Posted: 6/1/2008 2:52:28 PM EDT
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So I am driving to the WallyWorld and I see an accident jamming up traffic. I get stuck at the light, right next to the accident....the car is totalled....front end went under the rear of a big pickup truck....pickup truck rear-ended a minivan. I see a guy with a bloody face getting the third degree from the po po...then recognize the totaled car....Then it hits me...it's my next door neighbor! So I go through the light and turn the car arround...figure I would offer him a ride home...park the car...turn and look....he is already getting a ride....in the back of a cruiser...with cuffs....so...might as well leave. So I see him today, and ask him about the accident..."yeah, I was drunker than shit and plowed into...." Turns out his wife (or live in girlfriend) bailed his ass out...he is charged with an "enhanced" DUI (3X the legal limit). Thing is the way he talked about it like it was nothing..."oh they still let you drive to work..." Told me he went back to the same bar and got shitfaced...after he got bailed out.... and doesn't remember much after that.  Now, I live in a NICE neighborhood...nice houses, nice cars, yada yada...no trash.... This neighbor of mine has a decent job, and appeared to be a person with his shit squared away.... Just amazes me the way people think about drinking and driving....just no big deal  Glad he is off the road....I have a little two year old daughter...and the last thing I want is for her to be killed by some drunken idiot behind the wheel. I hate to say it, but I hope they throw the book at his ass...I have nothing against boozing it up every now and then....but leave the keys at home or with a friend for God's sake |
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A surprising amount of DUI's are actually caused by a hard core group of "professional" DUI'ers... they're the ones than can be at .08 and stand on one leg, recite the alphabet, whatever. They're also the ones who say "F*ck that" and take to the street despite being revoked for the 4th (or 5th, or 12th) time and get into yet another accident, with the resultant hue and cry for "more" DUI laws. |
He said he had not had a traffic ticket since he was kid....this was his first offense... But from the way he described things, I would say he has been drunk behind the wheel quite a few times....he just got caught this time. |
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IBTFBWHAC In before the "few beers won't hurt anyone" crowd. I've seen too much devastation caused from drinking and driving. I did it once when I was 17 and it scared the shit outta me. Never again! I do know quite a few people that do it all the time and act like it's no big deal. Sucks for you if you get in thier way I guess
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I knew a guy in the Army that self-admitted into Alcohol and Drug Counseling. He claimed he drank a cup of rum every morning before he showered. For over 10 years. He lived off post, married with kids. He claimed to have been stopped several times, even by MPs and they never suspected. Mind you, my brother was killed by a drunk driver in 1994. Most DUIs are the non-professional drunks. Which is why the alcohol concentration is evidence but not necessarily proof of intoxication. |
+1 to zero tolerance. Some asshat got onto the freeway going the WRONG DIRECTION near here just after Christmas last year, while 3X the legal limit. Killed several members of a family in a mini-van who were on their way back home after spending Christmas with relatives. Newspaper article described the cops finding the Christmas presents strewn all over the road. Very young children killed. Of course, the drunk survives with minor injuries. But now, he gets to spend the next 20 years in prison, which serves him right. I wanted to shake the judge's hand. |
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I have to admit I did some real stupid things behind the wheel 25+ years ago but at least I stopped drinking altogether (because of that behavior) before I hurt anyone. It is certainly a big problem. It kind of goes with the territory that anyone who is a substance abuser usually is very clever at learning ways to hide and cover their actions to anyone outside of their own close family. |
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Happens all over, one of the Supervisors at work Hit and Ran a biker, serious injuries to the biker, 3rd DUI, he is going to do hard time for a while. Nice house, vehicles, bike, boat, all the trimmings but obviously still a dumbass. Wife refused to bail his ass out tho and has already filed for divorce. She won't escape the civil suit tho because I'm pretty sure a PI suit has been already filed. [As it should have been, the biker lost a leg] Another one here got LIFE in prison, drunk and killed a woman while driving like a nut. He isn't going to do it again................. |
Good call; I really like this idea. I too have zero tolerance for drunk drivers. It's a totally preventable cause of injury, death, and tragedy. No excuses. |
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Thing is the way he talked about it like it was nothing..."oh they still let you drive to work..." Told me he went back to the same bar and got shitfaced...after he got bailed out.... and doesn't remember much after that. What's his screen name here? does he say that DUI's are just for revenue enhancement? |
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You know what really sucks...we live in a duplex.... I really like this place and am seriously considering buying the landlady's half....it needs a new coat of paint and a new roof. Problem is, if the guy next door has legal problems...I don't think he will be able to afford his half. Normally, I would say the hell with it and move....but I like it too much here. |
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DUIIs are the lowest form of scum on the street. I hate them more than property thieves, drug users/sellers, ho's/pimps and the other worthless thrash cluttering up the streets. After almost 20 years in law enforcement I have seen more people killed, ENTIRE families killed in single incidents, more families lives changed for the worse than the other so called 'crimes.' DUIIs victimize the innocent. Most low level criminals are lazy turds that victimize their friends, other criminals. Drink ANYTHING and drive and you should be shot until you are dead, before you kill someone I care about. |
Spot on. |
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Your State needs a alternative drug/substance abuse court like what was implemented in my county. These courts will keep people out of jail, as long as they stay sober, subject to drug tests at any time. Most have their driving licenses suspended during this period. These courts get the family involved, including substance abuse counselors/AA to help get them clean. Typically, they are on court ordered probation for 6 months or more that the judge oversees then weekly/bi-weekly, with extended probation to make sure they stay clean for a year or more. The Judge, also posts these weekly drug courts on the local cable access channel. It interesting to see those who advance and those that may face jail time. 
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Your neighbor is probably a closet alcoholic, and he's probably driven drunk many, many times. Statistically, most DUI drivers have been doing it for years before they finally get stopped/caught/kill somebody. You'd be amazed who out there has substance abuse problems. |
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Drinking and driving varies a lot by location. Getting on the dirt road from my 180 person town and driving the 4 miles home is at 45 considerably different than getting plowed in Chicago or Las Vegas, hopping on the freeway and going 80. Zero tolerance anything is bullshit. The world is not black and white. Those of you who would include people like me in with the likes of rapists and murderers can FOAD. For the record, I was a professional FF/EMT for over four years. Seen ten times as many people fucked up by sober elderly and teen drivers as I did drunks. |
| When I was in rookie school they threw out a statistic (dont remember it exactly or where it came from so take it for what its worth) but the 'professional' drunk driver drives drink almost 52 times a year, or once a week. I am sure that some do it more than that. I talked to a woman the other day who was carrying on an intellegent, as much as could be expected, and when we got to the jail she blew a 0.346...thats right a .346! I probably would have shit my pants and passed out at that level! |
Thank you. And fucks that like to drink and carry guns! After all, they are safe!
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| A drunk driver killed my Father last year right before Christmas. At 2 in the afternoon as my dad crossed the street. He drug my dad 146 feet before hitting the brakes. BAC of .348 read that again that is not a typo .348. Dad was a ww2 vet , this guy is a career drunk. |
Problem here is that you could very well go off the edge of a mountain or a canyon....Idaho is notorious for NO guardrails on rural roads (keeps the gene pool clean I guess). I don't care where you are....shitfaced and behind the wheel is unacceptable. |
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Alcoholism has no bearing on race, class, status or stature. Were I you, I would have called the police when he made the golf cart -> truck transition. If I may ask, where in Idaho? North or South? ETA: Call the cops, then post on ARFCOM. |
| If he has a history of DUI and obviously no remorse for his actions and repeats his ill actions I would be calling the cops because he will be the person to hit and kill some innocent person and your gonna feel like crap if he kills someone and you didn't make the responsible decision to report him. |
Dime him out before he kills somebody with his stupidity. It would be one thing if he were only endangering himself... but he's endangering other people... innocent people. |
+1 Call the cops everytime you see him leave the house. |
+2 what happens when he comes home drunk barreling through the yard and endangers your child. |
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It's no different than a robber putting a gun/knife to someones head/throat. Sometimes they follow through with the threat, sometimes not but they still do the crime. Felony murder in some states is death penalty on conviction. If someone drinks and drives and kills someone in the process, 3-5 is nowhere near enough punishment. |
Does it matter to the people he kills if it was his first time drunk or just the first time he hits somebody when he does it all the time? |