Why it remains an epidemic - kill a guy while DUI and get only 30 days

[AutobahnSHO]

Every time someone drives drunk they know they're risking a crash and/or getting busted.
Most of them believe they would NEVER get into a crash, but have to wonder if they'll get busted. So then they weigh their odds of getting busted (or not,) and the possible punishment.

take away that "dissuasion" and DUI rates would go way up.
Make the punishments stricter and the weighing of the consequences "at the moment" goes more in favor of Not driving drunk.

[NomisR]

Every time someone drives drunk they know they're risking a crash and/or getting busted.
Most of them believe they would NEVER get into a crash, but have to wonder if they'll get busted. So then they weigh their odds of getting busted (or not,) and the possible punishment.

take away that "dissuasion" and DUI rates would go way up.
Make the punishments stricter and the weighing of the consequences "at the moment" goes more in favor of Not driving drunk.

Well, "studies" shows that driving while texting produces is worse than DUI.. so should we have the same penalties for driving while texting as DUI as well?  And this is easy enough to prove just by pulling phone records.

[AutobahnSHO]

Well, "studies" shows that driving while texting produces is worse than DUI.. so should we have the same penalties for driving while texting as DUI as well?  And this is easy enough to prove just by pulling phone records.

Sure.

The problem is that people are glued to their phone nowadays.
--I use mine rarely. ## Many people are talking on the phone to the very people they're going to see in a few minutes.
--If I have a passenger I make them talk to the caller and tell them I'm driving. ## Most MAKE calls while driving.
--I know I can always call them back, and sometimes don't answer right away. I own the phone, not the other way around.

[Raza]

Well, "studies" shows that driving while texting produces is worse than DUI.. so should we have the same penalties for driving while texting as DUI as well?  And this is easy enough to prove just by pulling phone records.

No.

Texting while driving (while moving) should be punishable by a small caliber bullet to a limb.  Next time, they get shot twice.  Then three times.  Then all four limbs.  Fifth offense is all four limbs and genitals.  Sixth offense is all four limbs, genitals, and head. 

[NomisR]

No.

Texting while driving (while moving) should be punishable by a small caliber bullet to a limb.  Next time, they get shot twice.  Then three times.  Then all four limbs.  Fifth offense is all four limbs and genitals.  Sixth offense is all four limbs, genitals, and head. 

I'd go with that.. I prefer caning though.. but then again.. that seems to be my solution for everything.

[dazzleman]

I'd go with that.. I prefer caning though.. but then again.. that seems to be my solution for everything.

I wouldn't object to caning for certain types of offenses, like vandalism.  They do it in Singapore, and I bet their rates of that type of crime are quite low.

I don't fines are all that effective as a deterrent unless they're really cheap.  For a dangerous offense like texting while driving, I'd sentence violators to community service, something like picking up trash at the side of the road.  Many people value their time a lot more than a relatively small amount of money.

[dazzleman]

Here's a story about a woman who caused a crash that killed 8 people on the Taconic Parkway in Westchester County, New York (including 3 of her nieces and one of her own children) by driving on the wrong side of the highway.

Toxicology reports showed that she was highly intoxicated at the time (.19 BAC) and had a high content of marijuana in her blood.  Her husband is denying it, saying she had some other medical condition.  People have said though that she frequently drank by herself in a bar at night, complaining about her marriage and her job.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08062009/news/regionalnews/wrong_way_crash_mom_had_medical_conditio_183284.htm

WRONG-WAY CRASH MOM HAD MEDICAL CONDITIONS
FAMILY LAWYER CLAIMS SHE WAS NOT AN ALCOHOLIC
By KIERAN CROWLEY and CLEMENTE LISI
Last updated: 2:36 pm
August 6, 2009
Posted: 1:33 pm
August 6, 2009

The wrong-way driver who crashed her car on a Westchetser highway and killed eight people, including herself, had an array of medical ailments -- including a mysterious lump "that moved," her husband's lawyer said today.

In what appeared to be a search for ways to counter toxicology reports that showed Diane Schuler, 36, was drunk and high on marijuana at the time of the terrible crash, Dominic Barbara, a lawyer hired by her husband Daniel Schuler, said the Long Island mom had a two-month-old abscess near her tooth, diabetes and a mysterious lump on her leg.

"We're not sure what it was," Barbara said, as he tried to give an alternate theory to the fiery July 26 along the Taconic State Parkway.

The Post reported today that Schuler recently "seemed under pressure, like work and family were getting to her," said a pal identified only as Sheila, who asked that her last name be withheld.

"Her marriage seemed a bit rocky, and I think she felt trapped by it," the friend said of Schuler's relationship with her husband.

"For the last couple of months, she didn't appear to be a happy woman."

Schuler, a manager in Cablevision's accounting department, would suck down screwdrivers at a Long Island saloon, where she was a regular the past few years and usually came by herself, her pal said, adding: "I wouldn't say she was an alcoholic, but she liked her drinks. She liked her vodka."

A 1.75-liter bottle of Absolut was found in Schuler's wrecked Ford Windstar after the smash-up near Hawthorne, which killed her, her 2-year-old daughter, her three young nieces and three Yonkers men in the SUV she hit.

The collision occurred after the troubled West Babylon resident drove south for 1.7 miles in the northbound lanes of the Taconic Parkway.

State police said she was high on pot and had the equivalent of 10 shots of booze in her stomach.

Schuler's husband, however, denied that his wife ever drank and defended her as "an outstanding mother."

"She did not drink," said Schuler, who works as a Nassau County public-safety officer. "She was not an alcoholic."

Schuler also said that he and his wife "loved each other" and were not planning to get a divorce.

He said he was at the upstate campsite with his wife hours before the crash and had left in a separate car.

"There was definitely no alcohol [on her breath] when she left the campsite," added Barbara.

[NomisR]

I wouldn't object to caning for certain types of offenses, like vandalism.  They do it in Singapore, and I bet their rates of that type of crime are quite low.

I don't fines are all that effective as a deterrent unless they're really cheap.  For a dangerous offense like texting while driving, I'd sentence violators to community service, something like picking up trash at the side of the road.  Many people value their time a lot more than a relatively small amount of money.

Public humiliation for Hollywood stars... like caning! 

[NomisR]

Here's a story about a woman who caused a crash that killed 8 people on the Taconic Parkway in Westchester County, New York (including 3 of her nieces and one of her own children) by driving on the wrong side of the highway.

Toxicology reports showed that she was highly intoxicated at the time (.19 BAC) and had a high content of marijuana in her blood.  Her husband is denying it, saying she had some other medical condition.  People have said though that she frequently drank by herself in a bar at night, complaining about her marriage and her job.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08062009/news/regionalnews/wrong_way_crash_mom_had_medical_conditio_183284.htm

WRONG-WAY CRASH MOM HAD MEDICAL CONDITIONS
FAMILY LAWYER CLAIMS SHE WAS NOT AN ALCOHOLIC
By KIERAN CROWLEY and CLEMENTE LISI
Last updated: 2:36 pm
August 6, 2009
Posted: 1:33 pm
August 6, 2009

The wrong-way driver who crashed her car on a Westchetser highway and killed eight people, including herself, had an array of medical ailments -- including a mysterious lump "that moved," her husband's lawyer said today.

In what appeared to be a search for ways to counter toxicology reports that showed Diane Schuler, 36, was drunk and high on marijuana at the time of the terrible crash, Dominic Barbara, a lawyer hired by her husband Daniel Schuler, said the Long Island mom had a two-month-old abscess near her tooth, diabetes and a mysterious lump on her leg.

"We're not sure what it was," Barbara said, as he tried to give an alternate theory to the fiery July 26 along the Taconic State Parkway.

The Post reported today that Schuler recently "seemed under pressure, like work and family were getting to her," said a pal identified only as Sheila, who asked that her last name be withheld.

"Her marriage seemed a bit rocky, and I think she felt trapped by it," the friend said of Schuler's relationship with her husband.

"For the last couple of months, she didn't appear to be a happy woman."

Schuler, a manager in Cablevision's accounting department, would suck down screwdrivers at a Long Island saloon, where she was a regular the past few years and usually came by herself, her pal said, adding: "I wouldn't say she was an alcoholic, but she liked her drinks. She liked her vodka."

A 1.75-liter bottle of Absolut was found in Schuler's wrecked Ford Windstar after the smash-up near Hawthorne, which killed her, her 2-year-old daughter, her three young nieces and three Yonkers men in the SUV she hit.

The collision occurred after the troubled West Babylon resident drove south for 1.7 miles in the northbound lanes of the Taconic Parkway.

State police said she was high on pot and had the equivalent of 10 shots of booze in her stomach.

Schuler's husband, however, denied that his wife ever drank and defended her as "an outstanding mother."

"She did not drink," said Schuler, who works as a Nassau County public-safety officer. "She was not an alcoholic."

Schuler also said that he and his wife "loved each other" and were not planning to get a divorce.

He said he was at the upstate campsite with his wife hours before the crash and had left in a separate car.

"There was definitely no alcohol [on her breath] when she left the campsite," added Barbara.

Ok, so she wasn't drinking.. that's fine.. then she should be tried for murder since she planned to drive the wrong way on the a freeway!  Fuck heads!!

[MaxPower]

Haven t had a chance to see this myself yet, but apparenty this DA charges murder dor drunk driving deaths and wins. Sentences 15 years to life

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4697676n&tag=contentMain;contentBody