Are DUI laws too tough?

Question

I got 30 days in jail and a suspended license for DUI - first driving offence. I was only barely over the limit and could drive OK - just got pulled over for something else and got caught. I know I probably got a worse sentence than most because I've been in trouble before but it seems to me that things are very harsh now - people years ago would have been fine to drive with a few drinks and wouldn't have ended up in jail for something like this.

Answer 1

I think the sentences are too lenient. You should be punished for your intention, not the outcome. A drink driver who kills someone should have the same sentence as someone who doesn't kill someone. You shouldn't be 'rewarded' with a lighter sentence just because you got lucky and didn't kill someone. I think that all drink driving offences should be punishable by 10 years in prison. There is no excuse to be driving over the limit. The law is the law - you cannot choose to ignore it as you think you know better. There is a reason why the alcohol limit is as it is. There are a hundred alternatives to drink driving.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

The DUI laws are not tough enough. You're fortunate you only got 30 days in jail. Your statement that you were barely over the limit but could drive OK is BULL$H!T. EVERY drunk driver says and thinks he/she can drive OK -- how the hell do you think the cop caught you, genius? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out when a person has been drinking and driving, and it also doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the chances of a traffic fatality go WAY UP when someone gets behind the wheel even with a BAC of .04, which is half the legal limit. What you don't get is that people years ago were NOT fine to drive with a few drinks. I have three friends from high school that didn't make their 10-year reunion because they were killed by drunk drivers. So take your lumps and be thankful you didn't hurt anyone else.

Answer 4

Hell No - they aren't to tough, their not enough by a long shot. In NYC, a person charged with DWI and just being over the limit (say .09 - NYS limit is .08) and there aren't any mitigating factors (accident, 2nd offense), the person will probably be charged only with a violation and charged $300 w/no jail time other than what they spent while being processed and being arraigned.

If the person happens to blow higher than a .15 and be involved in an accident, then they usually get offered 1 out of 2 misdemeanors, which means a suspended license for 6months and a $500 penalty & maybe a mandatory stop drinking & driving class.

If the person happens to kill someone, and alcohol is the only factor, guess what - IT'S JUST DWI. If there is another violation besides the DWI, like speeding, then it gets bumped up to Vehicular Manslaughter on the high end or Negligent Homicide on the low end. For Negligent Homicide you might, might get 3 years & for Vehicular Manslaughter maybe 5-7. In neither case is your license revoked permanently.

So, I think you got off easy.

Answer 5

You are correct in stating that the law is too strict. MADD started out as a grass roots organization to stop the most grave of offenders. Today however the organization has morphed into a big lobby and big business. The result is a group that has pushed state and Federal government to make ever stricter laws.
In a country founded on freedom why should we punish people in such a harsh manner for the fear of what might happen? If you drink and drive and cause an accident you should be penalized. However the mere act of driving under the influence down the road does not kill people. This country is headed down a path of ever stricter laws and as we continue to remove things like the fourth amendment rights and punish people based on what "might" happen we edge ever closer to totalitarian rule.

Answer 6

honestly,they are a little harsh but you have to understand why??Driving is not a right it is a priviledge.So when u drive u must follow all the proper and mandatory rules which are essential to keeping are highways and roads safe for the public..so the reason they are so harsh is deterence which is suppose to make u make the right decision.Thats why its such a wide range of punishments u can receive for violating the drinking and driving laws.It could be a number of reasons that u got a stiffer punishment,for example what didi u get pulled over for??did u have a seat belt on??was there open bottles in the car???and u might have been driving ok to u but what about the rest of the people on the road ???the officer didnt pull u over for nothin i would assume..but those are just some the possible reasons...

Answer 7

Be grateful all you got was 30 days in jail and a suspended license. I could care less if it was your first offense. You shouldn't have been driving, period.

Be glad I didn't hand down your sentence. You would have gotten 10 years with NO chance of parole. I would have put your license through the nearest shredder.

I have no use for those who drive while under the influence of anything.

Answer 8

I think the laws for alcohol and motor vehicle related offenses are too lenient, not too strict.

My husband is in prison due to past drug use from when he was a TEENAGER. His sentence is a more severe than most people with alcohol problems.

I know people who spend 6 months in jail for drunk driving, get out and do a mandatory alcohol course. Later on they end up back in jail for another 6 months because they drove drunk again and it keeps going on.

Someone with an drug addiction does not get help if they cannot afford health insurance and if caught with someone else's prescription, even just picking it up from the pharmacy for a family member, then they get 2-7 years in prison.

There are more help for people with addictions to alcohol than drug addictions. My husband is in prison for 2-7 years...you got off very easy.

Answer 9

When we talk about innocent law abiding citizens who drive our highways everyday, as I see it, no DUI law can be too tough. When the stats tell us that over 50,000 innocent people were killed by drunken drivers this past year, no DUI laws can be too tough. There is no excuse, drinking and driving do not go hand in hand. All drivers know the laws, therefore, when they drink and drive, they must pay the consequences. Even to extent of losing their license for a lifetime. You know the laws, obey them.

Answer 10

You were lucky you got caught.

Don't be a dumb *** this is not the 60's with a few old bangers on the road.

Do you really want to risk becoming a murderer by killing someone?

Would you walk around with a loaded gun in your pocket with the safety catch off? That is in effect what you do when you drive with too much alcohol in your blood.