Bullshit DUI Laws

The BBQ Pit
61

The law may be bullshit. There have been a lot of bullshit laws. Some have gotten ditched, and the world has improved. Some of them have gotten killed because people broke them on purpose and took the concequences and made thier case.

So you have two ways of dealing with a bullshit law. Refuse to respect it, break it because it’s crap, and take your lumps. Knowing and understanding the consequences of your actions is one of those grown up things… OR You can follow it because you are scared of the consequences such as colleges/employers hating you. You get to pick. Whining that it isn’t fair because you or someone near and dear to you got caught isn’t the way to go. Its in fact absolutely childish. Grow a spine. Follow the laws or no, but at least be realistic about what’s going to happen.

62

Hey, I never said it wasn’t a bullshit law, it’s just that the OP made a lousy case as to it’s bullshitness.

63

Did I say “most,” you moron? No. I said “many.” Look it up in a dictionary.

64

Monty, my point was that in relation to the number of people that speed, NOT many get tickets. So…yes you did say “many”, but I felt that it had to be qualified.

P.S. …and I hardly thinks that makes me a MORON…but hey, if it makes you feel like more of a man to call me names, then by all means…

65

Well, one could have bought a car from someone who had fishbowled it a few times. Probably got a good deal on it. Or the officer could just be wrong. Or perhaps he wanted to search the car, so he conveniently smelled pot, when a more acute person would have guessed tobacco.

Anyways, as much as I feel that the person we’re discussing was the victim of several unjust laws (drinking age, drug laws, DUI at .01, and probably going 74 in a 65), it only happened because he made several mistakes of an incredibly stupid nature. It’s not like any of the laws he broke are at all unknown.

66

I don’t think DUI’s are treated harshly enough. If your cousin had been in Sweden, he’d have been walking for years.
And that’s how it should be. People who make a habit of breaking a lot of laws in one night are headed to prison one way or the other.

67

Or, hey, we should just cane all our criminals!

“DUI?” ::whack whack whack:: “Okay, off you go…”

No time to protest the law, you’re already punished! :smiley:

68

Since this thread is headed well beyond the inital observations made by adam- that some DUI laws are bullshit- I’ll address the people who took issue with my position now, and let the thread get back to discussing weed.

What irks me most about this law is charging the kid for a DUI when it really wasn’t a DUI.

Let me explain:

While techinically it was driving under the influence, or in this case driving under any influence, because the kid is underage, the charges and penalties this kid faces are very much adult oriented. Penalties that are designed to address adult drunk driving, not underage drinking and driving.

There is a distinction folks. Not all drinking drivers are drunk drivers. It’s not too hard to understand.

If you want to charge him for minor consumption of alcohol and driving, create that charge and charge him for it. Have the penalty fit the crime he committed. Don’t put it under the tougher adult charge and penalties associated with drunk driving.

If you think he should punished severely and harshly, then fine, that’s your prerogative and a fight you should take up with the legislature.

But penalizing him as if he was over .10 when he wasn’t is simply idiotic- he wasn’t.

He drank when he shouldn’t have. It was dumb and he should be punished for it.

Find a penalty you feel is just for that crime. Don’t penalize him like the adult that blew a .15 on the breathalizer.

69

And that, Cnote, is where we disagree. I contend that the cop is well within his duties to charge the kid with a DUI. That is the simple, clear-cut standard that they have to make a police officer’s difficult job a little easier. The time for judgement calls is NOT on the side of the road at a traffic stop… the time for judgement calls is in the courtroom, with a judge.

I think that if the OP’s cousin brought the same arguments that you had been making into the courtroom to challenge the traffic violation, the DUI would be taken off his record and he’d be punished for underage drinking and speeding.

70

:rolleyes: give me a fucking break.That has got to be one of the stupidest things I have ever heard.

If it was true, you need to get smarter friends.

71

…so, a person should chose their friends based upon IQ scores?..

…given that the OP discusses a 19 year old, is the scenario really that unbelievable?..granted this isn’t likely to happen to a middle-aged nurse, but a teenager?..yep, could happen…

72

“Could happen?”

That’s a good basis for describing a law as “bullshit”?

“Well, I COULD get chased by aliens and have to run a red light in order to get away, so therefore, the law that says we have to stop at red lights is bullshit.”

Give me a break… (Give me a break… break me off a piece of that… oh, nevermind).

73

SPOOFE, my thought exactly.

It stands for “driving under the influence”, not “driving while plastered.”

Was he under the influence? Yep. Was he absolutely shitfaced? Nope, doesn’t sound like it. Does that have any bearning? Nada.

DUI is DUI. If you want a law that judges your level of intoxication by something other than a standard measure, go write one. However, you may not have much luck with all the “maybe .08 is drunk for him, but at .08 I’m just getting started” arguments.

74

Somebody, Badtz Maru I believe, noted that the driver in question was either a) a big dude, or b) likely to be farther under the influence than he reported. Either way he was right (depending, of course, on your definition of a “big dude”). Below are links to a couple pictures borrowed from an online traffic school site that show BAC levels based on body weight and number of drinks consumed, given an ‘average’ metabolism.

http://www.geocities.com/hotohori19/dui.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/hotohori19/duilegend.jpg

The DUI/BAC levels are according to California laws. ‘Probable DUI’ means that regardless of BAC, the cop could slap you with a DUI ticket based on your driving at the time he saw you and the fact that you have alcohol in your system. FWIW.

75

In Texas, for a pipe to be considered drug paraphenalia no tests need to be done, the officer just has to testify that it ‘smelled like marijuana’. No residue necessary, no testing needs to be done…I was busted that way, once. Luckily, it was a $195 fine and I had $200 credit from time served.

What’s funny is I got pulled over for speeding once RIGHT after I smoked a joint. The car had to have reeked of marijuana, but the officer just gave me a speeding ticket and let it go. Maybe he had a head cold.

76

Did I say that? No. When I said he needs to get smarter friends, I meant that he needs to get friends who are smart enough to know that they are putting him in jeopardy by using his car for a place to get high. They can fuck where ever they want; I couldn’t care less.

You are obviously smart enough to click on that little profile button and find out that I’m a 43 year old RN, but you ain’t too bright at all if you think that makes me “middle-aged” or out of touch or ashamed of my age and occupation.

If you think that not posting any personal info about yourself makes you hard to figure out it further proves my theory that you ain’t too bright. All one has to do is read a few of your posts to know you thrive on confrontation. I do not.

I am, however,revising my opinion on who is dumber though, the persons funking up the car with the smell of weed,the person who chooses to drive said vehicle after underage drinking, while exceeding the speed limit and transporting alcoholic beverages or the persons who choose to defend that driver.

77

Actually, the middle-aged part was just a guess based upon your reaction…I didn’t suggest that you should be ashamed of your age or your occupation…nursing is an honorable profession, and is just as good as any other, and BTW, I’m middle-aged too…however, I guess I’m not too old to remember how things were when I was a teenager. Back in the 70’s it wasn’t at all unusual to toke up in someone’s car, or to borrow a friends car for a make-out session, and I suspect that things like that still go on with the youth of today.

Your reaction to the scenario I concocted led me to believe that you were judging it based upon your current perspective, hence my comment…

…if you weren’t smoking and fooling around in a car back in the 70’s, then you can probably count yourself in the minority.

BTW, if you happen to have a teenage son playing baseball for the Middies, then perhaps I’ll see you later on this spring…

Again, no offense intended,

Krispy Original

78

I got caught up in the DUI arena and what a nightmare. I’m of mature age and very responsible. I asked to read the Implied consent law in PA called the DL 26 and it was deemed an automatic refusal. We have it on audio that I wasn’t refusing. However the judge sided with PennDot and I lost my license for 1 year after 60 days for ARD DUI. I’m appealing to a higher court but in PA the county decides not the state whether you loose your license. Now I was around in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and I’ve never seen such BS. It likens to Nazi Germany and Communistic Russia. Anyone who say the Berlin Wall coming down knows what I’m talking about.

This is what I’ve determined from research. It’s and emotional issue and a money issue. It’s driven by MADD but the interesting part is 12 out of the 421 employees make over $100,000/year with a few making well over $200,000/year leaving an average income of $37,000 for the rest of the employees. The government contributes over 8million and lawyers, insurance companies, sheriff offices, police departments are the contributors. The national highway safety agency deems any accident with ANYONE having a BAC of 0.01% a DUI occurrence. Nationally there are a total of 9-10,000 dui fatalities per year which doesn’t mean the driver was drinking. That equals 0.02% of the total deaths per year of the nations 2.5 million deaths. Cardiovascular disease is #1 with 611,000 and cancer 599,000.

The NHTSA’s budget is 39Billion dollars per year mostly focusing on DUI arrests. In PA there is a per se law that means you don’t have to be intoxicated to get a DUI. The sheer statement from the cop deems you impaired- the BAC is just to jack you to the furthest degree of the law. Our county’s DA mandates mandatory minimums which means “Your going to jail.” I was in court for a reconsideration and there was criminal court going on. An unemployed young man stole $11,000.00 in gift cards- probation; 2 assaults and battery from unemployed and group home individuals probation; an employed husband and father from NC with his 1st DUI 72hours - 6 months in jail. OMG are you kidding me.

I lost my license for 1 year and have not been afforded the privilege of due process. I should retain my license during an appeal but not with refusals, dui, or drugs. If I get caught driving I automatically go to jail for a minimum of 30-90days. I’m a single mom of 3 sons who owns her own business and have never been arrested in my life. I can’t catch a break.

In my opinion they are trying to destroy the lower and middle class. No minimum wage person could fight this war. So I’m fighting it for you all. It’s so messed up. You can’t get out of it, around it, threw it, or over it- they got you; unless your a judge or officer then you don’t get the same punishment. Google DUI arrests judges. I’m sorry for your cousin. Never ever let a police officer search anything ever. Never answer any questions you don’t have to and certainly don’t volunteer a thing. Everything you say is evidentiary but there isn’t a code of conduct on telling the truth on a Police report so your screwed. I was put behind bars with handcuffs that they wouldn’t take off. I was in a dress and boots from work- I own my business. They wrote on the police report, “They were afraid for their lives.” Are you kidding me. I have 3 sons and they stopped being afraid for their lives at least 5 or more years ago. They were afraid I would hurt myself if I tried to take them on. These cops were 6’2 200 lbs and all in their 20’s.

The department gets 50% of your fine and suspension money. The government want people to think that DUI fatalities are a pandemic or an epidemic- nothing could be further from the truth. It is a Trillion dollar business with the politicians lawyers and police making the money as well as MADD. Actually attorneys are getting sick of this too. Social drinkers aren’t criminals so stop making working people the highest # of arrested people in the nation. 1,500,000 arrests in 2014

79

You’re a fucking loser and deserve whatever happened to you. You are NOT VERY RESPONSIBLE

80

I agree with this.

Also, you’re a fucking loser and deserve whatever happened to you.
Also also, “It likens to Nazi Germany and Communistic Russia?” That’s so unbelievably fucking stupid it’s a wonder you don’t fall asleep if someone puts a blanket over your head.