Victim of deadly crash hated the thought of drunk driving

[Russic]

This is a particular sore point for me. My family suffered a huge loss due to drunk driving close to 40 years ago and it remains an extremely vivid pain for everybody. For that reason I am admittedly unreasonable in my viewpoints on drunk driving. I'd love to see the harshest of punishments and then some.

At some point though, I have to recognize that thoughts like that come from a place of anger and not rational thought. While I want to ponder the various complexities of roadside executions, it makes far more sense to ponder a realistic solution.

Technically one would think that harsher sentences are the answer, and that makes total sense. The science however tells us that only works when the punishment is is well understood and consistent. Unfortunately for this particular crime, the drunk person is often not thinking clearly at all. Paired with the fact many drive drunk undetected means punishments can probably get harsher and harsher with very little impact.

We aren't going to develop a way to get drunk and not have a segment of the population turn into brain-dead idiots, so the first part of the equation is out the window. I'd love to see multiple checkstops all over the city at random intervals throughout the year. The cost of that would be quite extensive though, and while I feel it's insane not to budget for it (an entirely biased opinion), the police can only do so much with the resources they're given.

I actually believe the true solution was mentioned earlier – driverless cars. Every year tons of men, women, and children are killed needlessly. If that isn't enough to give our behaviour a 180, I'm not sure what can. Unfortunately, while it's changed over the years, it's still a big problem. People are inherently poor at understanding tragedy until it happens to them, and in that same vein they likely wouldn't support a solution that hammers them with a tax increase until they lose somebody close to them. I think the development of driverless vehicles will arrive well before people change their behaviour enough to eliminate drunk driving.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

ITT: People who don't understand sentencing call for draconian mandatory minimum jail sentences. THAT'LL HELP!

I'm open to the idea of a 0.00 legal limit and strict enforcement but good lord, Helen Lovejoys, calm yourselves.

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

while i do not have any stats, other than my onw observations - but it sure seems like more often than not the drunk drivers walk away from these crashes and leave a wake of destruction behind them and change lives forever and all they ahve to do is give up two years of their lives to repay their debt

http://www.livescience.com/24979-alc...y-outcome.html

[Drummer]

Wouldn't it be something else if the driver said he drove because he couldn't get a cab. "City says no to adding more taxi licenses".

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Drummer

Wouldn't it be something else if the driver said he drove because he couldn't get a cab. "City says no to adding more taxi licenses".

That's no excuse for drinking and driving.

[Peanut]

Originally Posted by Drummer

Wouldn't it be something else if the driver said he drove because he couldn't get a cab. "City says no to adding more taxi licenses".

Yes, because having to wait for a cab is a totally valid excuse for driving drunk. And excellent avoidance of accepting any personal responsibility for actions and decisions.

[Robo]

jesus as a father of 2 young daughters this is heartbreaking to think about, poor kids will miss out on alot of good memories thanks to some #######.

[Magnum PEI]

I wonder if there should be more checkstops. I've only ever seen three in Calgary. I went through my first one the other day, one cop in Quarry Park and he had two cars busted.

[Drummer]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

That's no excuse for drinking and driving.

Agreed.

[troutman]

In Europe the differences are:

1) stricter penalties
2) easily accessible public transit (at all hours)
3) denser cities that are walkable

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Too bad we can't see 5 year mandatory minimums for DUI convictions and automatic life sentences for DUI causing death. It is senseless, and it's beyond idiotic, but I gotta believe if the consequences were severe it would curb it a lot.

There's absolutely no evidence higher penalties will deter drunk driving. However, a higher likelihood of getting caught would almost certainly be a deterrent. Of course, that costs money.

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

That will not change things that much other than jail a lot of people. Severe punishments just don't change peoples behaviour.

Honestly, self drive cars can't come fast enough

Agreed. Most drunk trips in vehicles are undertaken by a small fraction of the population, most of them alcoholics. Our long-standing tactic of shaming has reached the limit of its effectiveness. The recent reduction in the allowable limit is little more than PR (there's no evidence that blood alcohol levels of 0.05 to 0.08 are a significant cause of drunk driving incidents).

It's really, really hard to crack that last hardcore of habitual drunk drivers. Like a lot of things, we're reaching diminishing returns. More significant reductions past what we've achieved in the last 40 years will take either A) a lot more money on check stops, B) a massive increase in access to public transportation (which also costs a lot of money), or C) driverless cars.

Originally Posted by lazypucker

How about making public transit more accessible and more socially acceptable? I know the cost of running more c-trains and buses will be high, but I think people will be more willing to take public transit if it runs throughout the night.

Absolutely. People in England, Germany, and the Netherlands can go out for a few drinks and either walk or take public transit home. Much harder to do in most of Canada.

I often take the train and bus home when I've had a few. And I can tell you I am the only inebriated male going home the suburbs on my routes who does. When I tell people I'm out with that I'm taking the bus home they look at me like I have three eyes.

Originally Posted by Magnum PEI

I wonder if there should be more checkstops. I've only ever seen three in Calgary. I went through my first one the other day, one cop in Quarry Park and he had two cars busted.

I've been through two checkstops in the last 20 years.

[Joborule]

Originally Posted by troutman

In Europe the differences are:

1) stricter penalties
2) easily accessible public transit (at all hours)
3) denser cities that are walkable

Which is all three things that should be happening. Make the alternatives as persuasive as possible.

[polak]

Zero tolerance in Poland is super strict but I'm pretty sure the restaurant industry would die here if Canada ever tried to go that route.

They have zero tolerance and not only that, but they breathalyze regardless of why you were pulled over. So if you got stopped by a police officer for any reason, regardless of how sober you may seem, you get breathalyzed and if anything but 0.00 shows up, you're done.

This means that people won't have a more than single beer if they have to drive somewhere the next day. It's actually ridiculous if you ask me. Friends birthday, hell your own birthday, any sort of celebration and you can't drink simply because you might have some errands to run the next day.

I like the breathalyze regardless of why you were pulled over rule but I think 0.00 is a little much as that's the reality of it. If you want to drive anywhere the next morning you can't really drink at all with out risking a simple 0.01 violation.

Simply put, the bar scene would be non-existent.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by polak

Zero tolerance in Poland is super strict but I'm pretty the restaurant industry would die here if Canada ever tried to go that route.

Simply put, the bar scene would be non-existent.

I have never been to Poland myself. Are there no pubs, bars or restaurants in the country?

[polak]

Originally Posted by chemgear

I have never been to Poland myself. Are there no pubs, bars or restaurants in the country?

There are but most of what you could need is within walking distance and car pooling is a lot bigger there as a lot of people simply can't afford cars.

They also don't depend on alcohol sales like bars do here.

A beer in Poland is 1 dollar Canadian. Not much room for profit there.

[stazzy33]

Originally Posted by captaincrunch

There's no excuse for drinking and driving.

fyp

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

the driver of the escalade should be shown a annual slide show of all of the important moments in these two girls lives that thier father missed

It was a young girl and 46 year old man that were killed.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

while i do not have any stats, other than my onw observations - but it sure seems like more often than not the drunk drivers walk away from these crashes and leave a wake of destruction behind them and change lives forever and all they ahve to do is give up two years of their lives to repay their debt

That's usually not true at all. There's the odd story here and there of some raging alcoholic that kills someone then serves time and gets out and gets busted again for drinking and driving.

But for the most part people are messed up once something like that happens. It's a very "I just read the stories" observation, imo, when people assume that the "punishment" in drunk driving deaths is a simple "Oh he just serves his two years and then he's back out there free to live a normal life".

My buddy killed his passenger in a drunk driving accident years ago. He served four years and said the prison time didn't even register with him and didn't mean anything, all he thought about was what he did.

Unfortunately, last year after years of living with what he did and waking up screaming every night from the event, he committed suicide.

You can say the sentencing is too light, and I would agree but you can't tell me people go on with their lives after their sentence while the family of the victim suffers. Everyone suffers and lives with the consequences of these terrible decisions.

I'd be extremely surprised if this 20 year old guy serves his time and goes "Welp, time served, back to my normal life".

[Robo]

Originally Posted by flameswin

It was a young girl and 46 year old man that were killed.

the 46 year old man that was killed was a father of two young children

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Robo

the 46 year old man that was killed was a father of two young children

Oh I get it now, I misread. Thanks.