4 ms·

Because the DUI laws aren't designed to protect people, they are designed to extract money out of citizens for the courts and their buddies providing 3rd party

Because the DUI laws aren't designed to protect people, they are designed to extract money out of citizens for the courts and their buddies providing 3rd party services. Someone blows exactly the limit that is within the error range of the breathalyzer? Still get charged just as hard for a DUI because that is literally thousands of dollars the court will receive. Oh sure if you got $10K to drop on a lawyer it will go away easily, but for anyone that has a public defender they are shit out of luck. Defending yourself in court with a public defender is just increasing the risk and liability because if they lose the case they now have to pay thousands of dollars more for court costs, which pushes people to taking shitty plea deals. Oh sure there are plenty of people who are guilty and have a problem, they get caught too, but the courts want money so they aren't just going after the problem, they are charging any and every person possible. Some people get charged DUIs for annoying a cop or being tired, and even if their blood work comes up clean, do they drop the case? No. They just argue they were high on some other drug that they didn't test for.

chromacity 7mo ago
> Someone blows exactly the limit that is within the error range of the breathalyzer? I hate to say this, but how about... not drinking and driving? Drunk driving is a massive problem in the US and accounts for a good proportion of all driving fatalities. And your attitude sounds precisely like what causes this issue: unless the penalties are painful, people keep trying their luck in hopes of blowing "exactly the limit".
- AngryData 7mo ago
  So you think there should be zero threshold at all for alcohol? If someone drank a single beer 10 hours ago they shouldn't be allowed to drive? How about alcohol containing foods or medications? Because if you don't want an absolute zero tolerance for even the smallest amount of alcohol im not sure what your deal here is. There has to be a legal limit or threshold somewhere. Ive also never drove drink in my life and I think anyone who does is a complete moron for a multitude of reasons, so maybe you should examine yourself for bias entering this topic.
- duskdozer 7mo ago
  Because often there is a large cost: an expensive taxi ride, another to pick up the car the next day, and that's if it's not towed from wherever it was left, maybe you end up late for work the next day and reprimanded/fired because you can't manage it in time. There are incentives if you're borderline. But making punishment harsher (which itself ends up causing more problems beyond the nominal punishment itself) isn't the only way to tweak the incentives. Promote walkable infrastructure so you don't need to drive at all. Establish a government rideshare program to pick drunk people up and take their cars home. But anything that gets seen as helping criminals or the undeserving is untouchable

chromacity 7mo ago

> Someone blows exactly the limit that is within the error range of the breathalyzer? I hate to say this, but how about... not drinking and driving? Drunk driving is a massive problem in the US and accounts for a good proportion of all driving fatalities. And your attitude sounds precisely like what causes this issue: unless the penalties are painful, people keep trying their luck in hopes of blowing "exactly the limit".

AngryData 7mo ago
So you think there should be zero threshold at all for alcohol? If someone drank a single beer 10 hours ago they shouldn't be allowed to drive? How about alcohol containing foods or medications? Because if you don't want an absolute zero tolerance for even the smallest amount of alcohol im not sure what your deal here is. There has to be a legal limit or threshold somewhere. Ive also never drove drink in my life and I think anyone who does is a complete moron for a multitude of reasons, so maybe you should examine yourself for bias entering this topic.
duskdozer 7mo ago
Because often there is a large cost: an expensive taxi ride, another to pick up the car the next day, and that's if it's not towed from wherever it was left, maybe you end up late for work the next day and reprimanded/fired because you can't manage it in time. There are incentives if you're borderline. But making punishment harsher (which itself ends up causing more problems beyond the nominal punishment itself) isn't the only way to tweak the incentives. Promote walkable infrastructure so you don't need to drive at all. Establish a government rideshare program to pick drunk people up and take their cars home. But anything that gets seen as helping criminals or the undeserving is untouchable