b_line
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I can't tell if you're joking or not
Wes' Travel Questions
- Thread starter Miggs
- Start date
I can't tell if you're joking or not
Studies have actually shown you are more impaired driving while talking on a hands free cell phone via a bluetooth device than driving at .08. There are bigger fish to fry than trying to get people in trouble driving at .05 that are not causing accidents at a higher rate than lower level BAC people.
https://www.businessinsider.com/talking-on-a-hands-free-cellphone-is-as-bad-as-driving-drunk-2013-8
People actually feel more drunk at .05 than .08. When I volunteer for the UHP to help with DUI testing they get you drunk and check your blood alcohol level frequently while performing field sobriety tests to help test/train police people. Most people say they wont drive at .05 because they feel too drunk. Somewhere north of .08 people tend to feel more sober and capable of driving. I dont really mind the law being .05 because I do not drive at that point anyways but between .05 and .08 there are very few arrests that will happen, especially the drunk people causing accidents. It will just be an occasional social drinker that is unlikely to cause any accident especially compared to someone between .01 and .05. If it is not lowering accidents or deaths it seems pointless. This law isnt targeting bad drunk drivers causing problems this is targeting a casual drinker who is probably fine to drive. It seems like there is no real science or facts behind lowering it to .05 and more of just doing it because they can and people who dont drink and dont really understand what is happening think it will help. This will make Utah the lowest BAC levels in the USA. Additionally I am not in favor or more strict laws in general, especially ones that are not helpful.
Personally I try to buy Booze from out of state when possible (despite this being a felony for some stupid reason) and from brewers and distillers directly. Although the latter still gives money to the state it does limit it and reduce the numbers going through their state run stores. The state of Utah makes an insane amount of tax money off of drinkers that they try to abuse, shame and guilt about drinking. I wish people could group up in Utah and stop buying liquor from Utah for awhile until they change their laws and put people who actually drink in charge of those laws. Losing that much money would get things to change quickly.
Anecdotally I see way less people or friends drive drunk or attempt to drive drunk since Uber and Lyft became popular. More solutions for preventing people who are very drunk from driving do need to happen. Part of that is education and talking about alcohol more openly in Utah. Many kids in Utah have alcohol treated as a sin and they are not taught about it well besides never ever touch it. Once many of those kids decide to drink they dont understand alcohol well and abuse it and make bad decisions. That is just one group causing problems and there are many others but either way there are better ways to help reduce drunk drivers on the road than this law.
LogGrad98
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This in spades. Texting and driving should be charged exactly the same as drinking and driving.
Also statistically driving tired is worse than driving drunk.
♪alt13
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Good point we should harshly punish people who are irresponsible with other people's lives. Speeding is the number one cause of roadway fatalities in Utah and it isn't close. We should lower the maximum speed to 55. Anyone caught speeding should have their license automatically revoked, their vehicle impounded, and be subject to a sentence of up to 5 years in the state prison. If a person dies as a result of speeding we should charge the driver with manslaughter and he should be subject to up to 25 years in prison. Just to be sure we should hand out the same penalties for 5 miles over and double the speed limit because the danger from speeding begins at 1 mile over.
Nah, it's for real.
b_line
Well-Known Member
I don't even know how to respond to this. What the hell is this even in response to? You think people should just get a fine similar to a speeding ticket for getting drunk and running over someone?
b_line
Well-Known Member
So not drinking a single ounce of alcohol, but just eating food? I am gonna go ahead and say that is not real.
I think the point is that drinking and driving has been demonized way out of proportion to the reality of the danger it poses, especially in relation to other driving behaviors that are significantly more dangerous than some driving with a BAC of 0.08%, let alone our upcoming limit of 0.05%BAC.
Many people feel like DUI penalties are not harsh enough. But let's quickly break down a first offense penalty for being at 0.09%BAC
-Must be taken to jail, cannot issue citation and release the offender.
-Will lose driving privileges for at least 6 months.
-Fines in excess of $1000.
-Requirement to carry sr-22 type insurance, which I believe cost several hundred more dollars a month than regular insurance and you have to have it for 3 years.
-Usually jail time or work release.
-Counseling for addiction, even if there's no reason to believe you're addicted to alcohol.
-Made to attended a group where you listen to someone related to a victim of a DUI driver tell you how it affected their life.
For 0.08%BAC, which I consider a strict standard already, but a perfectly acceptable one, those penalties are just the reality. But when someone who is talking on their cell phone is a bigger risk, when a speeder is a bigger risk, when a sleepy driver is a bigger risk, we need to ask why the penalties for one thing are so high compared to the penalties of the other things, if there even are penalties for the other things. Then we look at the prospect of lowing the limit to 0.05%BAC and the penalties stay the same? It's starting to be very unbalanced. This is starting to NOT be about safety. This is getting out of hand.
I'd be MUCH more willing to accept the 0.05%BAC limit if there was a lesser set of penalties from 0.05% to 0.08%BAC. Like not having to be booked into jail, not having to carry SR-22 insurance, not losing your driving privileges for a first offense. Either that or just slam everyone who poses a risk on our roads with similar penalties.
Bottom line, if anyone here likes to look down their nose at people who drink and drive up to 0.1%BAC, they sure as hell better not talk on their phone or look at their phone screen while driving, period. They better not ever get behind the wheel when they are drowsy. They better not ever have distractions in the car that take their attention off the road. They better not ever exceed the speed limit.
There is a massive double standard when it comes to risky driving behaviors.
fishonjazz
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I say don't drink and drive
You might spill your drink
Before you get behind the wheel, just stop & think
You can take your chances
But there's so much to lose
Another bumpy road,
There's so much wasted booze
I'm not so worried
About how many I kill
I'm much more concerned
With how much beer I spill
35% of accidents
Are cause by pixilated
The other 65% are not
Alcohol related
What does this tell us
About the drunk drivers
They seem to have a
Better record than
the sober team
I'm not so worried
About how many I kill
I'm much more concerned
With how much beer I spill
With how much beer I spill
With how much beer I spill
You might spill your drink
Before you get behind the wheel, just stop & think
You can take your chances
But there's so much to lose
Another bumpy road,
There's so much wasted booze
I'm not so worried
About how many I kill
I'm much more concerned
With how much beer I spill
35% of accidents
Are cause by pixilated
The other 65% are not
Alcohol related
What does this tell us
About the drunk drivers
They seem to have a
Better record than
the sober team
I'm not so worried
About how many I kill
I'm much more concerned
With how much beer I spill
With how much beer I spill
With how much beer I spill
You don't have to cause an accident or injury to have your life basically destroyed if you get a DUI (huge fines, breathalyzer in car, felony convictions). You pay a relatively small fine for speeding and not causing an accident or injury. Yet speeding causes more deaths and injuries and accidents by far than drunk driving. So are the penalties about safety or about punishment? People say there is no excuse for having a drink and then driving. Is there any good excuse for speeding? Texting? Other types of distracted driving? The penalties should fit the action based on fact and not emotion.
Sent from my HTC6535LVW using JazzFanz mobile app
You wont trigger a DUI, but it will change your blood alcohol level.
♪alt13
Well-Known Member
Shouldn't people who are wreckless do hard time? If speeders are the leading cause of death on our roadways then why shouldn't we crack down on them?
They are breaking the law and are gambling with the lives of others.
b_line
Well-Known Member
The fact that I think drinkers need to be more responsible with their drinking in no way precludes me from thinking that speeders are inherently bad.
Obviously both are bad, as is any form of distracted driving. I don't really care to get into a conversation about hypothetical punishments, as everyone's opinion is different.
♪alt13
Well-Known Member
Dumb response considering we are specifically talking about opinions regarding punishments. Derp