Why so much drunk driving? (San Antonio, Austin: condominiums, live, law)

[elnina]

All of the above and:
Part of the problem is that some believe that they are immune to the effects of alcohol. They keep doing it because they have done it in the past and " nothing happen". The most difficult part about this is that people have different tolerance levels. If they don’t feel intoxicated, they’ll keep on doing it. Most of them are not aware that their reflexes are slower and head could be muddled. Some do it because they don’t know any better. They do not know the legal limits, they don't know the consequences. They feel ok when they go into the car, but moment later, when driving, they start to feel the alcohol effects.
Or they have personal problems, get drunk and simply do not care what happen next.
And there is a whole bunch of alcoholics that won't stop drinking, no matter what. And we should not forget about young people that think it is "cool" to drink and prove themselves. Perhaps the greatest influence on teenagers and their drinking and driving habits is …peer pressure.

Now, we all focus on penalties, why so mild etc. But we also should focus on what are the alternatives for drunk people go get home safely.

Many people drive when intoxicated because they do not have many other choices. The public transportation is poor, especially at late hours.
Even if someone calls a taxi, there is a problem how to get the car home.
In Europe this is solved in pretty simple way: a taxi with two drivers. One drives the drunk person home, and the second drives the car. The drivers insurance covers any car driven anyway. This is a double fare but worth every penny, and the service is very popular. Actually many bartenders only option when they call a taxi for their drunk patron.
Too bad that we do not have such service here. This could eliminate some of the DUI and accidents.

[L210]

I also heard about a service in Europe where the taxi driver is on a motorcycle and the bike can be folded up to fit in your trunk. The driver then drives you home in your car. But at the same time, the penalties for drunk driving are much harsher in Europe. Most countries in Europe have mandatory jail sentences on the first or second violation or automatic license suspension/revocation; and it's not just a couple of weeks, it's a few months for jail sentences (increases for each violation) and a few months to a couple of years for license suspension. I think Italy has a fine that's several thousand dollars.

People should have a plan, it doesn't matter what options are available to them. Go out with friends and have a designated driver or have someone drop you off at the club or bar. It's just not worth someone's life or your own. If you don't have a sensible way to get home, then just stay home. Is it seriously that important for you to go get drunk and risk someone's life? I see people driving drunk at 10pm; I know people who start drinking before they head out.

[elnina]

Well, we all know that alcohol will not be eliminated and driving where public transportation is inadequate or non-existent, is a practical necessity. People drink and drive because people drive… everywhere. We ought to pay more attention to the root causes of drunk driving: that is, people drive their cars somewhere to get drunk, and then they can’t get their cars back home without driving.
A human is a social animal by nature and will go out with friends or family. There are only very few that will stay home simple because they have no sensible way to get home after few drinks. Most people are responsible and have "plan" how to get back home safely. The ones we are talking about are the troublesome. Beside harsh punishment we also need to think about options that could eliminate driving while intoxicated.
Measures like programs to persuade people to moderate their liquor consumption (not much evidence of effectiveness), to cut back on the times and places one can buy liquor (more promising), and to increase taxes on alcohol (would definitely work, but perhaps not as effectively as we would hope). All this would affect (perhaps “punish,” depending on your point of view) responsible drinkers, and since other forms of persuasion seem to have limited effectiveness, it should not come as a big surprise that designated driver concept is not much effective either.
In my opinion drunk drivers should get education, therapy/counseling, heavy fines and jail time. In worst cases drivers license and car should be confiscated.
Cutting legal alcohol limit to zero for all drivers under age of 25 and reducing limit to 0.5 for all other drivers could be very effective.
Of course, all that will only be as effective as its enforcement, and this is currently spotty at best. (I read somewhere that the average person who is caught driving drunk has already gotten away with it 87 times). So, what are the options?
Sobriety checkpoints could be one. I am sure that random breath testing would be very beneficial.
Another one could be mandatory use of permanent IID ( ignition interlock devices), as least for the most serious repeat offenders.
What about harsh and barbaric increase penalty/cost for driving drunk with mega fine, lot’s of time away from society and permanent loss of driver’s license for third offense?
(All DUI drivers should have their licence and car confiscated upon arrest and until they go before the court) -empirical evidence in most of the countries in Europe indicate that enforcement and appropriate penalties have a substantial effect.
I also think that if we brought back serious and rigorous driving programs in the high schools, and had tougher overall driving testing, the amount of deaths (both alcohol related and otherwise) would decline.

To meisha210:
the service you mentioned calls Zingo ( Zingo Transportation) and is available in several cities across US, and I just hope that this awesome service will be provided in more cities soon

[paladinking]

in fact , just because they want to dead.

[Merovee]

Alternative solutions to this social issue should be explored. It is obvious that no amount of punishment alone can solve this issue.

Maybe tavern and club owners should be more responsible in getting their clients home? How much could it cost them to buy a van and shuttle people home safely? It is not a comprehensive solution since no one can be forced to take a shuttle home but it could help if such a service was available.

[L210]

It would not make economic sense for a bar or club to provide a shuttle service because their customers probably live all over town. Harsher punishments do and have helped. If drunk driving offenders got serious jail time, the DUI rates would go down. New York saw its rates go down when it toughened its laws. If we had European styled laws, I can assure you people would make more of an effort to find an alternative way home.

Why do people need to get drunk to be social? It's a cultural thing, not a human thing. But I don't mind people destroying their own livers and brain cells and becoming alcoholics just as long as they stay off the roadways. Local, state, and federal governments need to reform their priorities because the war on drugs with its mandatory sentencing has only overcrowded our detention centers with non-violent offenders. Overcrowding is the reason why people get off easy with manslaughter, repeat DUI's, and sexual offenses.

[Soviet]

All of which are SIGNIFICANTLY worse than marijuana offenses.

[Merovee]

The mandatory sentencing for non-violent drug offenders is also a huge part of the problem. The main issue I see is that people just do not want to take responsibility. This guy tried to put his passenger in the driver's seat so she would take the blame. If you are going to do something it is best not to let someone else take the fall, luckily he did not get away with it, but even before anything happened, and whenever there is a drunk about to take the wheel, none of them are taking responsibility. It is too late to try and do so after the fact.

[sapphire]

I work with someone who was 20 and not an alcoholic when she got busted for DUI. She's almost 22 and STILL hasn't been punished. The lawyer keeps using delay tactics and has her convinced that the judge will just drop it when they go back to court in December. So, not only was she driving drunk, she was also underage........and nothing. Makes me infuriated.

And the alcoholic excuse? Selfish bastards that need to grow up and start giving a rat's ass about someone besides themselves. It can be done, I've seen it with my own eyes.

[chud]

Originally Posted by Soviet

Another innocent individual dies.

Blanco Road accident splits car in two, kills occupant | kens5.com | San Antonio News, Weather, Sports, Traffic, Entertainment, Video and Photos

Oh, and this article says he was driving southbound in the northbound lanes. Wow. KABB Fox San Antonio :: Top Stories - Wrong Way Driver Blamed for Deadly Crash

If at all possible it is best to stay at home between the hours of midnight and 5 am. A lot of bad stuff happens on the roads during those hours, just watch the morning news when you wake up.
I myself was nearly killed in Austin years ago because I had to be at work at 5 am and was driving south on IH-35 when someone driving north (the wrong way) in the south-bound lanes came over a hill and missed me by inches.