ckparrothead
Premium Member
inFINSible said:
I generally agree with you, and I'm glad someone else is brave enough to speak up instead of going with the flow of "what an idiot if you do the crime you do the time anyone who drinks and drives is the dumbest person in the world 0.87 BAC is very drunk blah blah blah"
I do disagree with two things, though. One, is there are definitely legal distinctions in place that change the penalty for a DUI based on what the BAC result. I know this for a fact, because my former roommate has had three DUI offenses in his time (one in FL when he was underage, one in a different state while he was in college, and a second one in FL when he was overage and blew a 0.187). The judge has a lot of discretion over the range of penalties he can toss at you, and one of the things he bases it on is what BAC you tested out at. For instance, if you blow over .2 then you get a mandatory interlock device put on your car for at least 6 months that makes you blow into it before you can even drive the car. This punishment is mandatory if you blow more than .2 and is optional if you blow under .2 BAC. My former roommate got slapped with the interlock device because the judge saw that he had a DWI underage offense when he was like 17 or 18 (lucky for my former roommate, they never found out about the DUI in another state). Legally, the judge could not charge him with a 2nd DUI offense, so he charged it like a first offense and ordered the interlock device. In my opinion, there is no problem with how the legal system is set up for DUIs in terms of how high your BAC limit is. There has to be a legal limit, and that limit is set at 0.08, and Williams blew 0.087, so it's not like the DA will say hey he wasn't THAT high over the legal limit I guess we should just let him off. There's no reason they should say that. If anything, I believe Florida is too lenient on drunk drivers. For instance, my former roommate has had three DUI offenses, he blew well over .1 in each offense, and he's gotten them counted as first offenses each time. He did no jail time for any of them. He had his license suspended for 6 months for the first one, had his license suspended for 6 months ONLY IN THE STATE HE WAS IN (he could drive in any other state) for the 2nd DUI, and he got his license suspended for 6 months and had an interlock device for 6 months for the 3rd DUI offense. All in all for the 3rd DUI offense, he paid fines, did community service (and the community service is a JOKE, he probably worked a total of 5 hours and got credited with something like 50 or 100 hours), took some BS course, served a 6 month license suspension (in which he could get a hardship license within a month of suspension), and he had an interlock device on his car for 6 months (which involves installation and monthly maintenance fees). In other words, slaps on the wrist. If you ask me now if he learned anything and whether he'll get another DUI, I will tell you he probably did not learn anything, and he probably will get another one.
Second thing I disagree with, is the notion that you only start to lose motor function at .1 above what Williams blew (0.187). Sorry, but that is absolutely not true. You start losing some reaction time right at 0.08 which is why they set the legal limit there. You lose a moderate amount in the .1 range, and I can tell you from experience when my roommate got tested at the 0.157 (first offense) and 0.187 (third offense) ranges, he was DRUNK. And I mean, DRUNK drunk, as in lost, falling down, doesn't know exactly where he is, etc.
