Drinking and driving...a different perspective...

a reply to: gottaknow

so...we just let people keep drinking and driving until they DO kill someone? Because as of now, it is pretty clear if you kill someone in a DUI-accident you are done for...it still happens...a lot...

This entire premise sounds to me like we let them keep drinking and driving until they do end someone's life/lives.

a reply to: KyoZero

It's more of a let a very informed people know the consequences of their actions(which could be more severe than now in the case of a drunk driving death) and make the choices from there.
I don't see drunk driving as a crime. I see the harm of others as a crime which should have strong penalties. I don't think it would take long for the general public to make the right choices. There's obviously going to be those who make the poor judgement and do it anyway, but that's true even with the laws as they are now. As it is, too many are being persecuted for driving drunk when no one was harmed and the drivers were well enough off to drive.

I think the point is getting lost in the responses. My point was not to say that we should ignore drunk drivers or that drunk drivers are ok. The point is that it should be about the safety of every driver, not just the ones who just miss on a breathalyzer, even though they are considered drunk and therefore dangerous, they may be at that very moment a hundred times safer than the completely sober guy standing ten feet away.

If someone is falling down drunk, swerving all over the place, yeah, pull them over, arrest them, take away their license. No problem. My problem is that the guy that had just enough alcohol to be considered legally intoxicated may still be a much safer driver than the guy who is completely sober. We jail the one guy for "being dangerous" while the other guy walks away free as a bird and is a hundred times more dangerous just by being a lousy driver. The law doesn't take that into account until after the lousy driver kills someone. Sort of like closing the barn door after the cows are gone. Get it?

The solution to this is the worst part, and it is imminent.

Self-driving vehicles.

Everybody loses the enjoyment of operating a wonderful and life-changing machine. One more aspect of our lives gets automated, the roads become "safer".

The world is idiot-proofed, and thus makes better idiots.

Yay progress.....

a reply to: Bobaganoosh

Doesn't make you an idiot to enjoy that. If I could close my eyes and wake up at destination...that would be divine

a reply to: gottaknow

Drunk driving = premeditated murder

Knowing that the risk of death or someone I love or myself is significantly greater if a drunk is on the road, I strongly disagree with you.

If you drink and drive, I really hope you get caught and soon. You are a time bomb waiting to happen.

originally posted by: calstorm
a reply to: gottaknow

Drunk driving = premeditated murder

Knowing that the risk of death or someone I love or myself is significantly greater if a drunk is on the road, I strongly disagree with you.

If you drink and drive, I really hope you get caught and soon. You are a time bomb waiting to happen.

Pretty extreme belief system there. No, drunk driving may be reckless and risky, but it's a far, far cry from premeditated murder. The risk of death is markedly increased just by being in a vehicle.

I don't drink and drive. I tend to stay at home and rarely go out partially because of the authoritarian laws that govern this nation have either made it too risky to go out or no fun to go out anymore, anyway. So, I get to spend a lifetime alone.

Your comments are an excellent example of why the Nanny state has as much power as it does.