashamed but I have 2 DUI's. The first one was basically a "slap on the wrist", however, the second one I paid a large amount of money. However, it wasn't just the money but the time I invested to get my license re-instated. A DUI is the crime that the law abiding citizen will most encounter. I am curious as to others experience in this awful process.



I wouldn't say that "most" law abiding citizens will encounter one. Clearly, the experience isn't that "awful", look how many repeat offenders there are. I think the punishment needs to be stiffer, I guess you'd have to be or know a victim to feel this way.

Maybe if they ban drinking anywhere but @ home it will help. You say you're not ashamed to have 2 DUI's, would you be ashamed if you had killed a family of 5 in a Minivan?
 
Over here it's based around a strict 35mg/L blood alcohol limit. Less than 35mg/L and you're not drunk enough to be prosectued or fined.
More than the 35mg/L threshold and you can get 6 months in prison, a fine of up to £5k and upto 3 years banned rom driving, and that's just for driving.

If you cause an accident or break a speed limit or traffic law while drunk, those penalties rise exponentially.

There are no approved or enforceable tests for being under the influence of anything except alcohol.
 
It's stiff enough here. Politicians who can't agree on anything agree on making the laws stiffer every decade or so, so they can look like they're doing something to be tough on crime.

What gets me is the hypocrisy attached. Tea-totallers love OUI laws because they get off on busting drunks. But they also like zoning laws that keep taverns 20 miles from residential neighborhoods. There are all sorts of counselors and classes one has to go through as part of the sentencing/ rehab process but they deny it's a moneymaking business/ machine like any other.

I was a juror in a court that for whatever reason was 90% OUI cases. If you're predisposed to hate OUI, you'd hate it even more after seeing the cocky defendants who think they could plead not guilty and take their chances with a jury. HOWEVER, the case I was on had a sloppy cop who "forgot" to load tape in his dashcam, and the whole case wrapped around the guy allegedly crossing the white fog line twice. He got off, and good on him!
 
You lose your license for 90 days mostly and the fines/fees/insurance spike and lawyer tend to be $10k. Personally I think about right for majority of populations. The multiple offenders never learn.



How do you tell between a real bicyclist and a DUI? The DUI has is puffing a cigarette as they ride.....
 
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In FL. #1 gets you a fine and about $10K to get you out of jail and face MADD. The 2d DUI get you to A DUI class, a fine and 6-12 months of probation, a temporary drivers license to be used for work & school. 3 strikes and you loose your drivers license for 10 years or forever and possibly jail time. This also works for medicine as DUI means driving under the influence of ANYTHING. Ed
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude


Personally I think .08 is way too low to set the limit for intoxication. .08 is a drink or two with dinner, and at that point driving or crossing the street is not at all dangerous. When you get to .12-.16 that changes.


I realise that an enforceable law has to be quantified by a measurable number, and any arbitrary number picked will be wrong unless it is 0.0 - the reason for this is also the reason I respectfully disagree with your comment on numbers.
The teetotaller would be impaired and unable to drive safely at 0.01, where the long term chronic alcoholic could be at .2 or .3 and not be measurably impaired under any field sobriety test or by subjective measures such as slurring speech or poor coordination.
Alcohol is an addictive drug to which the body develops tolerance and the variability of its effects based on the imbibers body mass and history with the drug renders any arbitrary number, except 0, completely useless.
 
I'm going to be 100% honest here.

I am in recovery (alcoholic and drug addict) and haven't had a single intoxicating substance for almost 10 years now. I turn 40 next month.

I ruined my life....and those around me.

I killed an off duty DNR officer while drinking and driving. It was my second DUI. It was a head-on collision where I was traveling approx. 95mph and he was going 50mph. I was sentenced to 10 years in prison. 3 years was suspended, so I served 7 years with 3 years probation. I was fined a few thousand dollars, had to attend a couple of alcohol classes, and given 600 hours of community service.

The key for me for active involvement in AA (Alcoholics Anonymous).

Is it a disease? If I drank today, and if I got drunk enough, I might get behind the wheel. You don't have to understand it....but you have to know that this is a reality for a lot of alcoholics. It's for you to understand, but just a reality that you should know exists.

Despite knowing how wonderful my life is today without alcohol, despite knowing that a man was killed as a result of my drinking, despite the fact that I have an Ivy League education in Biochemistry, despite the fact that I love my family...if I picked up a drink today, I might end up behind the wheel again.

So I choose recovery today.
 
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I don't condone drunk driving but remember 2/3rds of road fatalities are caused by sober drivers. Why should they not be charged?
2nd point lawyers and courts rake in huge revenues from prosecuting DUI cases.
 
I had a part time job in a convenience store. When someone came into the store and paid $1.39 for a 2 liter of room temperature soda off the shelf, you knew they were going to take it home and refrigerate it. When they paid $1.89 for a cold 20 ounce, they were going to drink it on the way home.
When someone came in and bought a cold 6 pack of beer right after work or during lunch break, there was a pretty good chance it would be at least partially consumed on the way home. I always felt convenience stores shouldn't be selling cold beer.
 
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