Punishment for DUI's

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I have a question. What do you think should be the punishment for driving under the influence, and being caught by law enforcement?

The reason I am asking......My cousin got her THIRD DUI this past weekend. When she got her second one, I was told she spent almost two months in prison/jail. Most people learn after the first one, but I am convinced that she isn't learning anything because her parents keep on bailing her out of every situation she ever gets in. Her dad posted her $2,000 bail, and paid around $1,000 in fines. She doesn't have her court date yet, but I am really hoping they send her away for a while. I think her parents are enabling the situtation by continuing to support her financially. She is 28 years old.

I know the punishments are a bit different in each state, but what do you think the punishment should be?

 
Well first of all, If a person is driving under the influence of anything, it is obvious that he/she has a problem so the first step is some type of drug or alcohol rehab. If you solve that problem, and the person is sober after treatment, there is no need for jail, because they would not drive under the influence. The problem lies with rehabilitation, not jail IMO

 
I agree, but she has been to alcohol classes twice for her prior two arrests and it hasn't helped her at all. I think a long while in the hoosegow would do her some good!!!

 
i think she needs time in the clink too. they offer AA there. she will only get help when she wants it, but by continuing to drive under the influence she is going to end up committing a serious crime like manslaughter. true jail/prison may not cure her of her addictions but it will keep other people safe. a family member of mine was a crazy alcoholic. she got in an accident, plowing into another car with a family inside. thankfully know one was seriously hurt. this was a long time ago. she ended up not going to jail, the officer wrote the wrong date on the report. but she did go to treatment. treatment didn't help but everything combined did keep her from driving drunk. years later, when she had had enough, she got help and has been clean for probably 25 yrs.

if your cousin cannot keep herself from driving she should sit it behind bars.

i hope she eventually gets the help she needs.

 
omg they should taker her license off her for 6 months, wat they do here!!!, and if they do it again its atken off them again and u loose points, and if a third time it happens u loose ur license.

and omg her parents shouldnt be paying for bail, they should be settin an example and let her do it!! if that was my child i was would say to him/her, u go urself into it get urself out of it!!! i noe that cruel but only way to learn!!!

 
That's horrible! Her parents are definitely enablers!

DUI is such a dangerous thing...recklessly putting so many lives in danger. I don't know what I think that the punishment should be other than it should be harsh.

 
After the second offense...she should not be allowed to drive again.(jmho)

 
Yeah, I am not sure what example her parents are trying to set for her. Maybe her dad is trying to make up for some lost time by paying for everything. Who knows! Her sister (my other cousin) was trying to make me feel sorry for the three-peat offender, and I told her that I think she should go to prison for a while.

 
three strikes she should have her license revoked forever, i know that sounds harsh but it could save lives..

 
I would say take the license away for atleast 10 yrs or so. I really dont know but they shouldnt be allowed to drive.

 
What I don't understand is that people are feeling sorry for her because this is her third one. I don't feel sorry for her in the least. She could have seriously injured or killed an innocent bystander. Her sister then tried to tell me she only had 4 drinks in about 4 hours in an attempt to make the story seem like she wasn't as drunk as she was. I have seen this girl drink, and she has far more than 4 drinks. Let's put it this way. If I drank as much as she did, I would probably be in a hospital, in a coma!

 
sounds like she has a serious drinking problem and a third dui will be the least of her problems if she dont get some help, i have a childhood friend who lost his license when he was 17 they got revoked after the 5th dui and hes almost thirty and still drinks more than ever, hes an alcoholic to say the least, i think if he wouldnt of lost his license forever he or somone else would of been killed with him behind the wheel.

 
My relatives aren't making a big deal about it at all. Afterall, her dad is the one paying all her fines. It just amazes me how some people don't even think about drinking and driving, and when they get caught, they expect everyone to feel sorry for them!

 
I think it's hard to say what the punishment should be because all situations are different. My dad got a DUI (his first) in Oregon. He's a responsible guy, retired, active in the community and all that. On this particular day he had been outside working all day and was exhausted - he had a few beers and got pulled over by a local cop for something minor, like not signaling at a turn, and the cop slapped him with a DUI. My mom was in the car and would never have let my dad drive drunk. My dad didn't feel drunk, either. And they were driving like 5 miles in the small town where they live. The punishment was a weekend in jail, one year of counseling, one year of community service, fines, and as a result my dad's insurance company dropped him just like that - house, car, life, everything - and he had been with them for over 30 years with a great record up until that point. It seemed unnecessarily harsh to me.

Driving under the influence is a serious matter. But our legal system was developed at a time when a "jury of your peers" meant people who actually knew you and could deliver a verdict that fit the crime. Was my dad's crime that serious? I don't really think so. I think if he had been judged by a jury of his peers or a judge who wasn't so determined to go by the book, the punishment might have been more suitable to the crime. That's why it's hard for me to say DUI punishments should be this or that. I think they should be flexible enough to fit a range of situations.

 
The "harsh" punishments are fine by me, but people will learn at their own speed. It is someone you love and it can be hard on you if they take a little longer to figure life out. You just have to hang in there and be supportive when they do positive things, everybody has a different speed. By the parents being an enabler, it is really hurting HER, and if they don't realize that and let her live life on her own, it could lead to years and years of this repeating itself, and emotional and financial turmoil for the parents - it happened to my grandparents, believe me it's no fun
frown.gif
.

 
It really depends. I think it should at least partially depend on the severity of it and of course the number of times they committed the offense. if its the first time and maybe just over the limit it shouldnt really be that severe. 3 strikes and your out though if you get caught 3 times your license should be suspended indefinately. Not to mention maybe some serious jail time.

 
My other cousin's husband got 4 DUI's, and he is in prison right now for a little over a year. I am happy that I don't drink after watching these goofballs.

 
I am very opinionated on this subject. After losing friends in alcohol related accidents, either because a driver was under the influence, or they got hit by another driver who was under the influence. I honestly think that prison doesn't do people good when it comes to recovering if they have a problem -- but just because you are under the influence and drive does not mean you have a real problem. I think the jail time should go for anyone, even if it is just a week, to show them that it IS a serious offense, and then on top of that, have mandatory drug classes that you take for 6 months, and if you miss like, 3 or more, you go back to jail. For the people who do it more than once should serve a longer jail sentence and more classes.

It may work for some people, it may not work for others. I know just by watching "Please God, I'm only seventeen" in high school scared me and disturbed me enough to not want to EVER do it.

 
I think the punishment should be harsh because its a very selfish act. Some claim that because they didn't hurt anyone by their actions (driving drunk), there is no big deal. Recently, My cousin's friends got into a horrible crash that almost left them both paralyzed because they were under the influence of alcohol. Its a shame that people dont think of the consequence of their actions. Sad.

 
Maybe this all wouldnt have happended if they took a taxi

Originally Posted by heidi_n /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think it's hard to say what the punishment should be because all situations are different. My dad got a DUI (his first) in Oregon. He's a responsible guy, retired, active in the community and all that. On this particular day he had been outside working all day and was exhausted - he had a few beers and got pulled over by a local cop for something minor, like not signaling at a turn, and the cop slapped him with a DUI. My mom was in the car and would never have let my dad drive drunk. My dad didn't feel drunk, either. And they were driving like 5 miles in the small town where they live. The punishment was a weekend in jail, one year of counseling, one year of community service, fines, and as a result my dad's insurance company dropped him just like that - house, car, life, everything - and he had been with them for over 30 years with a great record up until that point. It seemed unnecessarily harsh to me.
Driving under the influence is a serious matter. But our legal system was developed at a time when a "jury of your peers" meant people who actually knew you and could deliver a verdict that fit the crime. Was my dad's crime that serious? I don't really think so. I think if he had been judged by a jury of his peers or a judge who wasn't so determined to go by the book, the punishment might have been more suitable to the crime. That's why it's hard for me to say DUI punishments should be this or that. I think they should be flexible enough to fit a range of situations.

wicth brings me to the question if they can afford to drink why cant they just pay for a taxi and leave the car home?
 

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