I hate drunk drivers. An illegal alien drunk driver murdered my friend right after we graduated college. When drunk drivers finally succeed in murdering someone they have already been charged with DUI several times and are often driving with a suspended license. WHEN will the courts take this seriously?
A friend of mine lost his 12 year old in front of his eyes to an illegal speeding thru a ped zing. It destroyed him and his marraige.
I quite nearly got whacked by a drunk the other night. I'm a police officer and was riding in the passenger seat two nights ago while my partner drove.
We were rolling along in a quiet residential neighborhood, approaching an uncontrolled intersection, when I heard the sound of a loud veh. engine approaching.
I looked to my right and saw a work van barrelling along at 50+ in this residential neighborhood.
I had to scream out loudly, "watch out! Watch out!" My partner stopped our patrol car before we got completely into the intersection. The van skids to a stop into the middle of the intersection.
The height differential between our two vehicles put his bumper and grill at my ear/shoulder level. If I had not cried out then I would have taken a bumper to my head and upper torso.
The driver had 3 prior DUI convictions. Considering out hard it is to get convicted of DUI in this state, and that most cops don't like to work a DUI because it take 3 hours minimum to do the paperwork, just to have some lawyer get the guy off, this guy has probably been pulled over for DUI 10+ times. Not to mention all the times he's been driving drunk and wasn't caught.
I'd bet that all three of his DUI convictions were a result of him having collisions while drunk, as most DUI convictions are lost on the probable cause for the stop.
This past July WA state passed a law that makes your 5th DUI conviction in 10 years a felony. And that supposedly toughened the law up.
My agency had a brand new officer get whacked by a high and drunk woman last year.
I lost a dear friend early on Christmas morning also....illegal.
This is a nearly intractable problem as are all the laws against drug addicts who steal to support their habits.
Prison is just not a long-term option because of the nature and history of the law.
No state requires a driver’s license to buy a car or the supplies to keep it running.