PA Judges Caught on Tape Discussing the Coverup of Sending Kids to Prison for Money

Does it matter if the person was drunk or texting? Are wee basing punishment on outcomes?

 

DWI threadjack

Maybe you should observe the parking lot of most bars at closing time, or do a ride-along with a police officer just after closing time. It's not the one-drink crowd that's stumbling around, dropping their keys, then weaving along the roadways in hopes of reaching home.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_c6tF248hc"]How to instantly fail a drunk driving test - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JElty0EDbvs&feature=related"]DUI Breath Test Epic Fail - YouTube[/ame]

 

Not to me

Yeah.

 

Well based on that standard, most DUI arrests would never happen. Most DUI arrests don't involve injury or death. On the other hand, many people would think twice about texting, shaving, putting on make up, reading, etc. while driving. Of course, there isn't reliable testing for those activities.

 

No, they don't. I'd be interested in seeing the stats of vehicular homicides due to drunk drivers who've never gotten a DUI before. If it's their first, they never had to personally endure the preventative penalties that might have kept them from DUIing again. If it isn't, it could be argued that the initial penalties weren't stiff enough.

That's pretty much it. They can't really prove texting or drowsy or radio tuning. They can prove drunk. Plus, you can quit texting halfway thru your drive and be OK for everyone else on the road. I'm cool with them doing what they can in this case.

I see no problem with the current laws. It's a pretty simple task to not drink too much to be driving.

I've done it a few times before. Never got a DUI, never had a wreck or been stopped at the time. I don't do it anymore specifically because I lost a friend to a drunk driver. It woke me up, so to speak.

Do you wait until someone gets killed and then lower the boom, or do you try something preventative in the hope that the first time DUI offender gets the seriousness of it? The penalties are supposed to be preventative, as an offender can always be prosecuted. OTOH, the victim may not heal- or be resurrected from the dead.

And most of the fallout you mention (job loss, etc.) isn't the responsibility of the legal system. That's goody-two-shoes Corporate America chipping in to serve their own interests.

 

Re: DWI threadjack

I think that's the point.

I sometimes have a couple of drinks, (maybe once a month), when I'm out but it's over a 2 -3 hour period and the most I ever have is 2 pints of bitter which is about 3.5% strength. According to the little calculator thingie on the other guy's post that would put me at around 0.01 BAC or slightly lower, (I'm... er... 'heavier boned' than they specify).

There's absolutely NO excuse for getting drunk and driving. None whatsoever and, tbh, over here it's generally not well thought of. Certainly not the trivial matter it used to be but, to be fair, I'm guessing that's partly because our roads are more crowded. If you live in a very rural area the dangers aren't as significant as there are fewer people to hit.

Imagine being drunk and driving in this...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlxF6jRtsOc"]Filtering traffic at London Elephant and Castle Roundabout. - YouTube[/ame]

 

California's penal system is nothing but a big, government-supported, for-profit prison system, with lobbyists pushing for more mandatory sentencing laws, and prisons built all over the central valley to provide jobs for people who support such laws.

 

if there was no crime there would be way less jobs. less cops, prison wardens, prison cooks, actors, support cast for the 1000s of crime shows. there would be way less drama. there would be way less to talk about. there would be way less to joke about. so its OK to put people in jail. its OK. its JUSTIFIED cant you see? there needs to be PROGRESS and INNOVATION at all costs cant you think? its morally justified. but if you go into a convenience store and steal a 5 cent candy.. may GOD CURSE YOU THIEF! YOU IMMORAL THIEF! how immoral can you be? stealing private property! wow. so just stick to watching tv shows about crime which factually and logically means you are supporting the system that puts people in jail on purpose, and dont steal 5 cent candy. you will be good to go. after all, isnt that the 'normal' thing to do? doesnt everyone do that? so its morally justified right? obviously god says 'if normal then moral automatic rule applies 100% of the time' no? to believe otherwise would be ABSOLUTELY ludicrous of course. god loves you.

 

Crime & Punishment

It is costly, and well-lobbied.
However, today's LA Times reports http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...lumn?track=rss that "Los Angeles ... is in the midst of a crime drop so steep and profound, it has experts scratching their heads. Crime fell in 2011 for the ninth year in a row, to levels not seen in Los Angeles since half a century ago. The city had fewer crimes last year — and a million and a half more people — than ... in 1957."
Some inmates apparently love it:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...tory?track=rss

 

Living in urban Europe, there is absolutely no need for me to do this (but then I don't even own a car)

 

When I used to live out 'in the sticks' some years before it was a problem too. I lived in a place that didn't have a shop or school of any kind, (let alone a pub), within about 7 miles with a bus twice a day, the latest one at around 5:30pm. IIRC the nearest pub was around 9 miles. The only thing to do was to have one drink or maybe two over a couple of hours, have a designated driver or take a cab there and back which probably cost more than the night out itself.

 

I know. But it's also not like anybody is really trying. (I realize that won't make the problem disappear completely since the US is so big, and of course in the rural parts of Germany it is a problem. But not to the extend that everybody has done it I think.)

 

DWI threadjack

Not true. DWI & alcohol-related crashes have declined greatly in the USA, since counter-measures have been instituted and increased.

 

Re: DWI threadjack

I meant creating an infrastructure that offers alternatives to travelling by car.

 

DWI threadjack

There have also been a lot of efforts to provide alternatives to automobiles. The fact is that many will not consider other options. There is no doubt that mass transit usually does not run at night, but cabs & designated drivers are reasonably available.

 

That's the thing, in Europe Mass transit usually runs at night, too. Maybe just a bus or tram instead of a metro, and only every hour instead of every 10 minutes, and maybe even only on Friday and Saturday night, but it is still worthwhile. And has advantages in either costs or needing a sober person over taxis and designated drivers.

But yeah, in the end you need to change the mindset of most people owning cars, and that will be nigh impossible in the grand scheme of things due to the wastness of the country (and planning mistakes like suburbanization).

 

its good for the economy that they get caught and people die from it. morgue workers keep their jobs, cops keep their jobs, car manufacturers and everyone in the car industry keeps their jobs, lawyers and legal workers keep their jobs. even organizations such as MADD get to not get bored during the days. keep it moving, keep it moving, efficiency, progress. god bless freedom and free market. if you put transit, taxes will be raised and more jobs will be lost. either way, taxes should be for basic social services such as health care, infrastructure, and education. why should everyone pay for a bunch of drunks?

 

What?

Do they speak English in ucantcomprehendistan?

 

which part did you have difficulty with?

 

The whole thing. Seriously. What was the point you were trying to get across? Were you being sarcastic?

 

have you not been following the thread? its about drunk driving.

one question and the context is that actually, how did you survive thus far because there are indeed more important [challenges] than this in life with higher stakes. even it was hard for me to deal with some of such and then i see people as such [you] it baffles my mind, very much so.