Why is drunk driving so lightly punished?

Seriously temporary suspension of a license? WTF?

Is there any adult who does not know how whacked out dangerous this is? Has anyone ever "acidentally" driven drunk?

Why does someone who willfully engages in an illegal action with the full knowledge that it poses extreme risk to the health and property of others get off so lite? A weekened in jail?

I think you're going to have to specify the jurisdiction.

It's also worth considering that the offense can fall along several levels, depending on the repetition of the action, and the circumstances.

edited 3rd Jun '11 8:58:00 PM by blueharp

Typically it entails a hefty fine and a bunch of other penalties.

But the people are still free after a 2nd offense!?

edited 3rd Jun '11 8:58:15 PM by deuxhero

Different places have different laws. Try Saudi Arabia, where you can get lashed. of course, that's as much because they ban all alcohol there as anything else.

Free may depend on the circumstances, you can get jailed on a first offense in many places.

edited 3rd Jun '11 9:00:11 PM by blueharp

Usually first offenses, as with most first time offenses, are fairly light as DUI's are more a severe mistake and lack of judgment, but subsequent ones get harsher punishment wise.

third offense should be a month in prison.

I agree. First offense is bad but kind of forgivable; repeat ones should be punished rather harshly.

Month? Third?

What?

No! Actual jail time! You are making a serious attempt to kill someone!

You spelled "driving" wrong.

Dude, you are making it out to be like someone who's a little tipsy on their way home, despite making a huge mistake, is actively trying to kill someone.

Recklessly endangering people, yes, but actively trying to cause harm? Not at all.

Deux, I can understand where you are coming from, but I think you're a bit off in this belief. DUI's should be punished, but they are not serious attempts to kill someone.

edited 3rd Jun '11 9:23:32 PM by MarkVonLewis

No, drunk drivers are not trying to kill anyone at all. They are being foolish, stupid and have the potential to endanger people. That doesn't mean they get behind the wheel with the intention to run someone over.

I don't know what the punishments are for drink driving here in Australia, but fines and the suspension of a license for a few months seems reasonable for a first offense. Provided they haven't hurt anyone, of course.

Second offenders should be treated far more harshly though.

Not to mention it skyrockets their auto insurance like no tomorrow, a DUI.

No, most drunk drivers are not "making a serious attempt to kill someone". They're making a stupid choice. And that "temporary" suspension of license? In my home state, it's a full year for the first offense. Here's the full list of penalties that can be imposed for a first-offense DUI conviction in Illinois:

• Jail – Up to 1 Year Possible
• Jail – Add Up to 6 Months - (If Child under 16 in Vehicle)
• Fine – Up to $2,500 (plus court costs, plus the cost of any other expense required to meet court-decreed terms)
• Fine – Add $500 Minimum (BAC above .16)
• Fine – Add $1,000 Minimum - (If Child under 16 in Vehicle)
• License Suspension – Minimum 1 Year
• Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device (BAIID) Possible
• Vehicle Registration Suspension
• Community Service – 100 Hours Minimum - (BAC above .16)
• Community Service – 25 Days - (If Child under 16 in Vehicle)

Louisiana seems pretty lax on it in comparison to Illinois.

• 1st Offense: *
  ^{Jail – Up to 6 Months, Fine - $1,000, License Suspension – 90 Days (6 months if under 21)}
• 2nd Offense*
  ^{Jail – 48 Hours Mandatory up to 6 Months, Fine - $1,000, License Suspension – 1 Year}

• 3rd Offense *
  ^{Felony Offense, Jail – 45 Days Mandatory up to 5 Years, Fine - $2,000, License Suspension – 2 Years, Substance Abuse Treatment – 6 Week Inpatient, Community Service – 30 Days, Home Incarceration – Remainder of Sentence}

• 4th+ *
  ^{Felony Offense, Jail – 75 Days Mandatory up to 30 Years, Fine - $5,000, License Suspension – 2 Years, Vehicle May Be Seized and Sold, Substance Abuse Treatment – 6 Week Inpatient, Community Service – 40 Days, Home Incarceration – Remainder of Sentence}

I also disagree that it's a serious attempt to kill someone. You don't drink and think "I'm gonna go run some people over tonight." You think "Well, I think I'm cool to drive" or "Well, there's no one on the road this late, it should be fine..."

edited 3rd Jun '11 11:48:39 PM by Wulf

The maximum UK penalty is 6 months in jail plus a £5,000 fine, and a driving ban of at least 12 months. That's quite rare though - more typical (says Wikipedia) would be a fine of one to two weeks' income plus a driving ban of 12-18 months depending on how far over the limit you were. Community service might also be an option if you were more over the limit or had a previous record.

I think you'd be on stronger ground, as far as car-related offences in Britain are concerned, with "why don't drivers (often drunk) who kill people get charged with manslaughter, but with causing death by dangerous/careless driving?" The answer is that juries were reluctant to convict, so Parliament created an offence which typically carries a shorter prison term than manslaughter. I think in the US you are usually charged with manslaughter.

edited 4th Jun '11 12:49:14 AM by captainbrass2

The majority of drunk-driving offences are morning after, some are even afternoon-after. Did you know it's possible to stop drinking before midnight and still be over the limit at 3pm?

Only if you had a blood alcohol concentration of something like .30 — and for most people that's passed-out drunk or huggin-the-floor drunk, not driving-around drunk.

(Alcohol is metabolized at the rate of approximately .015 of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) every hour. Thus, a person with a (very high) BAC of .15 will have no measurable alcohol in the bloodstream after ten hours (.15 divided by .015 = 10).

edited 4th Jun '11 1:15:10 AM by Madrugada

The problem is that there is a very high variance to that rate and it's not practical to get your own rate measured.

@Madrugada: Perhaps they just have a very high tolerance?

edited 4th Jun '11 1:14:23 AM by EnglishIvy

No, that's about how fast the liver can deal with it. There's not a great deal of variance in the speed it's metabolized out. The variance is in how fast the BAC goes up, not down.

And "tolerance" is how the body responds to the presence of alcohol, not how fast it gets rid of it. Someone with a high tolerance is still drunk at .08, they're just not showing the same symptoms to the same degree as someone with a low tolerance.

edited 4th Jun '11 1:18:43 AM by Madrugada

In Poland, drunk driving is a crime and you can go to prison for it. I'm OK with this

In addition to the fairly standard punishments from the states for getting a DUI, anyone in the military also gets to enjoy losing half their paycheck for two months, 16+ hour days for two months, then getting fired coupled with a complete inability to get a federal job ever. I can't say for certain with other services, but in the Navy, DUI is a one-strike kind of situation - a single DUI, and your career is over, whether you blow .01 over the limit or .30 over the limit.*

Driving when you are drunk is attempting homocide.
Driving while being blind, and have no person to lead you is also homocide attempt.
Or is manslaughter the correct legal term?
The point is: The situation will end with someone who is dead.

No, no, yes, and only sometimes. Did you read Wulf's post?