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Originally Posted by Eric Vail
I wonder how many people would choose to drive knowing they were over .08. I bet there are many who get behind the wheel feeling they are less than .08, and then find out in a horrible way that they weren't.
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Originally Posted by onetwo_threefour
My view is there should be a lifetime drinking prohibition. In this day and age with all the advertising it shows that you are not able to make rational decisions associated with alcohol. As such the privelege of drinking alcohol, arbitrarily earned by you attaining your 21st birthday should now be revoked from you.
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Originally Posted by Dion
With all the repeat offenders out there, these DUI drivers don't seem to be getting the message.
DUI laws aren't tough enough.
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Originally Posted by Boblobla
Hmmm.
A better transit system maybe? I would really like to know what I can drink and still blow under. The few times I have been through a checkstop they haven't even stopped me so I can't get a gauge on what I can drink/hr to drive legally.
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I would say most drunk drivers fall either the had a few drinks and weren't "drunk" but were legally drunk so drove or so drunk but will drive no matter what category. In either case I don't see better transit, cheaper cabs, harsher sentencing etc. really working. These people are going to drive anyways, whether it is because they don't realise that they are legally drunk or they are so drunk and/or stupid that they don't care, if their logic says that they should drive drunk I am not confident that they will then figure out that the bus is only .50 cents so they should take that instead.
While the direct penalties may not seem tough having a DUI conviction is a pretty tough thing to have on your record and reputation. It can affect you life in many ways, as it should, and in my view is a pretty good deterant. However, my point again is that I am not sure most people even consider the laws when they decide to drive. If the fact that they could kill someone as the result of their driving doesn't concern them I am not sure that losing their license for 5 year, 10 years or ever is going to do much either.
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Originally Posted by Rhettzky
There's the ticket. Here's a thread I posted showing holiday drunk driving statistics... not enough is being done to catch offenders to act as a deterent.
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I agree that this is the major problem/solution to DUI's.
I know that in Lethbridge there are many people who know/think that there is no chance they are going to get caught if they do drive drunk. There are people from Calgary who comment on it when they come down. When I lived in Calgary it was the same thing. In 4 years of living there and another 7 years of going back often I have never gone through/seen a check stop.
If people go out knowing they won't be pulled over they often will not bother to think/plan ahead about other ways of getting home. If they think they might be borderline they will take the risk to drive home. If they think they are fine but might over .08 they are more willing to drive.
It won't stop it totally but seeing check stops, hearing about friends/co-workers/family etc. getting caught, pulled over, getting pulled over themselves will go a long way to just getting people aware of the fact that the chance to get caught is there.
The penalties can be as stiff as you want but if you aren't catching anybody it really doesn't matter.
In my view the places that I have lived in/visited have done an awful job in this area.