DUI - your opinion

[D_K_night]

So I was talking to a buddy of mine and discovered that he has been charged with DUI. Details as follows:

- night of heavy drinking at buddy's place(the usual just like every weekend)
- drove home and passed through a roadcheck
- for whatever reason, the cops suspected something and had him use the breathalyzer(from experience they always just wave me by)
- he got a "fail" reading, which you need to hit 0.08 or greater. If you blow 0.04 - 0.0.5, I believe that's only a "warning" which is more lenient

He faces:

- $1000 fine
- loss of all vehicle insurance discounts
- 3 month driving suspension
- installation of mandatory breathalyzer device in vehicle($1000 * 12 months cost to owner)
- mandatory safe driving course($900 cost to owner)
- $8500 in legal fees

IF convicted of DUI, he gets a permanent criminal record, with all of its lovely restrictions.

Here's what I don't get/understand, so maybe you guys can enlighten me.

I'm not sure how he'll weasel out of this. Unless somehow he can maybe argue, oh the breathalyzer is faulty or gave a faulty reading, not even sure if he can use that defense. But let's say he pleads guilty and says to the judge "OK OK I drank a little bit, but don't you think slapping a criminal record is a bit too much?"

He says that he wasn't dangerous, he wasn't driving erratically, and all these rules are way overboard. In fact he says just because of all this, he's gonna leave the country in 6 months and live elsewhere, essentially in an effort to boycott the insurance agency here, for failing him. And he promises to vote for whoever relaxes this nation's crazy, unfair rules.

So what do you guys think? Were these DUI conditions just way too crazy and overboard? Does his defense hold water? Or does he plainly get what he deserves?

[schwarzkopf]

He shot a loaded gun around in public, and was lucky enough not to hit anyone.

So - from what you said, he got off pretty lightly, he should just learn his lesson and move on.

[obdigore]

The legal limit for driving is the legal limit. If his record is clean, he needs to hire a lawyer and he should be able to get away with it going down to a misdemenor or after a couple years of staying clean, it might be expunged. He will have to go to AA though.

If he leaves the country to avoid any kind of legal issues, especially to get away from the court date, he is going to have a bench warrant and if/when he comes back into the country he will be arrested and hauled into jail, considered a flight risk and get to sit in jail until he has the next court date.

Your 'buddy' shouldn't have driven if he had been doing 'heavy drinking'. And a drunk person does not get to tell everyone else how 'poorly' they were driving.

[KCguy]

If he was indeed over the legal limit then he got what he deserved. I have no idea how anyone could defend him otherwise. People like that think they're immune, but trust me when I say this, if this doesn't wake him up he'll learn the hard way. And I think we all know what I mean by that.

[Deleted]

Driving intoxicated is a planned crime with the potential to kill people. He deserves what he got.

[Cairhiin]

Driving under influence is very dangerous, and I hope it teaches him a lesson to stop doing it. People do not realize how much their driving capabilities are compromised due to alcohol until they get into a very serious accident.

[Deleted]

Your friend is an idiot. You don't go drive a vehicle that kills people while drunk. He was risking the lives of people around and his own, and he has to face the consequences.

Frankly, that seems A LOT of money, and I'm pretty sure it's a lot less where I live (without the breath analyser and stuff), but I think it's actually a good thing. Less morons driving drunk, yay!

[misspellar]

unfortunately he is not GW Bush.

also he deserves all the punishments he gets. you don't drink 3-5 beers at the party if you know there is not going to be a designated driver.

[Boogums]

my buddy didnt think he was drunk and only his opinion matters

[starkey]

The thing about DUI and accidents is usually the offender survives and ends up killing an innocent victim, like they say in tv ads over here" If you drink and drive you're a bloody idiot"

[obdigore]

Your friend is an idiot. You don't go drive a vehicle that kills people while drunk. He was risking the lives of people around and his own, and he has to face the consequences.

Frankly, that seems A LOT of money, and I'm pretty sure it's a lot less where I live (without the breath analyser and stuff), but I think it's actually a good thing. Less morons driving drunk, yay!

He listed the general maximums of first time conviction. Most of the time you dont get a breathaliser nor a maximum fine for your first.

Look at it this way, if you are driving while intoxicated in Germany you lose your license for life, from what I understand. (Could someone confirm/deny this for me?)

[Deleted]

He totaly deserved it. Driving under influence is one of the most retarded things you can possibly do, and can get yourself and others around you injured or even killed.

[Deleted]

There is a reason that such a law exists, and maybe the consequences are not draconian enough if it was still not enough to deter him from drink driving.

[Quackerjacks]

Tell your friend that he pretty much screwed the pooch on this one. That's just something that should be imbedded into your subconscious at this point. He should be glad that he didn't get charged with a DUI here in Vegas or he'd really be screwed. The thing I've come to realize from drinking in most US cities is that there are no real reliable/cheap public transportation like there are in say.. Seoul.

[RoKPaNda]

Fair. Driving while under the influence of ... anything really is serious and dangerous and the punishment for it needs to be severe to discourage it. My state recently (in the last year or so) added severe jail time if you drive while under the influence of anything with anyone under 18 in the car as well, and I think that's also fair.

There is a pretty big debate here at the moment about whether or not being stoned while driving should have the same penalties as driving while drunk. Personally I think it should, because rolling around in a heavy amalgamation of plastic and steel in areas with other people while traveling a high rates of speed while impaired is pretty dangerous.

[herpecin]

your buddy was an obvious drunk driver, thats how the cops knew to pull you guys aside and not just wave you by.

not sure which state you live in but all of those things combined seem a bit excessive for a first offence, assuming it was a first offence. i know where i live the first one is ~$5500 with suspended licence depending on how over the limit you are. and the IID isnt until the 3rd offence within a 5 year period.

yes driving drunk is beyond stupid, yet i did plenty of it when i was younger. but now whenever i go to a party i generally pack a sleeping bag and a change of cloths, because im planning on crashing there that night. and if you are out at the bar drinking, a $10 cab fare is much cheaper then a DUI.

[ComputerNerd]

Considering the lengths you claim they are going to avoid facing up to their actions then they are guilty as sin.
If they simply suggested it was an inaccurate result then maybe, but with the rest of what you told us then that leaves no doubt in my mind.

[Deleted]

Seems to me he got off easy. Which is the total opposite as it should be. If you are actually dumb enough to climb behind a wheel after having alcohol, the goverment should have you castrated so you don't by accident pass on your imbesil genes to potential offspring. Also, I think you should get locked up for a minimum time of 10 years to reflect your shortcomings with no chance of parole.

So in my opinion he isn't even getting what he deserves.

[Eliandal]

Yes, he can attempt to use the defense that the Breathalyzer was wrong - however that chances of the device actually NOT having been regularly calibrated is essentially none (especially now with organised RIDE checks) which is what he would need to prove.

He'd be far better off hiring a decent lawyer, hoping for a decent Crown, and being unabashedly apologetic to the Judge (and while I'm not sure about most countries - I do know that Canada does have recipricol driving agreements with many other countries - meaning if you get an impaired ban here - good luck driving elsewhere!)

[Quackerjacks]

not sure which state you live in but all of those things combined seem a bit excessive for a first offence, assuming it was a first offence.

You think that's excessive? This is Nevada's DUI penalties for a first offense.
Criminal
• Arrest
• Vehicle Impounded
• Two days to six months in jail or community service
• Fine $400 to $1,000
• Chemical Test Fee $60
• DUI School or Substance Abuse Treatment
• Victim Impact Panel
Driver License
• License revoked for 90 days
• $120 Reinstatement Fee
• $35 Victims Compensation Civil Penalty
• $22 Driver License Fee
• DMV Tests – Vision, Knowledge, possibly Skills
• SR-22 Certifi cate of Liability Insurance required for
three years