4 ms·

This is a purely anecdotal response but I live in Texas now and come from Canada where the punishments for drunk driving are very severe. In short I am absolut

by math0ne 12y ago

This is a purely anecdotal response but I live in Texas now and come from Canada where the punishments for drunk driving are very severe. In short I am absolutely floored by the casual nature of drunk driving here, across all segments of society compared to Canada. In Canada my very alternative friends to whom casual law breaking like illegal drinking and drugs would be nothing, would almost universally never consider drinking and driving. In the US those same type of friends seeming drink and drive 5-6 days a week, often after consuming amounts of alcohol I consider ridiculous. Additionally I regularly interact with professionals and even professors who drink and drive. This is purely my opinion, but the difference I experience here is outa control when it comes to drinking and driving and I do think the harsh punishments have something to do with it.

seanmcdirmid 12y ago
Texas is not realy the USA, they don't like much law and taxes. Most states come down hard on drinking and driving.
- szierk 12y ago
  In my experience people are similar to the parent in both California and Massachusetts.
- mahyarm 12y ago
  I think it depends on which law you are talking about. Airport immigration authorities in texas are a lot worse than SF i've found.
  - seanmcdirmid 12y ago
    That is federal law, not state law. Border states are always more harsh on immigration rules than non-border states (though Portland's Japanese nickname before 9/11 used to be Deportland).
- jessaustin 12y ago
  Texas is not realy the USA... An attractive sentiment in general, but it's not true. Texas is just like every other state, in that they spend way too much on the "enforcement" of drunk-driving laws. The reason is obvious: local police and sheriffs get the same ridiculous federal grants that LEOs in all other states get. EDIT: Congratulations to Louisiana, I expect they laugh at Texas' patchwork of dry and "partially-moist" counties.
  - seanmcdirmid 12y ago
    Louisiana back in the 80s/early 90s had very lax drinking laws: the drinking age was 18 and they had "drive thru" daiquiri stores. I think they gave that up for highway money, but the culture still hangs around. In contrast, many states in the north are now zero tolerance states. The limit is quite low, and the penalties are quite harsh. Well, that pales in comparison to Japan, where you would probably lose your job if caught (and they have a very low limit also).
    - selimthegrim 12y ago
      Indeed, Louisiana still has drive thru daiquiri places. They just put a piece of tape over the straw hole in the lid as they hand it to you.
  - cylinder 12y ago
    Texting (and talking on phone) while driving are still legal in Texas. Texas road deaths are double the OECD average.
ameister14 12y ago
Canada and the United States, while similar, are not culturally the same. Children in the States, because they are already breaking the law by drinking, routinely get behind the wheel without thinking about it. They get home safely and learn that it's ok to drink and drive. In the US, we have a combination of a binge drinking culture, a driving culture and a fierce independence from authority. The combination isn't the best for deterring drinking and driving. Here's a simple reason laws don't work as well as you'd think: when you drink and drive, you're not in your right mind. You're less inhibited than you would be otherwise and often you think you're fine to drive. Without sober or semi-sober friends around, there's nothing stopping you from doing just that.
_delirium 12y ago
I don't think you can reliably compare things on one variable like this. A counter-comparison that reaches an opposite conclusion: Here in Denmark the sentences for drunk driving are considerably lower than in the US, rarely involving prison time. And yet drunk driving is less common. Typically the punishment is suspension of license and a fine, with the duration of suspension, and the amount of fine, increasing with higher BAC and with repeated offenses. The focus is on removing people from the roads (by suspending their license, possibly for multi-year periods), but not imprisoning them. In extreme cases (BAC >0.2%, repeated offenses, etc.), prison sentences of 20–40 days may be imposed, but rarely more. Details [Google Translate]: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sikkertrafik.dk%2FRaad-og-viden%2FI-bil%2FAlkohol%2FStrafferamme-for-spritkoersel.aspx&edit-text= https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&pr...
qq66 12y ago
You can do your part by reporting each incident that you can. Call 911 and give them the make and model, license plate number, starting location, and likely direction of travel for each drunk driver that you can.

by math0ne 12y ago

seanmcdirmid 12y ago

Texas is not realy the USA, they don't like much law and taxes. Most states come down hard on drinking and driving.

szierk 12y ago
In my experience people are similar to the parent in both California and Massachusetts.
mahyarm 12y ago
I think it depends on which law you are talking about. Airport immigration authorities in texas are a lot worse than SF i've found.
- seanmcdirmid 12y ago
  That is federal law, not state law. Border states are always more harsh on immigration rules than non-border states (though Portland's Japanese nickname before 9/11 used to be Deportland).
jessaustin 12y ago
Texas is not realy the USA... An attractive sentiment in general, but it's not true. Texas is just like every other state, in that they spend way too much on the "enforcement" of drunk-driving laws. The reason is obvious: local police and sheriffs get the same ridiculous federal grants that LEOs in all other states get. EDIT: Congratulations to Louisiana, I expect they laugh at Texas' patchwork of dry and "partially-moist" counties.
- seanmcdirmid 12y ago
  Louisiana back in the 80s/early 90s had very lax drinking laws: the drinking age was 18 and they had "drive thru" daiquiri stores. I think they gave that up for highway money, but the culture still hangs around. In contrast, many states in the north are now zero tolerance states. The limit is quite low, and the penalties are quite harsh. Well, that pales in comparison to Japan, where you would probably lose your job if caught (and they have a very low limit also).
  - selimthegrim 12y ago
    Indeed, Louisiana still has drive thru daiquiri places. They just put a piece of tape over the straw hole in the lid as they hand it to you.
- cylinder 12y ago
  Texting (and talking on phone) while driving are still legal in Texas. Texas road deaths are double the OECD average.

ameister14 12y ago

Canada and the United States, while similar, are not culturally the same. Children in the States, because they are already breaking the law by drinking, routinely get behind the wheel without thinking about it. They get home safely and learn that it's ok to drink and drive. In the US, we have a combination of a binge drinking culture, a driving culture and a fierce independence from authority. The combination isn't the best for deterring drinking and driving. Here's a simple reason laws don't work as well as you'd think: when you drink and drive, you're not in your right mind. You're less inhibited than you would be otherwise and often you think you're fine to drive. Without sober or semi-sober friends around, there's nothing stopping you from doing just that.

_delirium 12y ago

I don't think you can reliably compare things on one variable like this. A counter-comparison that reaches an opposite conclusion: Here in Denmark the sentences for drunk driving are considerably lower than in the US, rarely involving prison time. And yet drunk driving is less common. Typically the punishment is suspension of license and a fine, with the duration of suspension, and the amount of fine, increasing with higher BAC and with repeated offenses. The focus is on removing people from the roads (by suspending their license, possibly for multi-year periods), but not imprisoning them. In extreme cases (BAC >0.2%, repeated offenses, etc.), prison sentences of 20–40 days may be imposed, but rarely more. Details [Google Translate]: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sikkertrafik.dk%2FRaad-og-viden%2FI-bil%2FAlkohol%2FStrafferamme-for-spritkoersel.aspx&edit-text= https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&pr...

qq66 12y ago

You can do your part by reporting each incident that you can. Call 911 and give them the make and model, license plate number, starting location, and likely direction of travel for each drunk driver that you can.