"No Refusal" Every Weekend in Bexar County (Turkey: crime, taxes)

[L210]

Originally Posted by Dopo

The reason I brought up this point is that I had never thought about the constitutionality of this until a few weeks ago when I was listening to some guy on a radio show talking about the constitutionality of "something else".

I'm all in favor of doing everything possible to make our society better,
but I disagree with the idea of "going around the constitution" to catch criminals.

It sounds pretty constitutional to me. People can still refuse breath and field sobriety tests, the officer will just have to get a warrant for your blood to be drawn which is constitutional because they have probable cause.

[L210]

Originally Posted by dave72

You guys in support of this are crazy...

DWI laws are already so strict that the state legislature is looking at reducing the penalties...

as things are right now its cheaper and easier to get caught beating your wife with one hand and holding a bag of cocaine in the other than it is to get a DWI leaving a spurs game

Its not about whether DWI is right or wrong, its wrong, its wrong a million times, but its about figuring out an appropriate way to handle people that commit this crime, and as of now we just don't have that, what we have is MADD gone crazy, people up on a soapbox, and counties making MILLIONS off of DWI arrests, and no one willing to step up and say maybe its too much that an average DWI costs upwards of 10k while getting arrested for breaking into a car costs a couple hundred bucks.

Over 1,000 people die each year because of drunk drivers in Texas alone and you want to compare it to assault and theft? There needs to be tougher penalties for abusive partners, but drunk drivers are murdering unsuspecting people on public roads. By the way, having a certain amount of drugs comes with mandatory sentencing that's a lot harsher than DWI penalties.

[L210]

Originally Posted by Merovee

I kinda of agree xsa210tx. Society is just not at the stage to comprehensively deal with the issues. They will also neglect victims of drunk drivers to focus solely on the punishment phase which definitely also needs to be done. As you stated though something should also be done about insuring a healthy society.

The greatest barrier to taxing these products, or greatly holding accountable the establishments that serve them, would be the business lobby who makes money in these drinks. At least that is what I assume, that their right to make money is currently taking precedence over the destruction that is happening, not just in wrecks but also in lives.

The best thing we can do is to deter drunk driving so there won't be as many victims.

xsa210, most of the drunk drivers killing people are not alcoholics, they are irresponsible, young adults. We could do more for alcoholics, but that is not going to do much to reduce the number of people being killed by drunk drivers. There are certain things you can do not to become an alcoholic like not drinking excessively in the first place and not using it to drown out all your sorrows.

[Cerberus01]

I personally think that our society is too lenient on DUI offenders. We are so concerned about our "rights" against unreasonable search and seizure (blood alcohol and breathalyzer tests) that we forget about the rights of those who choose not to drink and drive. Every individual who has been killed by a drunk driver had an inherent right to "life" granted by our constitution. They were given no choices when plowed into by a drunk driver. I submit that those who object to sobriety checkpoints need to work a vehicle crash caused by a drunk driver...and after watching the extrication of the pieces of victims from these vehicles...and those who object to stricter enforcement of drunk driving laws and measures should have to acccompany LEO's to inform the respective victim's families that their husband, wife or child won't be coming home. We as a country are just to lenient on drunk drivers. Here's some brain candy for ya...

Drunk Driving Penalties in other Countries
Australia:
The names of the drivers are sent to the local newspapers and are printed under the heading "He's Drunk and in Jail".
Malaysia:
The Driver is jailed and if married, his wife is jailed too.
South Africa
A 10 year prison sentence and the equivalent of a $10,000.00 fine
Turkey
Drunk drivers are taken 20 miles outside of town by police and are forced to walk back under escort
Norway
Three weeks in jail at hard labor, one year loss of license. Second offense within five years, license revoked for life.
Finland & Sweden
Automatic jail for one year of hard labor
Costa Rica
Police remove plates fron car
Russia
License revoked for life
England
One year suspension and a $250.00 fine and jail for one year
France
Three year loss of license, one year in jail and a $1000.00 fine
Poland
Jail, fine and forced to attend political lectures
Bulgaria
A second conviction results in execution
El Salvador
Your first offense is your last---execution by firing squad

[L210]

Some of those might be urban legends. El Salvador and Bulgaria do not have the death penalty.
Here are some of the laws in other countries.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/r...countries.html

Here are the penalties for Texas.

First conviction
$2,000 maximum fine
Up to six months behind bars
Suspended driver's license for up to a year
$1,000 every year for three years to keep your driver's license
Second conviction
$4,000 maximum fine
Up to one year in jail
Suspended driver's license for up to two years
$1,500 every year for three years to keep your driver's license
Third conviction
$10,000 maximum fine
Two to ten years in prison
Suspended driver's license for up to two years
$2,000 every year for three years to keep your driver's license

http://www.texasdwi.org/

[stoneoak]

I too believe drunk drivers get little more than a slap on the hand in this country. It kills me when you hear about a fatality and then learn the drunk driver had already been arrested for DUI three times before.

What about those contraptions that require a driver to blow into a breathalizer before their car starts?? I wonder if that will eventually become a mandatory componant on all vehicles -- kind of like the seatbelt ??

[L210]

I wonder how many times people get the maximum fines or imprisonment. The minimum jail time for the first offense is 72 hours and the fine is "up to $2,000." What's the minimum fine? If you have an open container on the first offense, minimum imprisonment is for 6 days. Again for the second offense, the minimum time for confinement is 72 hours.

Texas DWI Penalties

[RodLu]

Originally Posted by stoneoak

What about those contraptions that require a driver to blow into a breathalizer before their car starts?? I wonder if that will eventually become a mandatory componant on all vehicles -- kind of like the seatbelt ??

I like that idea.....disable the projectile {vehicle} somehow.......

[elnina]

Originally Posted by Cerberus01

Drunk Driving Penalties in other Countries
Australia:
The names of the drivers are sent to the local newspapers and are printed under the heading "He's Drunk and in Jail".
Malaysia:
The Driver is jailed and if married, his wife is jailed too.
South Africa
A 10 year prison sentence and the equivalent of a $10,000.00 fine
Turkey
Drunk drivers are taken 20 miles outside of town by police and are forced to walk back under escort
Norway
Three weeks in jail at hard labor, one year loss of license. Second offense within five years, license revoked for life.
Finland & Sweden
Automatic jail for one year of hard labor
Costa Rica
Police remove plates fron car
Russia
License revoked for life
England
One year suspension and a $250.00 fine and jail for one year
France
Three year loss of license, one year in jail and a $1000.00 fine
Poland
Jail, fine and forced to attend political lectures
Bulgaria
A second conviction results in execution
El Salvador
Your first offense is your last---execution by firing squad

This is a funny read, however not true.
If you want to know the real laws, please read here:
On DWI Laws in OTher Countries

[elnina]

I am sure that this statement is just very comforting for many:

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Lawmakers everywhere are constantly introducing new bills that tighten DUI Penalties and Laws. It can be very intimidating for an individual to face the constant threats of lawmakers, police, and prosecutors. It may feel like the whole world is against you. But there is someone who understands. Professional and experienced DUI lawyers are in every part of the country. Welcome to DUI Lawyers.net. It’s here that you can be sure to find an experienced lawyer who will hear your concerns and work for you. A DUI specialist attorney can minimize your serious charges, or even have them completely dismissed.

Driving under the influence is bad, but this ^^^ is scary!
DUI Lawyers