DUI Poll
 

The comment in the politics thread about a DUI not being any special reason to quit drinking got me to wondering. Just how many here have gotten A DUI? I never have, but I'll confess to you that in my college years there were times when I know I deserved one. I just never got caught. Now, I'm older and wiser and don't party like I once did, and I realize that I took some risks that were really unacceptable to the older, sadder-if-not-wiser person that I am now. Even back then, a DUI would have really shook me up. Would you feel the same or do you think our current drinking and driving laws are too strict?

Just discovered that this got posted last night - it kept telling me to go back and re-do the poll, so I thought none of it had posted. Sorry for the confusion. The poll should now be available somewhere above in the forum.

I have never had a DUI.

I typically go to great lengths to ensure that I will not be driving with a BAL beyond the legal limit.

I have issue with the "feelgood" move that reduces the legal limit from .10 to .08, like PA has done recently. It doesn't really mean a damn thing, when it comes down to it, but makes it more likely that not really intoxicated people are going to get busted.

Uh,...where's the poll? :confused:

Bruce, you are so picky!

And what are you doing up at 4:28 am, anyway? ( :blush: Yeah, me too.)

Never had a DUI, mainly cuz I don't imbibe alcohol at all.

Scary as it sounds, I think 0428 is when bruce is getting up for work.

I, on the other hand, often go to bed then.

Like Mari, I certainly deserved DUI while a youngster. I am much more careful now and the thought of perhaps injuring or even killing someone keeps me sober behind the wheel. I did have to go to court once for failure to maintain appropriate distance and that was enough for me.

In OH if you are convicted of DUI you must get special bright yellow car plates that say DUI in RED on them. I think that is over the top. Why not special plates for convicted sex offenders? It's all so maddening.

Would those plate covers protect against photo radar?

*has an idea*

*gets a beer*

I think it's a confessional, not a poll.

If you're not raised Catholic it's easy to get confused between the phone booth o' sin and the voting booth.

i got a dui when i wasn't driving one time.

i should have gotten a dui a couple of times when i was driving.

it hasn't affected my life much other than some legal fees and some time in county lock up.

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the dui laws aren't really getting dangerous drivers off the streets. they are simply generating revenue for the municipalities. ever since the law changed to .08 it is easy to find the cops - just look one block in each direction from the bar districts. they are simply parked there getting lots of .08 and .09 dui's instead of being out on the roads looking for reckless drivers.

I've never been busted, but I've sure driven with more than .08; that's pretty much one decent beer for someone of my weight.

(and with PA's rule about extrapolating backwards from the measured BAC to the time you were stopped, you can be nailed for DUIwith just about nothing in your bloodstream.)

I drove a couple times in my early 20s when I might have had enough in my bloodstream to get a DUI. Whether it was luck, or a lack of actual impairment that kept me from being pulled over, I can't say. But I never drove when I considered myself to be drunk.

I was a passenger on two occasions when the driver was clearly drunk. I was drunk too, so my judgement was poor. The first time, everyone got home safely. The other time, the driver decided to take a shortcut across the soccer field at school. Nobody remembered that there was a 5 foot drop between soccer fields. A few people got some nasty bruises when we landed, and the field was left with a huge divot. His Bronco was able to drive away without any problem except for a slightly cracked windshield and some sod in the grill. That was the last time I ever rode in a car with a drunk driver.

I am much more responsible now (and for the last 15+ years.) I don't drive if I've had more than one drink. I also never get drunk anymore. Three drinks is about my maximum in an evening.

You lose .08/hr once your BAL starts going down. Thing is, you can't know your BAL is on the downside unless your'e tested more than once. I've seen people climb as much as .10 in the space of fifteen minutes when they've been in my custody and clearly no longer drinking. Nothing will beat the chick that went from a BAL of .000 to .230, all on Listerine consumed in the lobby bathroom. She sneaked it in with her. No metal or foil on the bottle to set off the metal detector, and we don't do a pat-down search unless we really, really need to.

I a responsible person anyway, but I do find that carrying a firearm is an excellent deterrant to excessive alcohol use. I don't get loaded if it's loaded, so to speak.