Do you think DUI (DWI) is a serious problem?

Question

Driving Under the Influence (DUI), sometimes called Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) or just drink-driving, is a serious problem.

In the United States, 37 people each day die in vehicle crashes as a result of alcohol intoxication. That's one death every 39 minutes. In 2022, a total of 13,524 people in the US died as a result of alcohol-impaired driving incidents; that's a 14 percent increase from 2021.

Several states are now taking action on this. Connecticut is the latest to propose dropping the DUI BAC (Blood Alcohol Limit) limit from 0.08 to 0.05.

This issue is not limited to the United States. Other countries have DUI issues too.

What do you think?

WhiteSteve · Accepted Answer

So…. yes and no. I guess mostly yes, but in a way, no.

In the case of alcohol, I think there are some flaws in the logic of the concept and the enforcement. But at the end of the day, it’s better to err on the side of caution, because that can be downright tragic, let alone “bad.” I do think breathalyzers and legal limits and all that fail to account for tolerance. I don’t drink much. If I have three beers in an hour, I shouldn’t get behind the wheel, ideally. Meanwhile I know guys who need three just to get the initial buzz. My mother drank half a glass of wine and sideswiped a parked police car, lmfao, failed the field sobriety test but passed the breathalyzer. She just couldn’t metabolize alcohol correctly, one drink and she was gone. But they couldn’t get her for DUI. So it’s all over the place and doesn’t account for particularly high or low tolerance people.

The other thing…. look, plenty of us have probably driven when we shouldn’t have, at least by the letter of the law. And that could be bad, it’s case to case. But sometimes, when I hear someone gets arrested for DUI, I do think, “honestly…chances are they would’ve just gotten themselves home safely, people drive drunk all the time without incident. I’m meeting more cops now that I play hockey, and holy smokes, those guys will hammer eight beers, drive home, and lock someone up the next night for drinking four and driving. So I mean…. what are we doing here?😂 Is it a big deal or not?

And maybe we should err on the side of caution because obviously people die fairly routinely too. Quite honestly, though? I’d rather see this kind of energy put towards texting and driving, like make THAT an arrestable offense where you incur thousands in legal fees and lose your license for a few months. I’ve had way more close calls with texters than drunks, and the texters have only been here half of my driving experience.

One thing I’d like to declare bullshit on is driving stoned as a DUI. If you want to make it SOME kind of penalty, ok, but don’t look me in the eyes and tell me it’s on the same level as drunk driving, don’t be a fucking rube, lmao. I legit am one of the best drivers I know. Ask my lady, and she’d be the first to tell you if I was bad😂 She says I’m the best driver she’s ever met. I’m SO fucking safe out there, do everything to the letter of the law (often to the dismay of other drivers lmao…but I’ll pull over if it’s one lane and let people pass, I’m not trying to pace-car everyone else…. but I’m always shocked at how mad people get at you for driving the speed limit). At my previous job, I was driving like 40,000 miles per year. And I’ll tell you this…I’m blazed all the time, lmao. I can safely estimate that I have driven over one million miles at this point in my life, and most of them I was high as a giraffe’s ass. I don’t know about other people, but I want the weed YOU’RE getting if it hinders your driving abilities. I will put my driving up against ANYONE’S, in the arena of safety, situational awareness, anticipation of problems from other drivers, all that. Like I think about being a Driver’s Ed teacher sometimes😂 Probably can’t be high for that, lmao, but I COULD BE, is my point. So I’m pretty irked that smoking a joint and driving is legally the same as drinking a bottle of vodka and driving🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

OlderAndWiser · Accepted Answer

Extremely serious. Curiously, the response to drunk driving is not to ban alcohol but to punish the drunk drivers.

purplepoppy · Accepted Answer

The legal alcohol limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for driving is 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood or 35mg of alcohol per 100 ml of breath. In Scotland the limit is 50 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood or 22 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of breath.

Lot of people get caught out when they cross the Scottish border.

A bigger problem is drunk pedestrians. The vast majority of pedestrians hit by vehicles are under the influence.

ApplePie409 · Accepted Answer

I remember when Canada wouldn't let Americans come into their country if they had a DWI or DUI on their record. They called you an "undesirable". But if you had a bit of jingle in your pocket, you suddenly became desirable. lol

Yes, it's a bad thing. Call an Uber or taxi.

exitseven · Answer

When I was a kid it was just another Saturday night. You just assumed that if you were out after 11pm on a Saturday that everyone on the road was drunk. I was really good at it but one day I was pretty drunk and ran a stop sigh during a snowstorm. A cop saw me and pulled me over. I just rolled my window down an inch and passed my license and registration through the Crack. The cop took it and went back to his nice warm cruiser and wrote me a warning and passed it all back to me. I just said I was sorry and slowly and carefully drove away.

NamerOfStars · Answer

Dropping the BAC threshold isn't going to fix the problem, just cause arrests to be made- which make it look like the changes are getting results, which will get certain politicians re-elected, because voters are easy to manipulate.

Distracted driving is a far bigger concern, especially since you can't really avoid it (not completely, anyway), like you can with intoxication. Here's a crazy idea: stop gutting public transportation, and give people more options to get places. I know that's going to confuse any elected officials reading this, so I'll clarify: giving people more options is like taking things away, but in opposite direction.

You could bring 75% of the country up to the public transit level of pre-lockdown Chicago with the cost of just one "prop up the Ukrainian government" bill, and keep it running for decades.

strateguy632 · Answer

by your own stats, that is less than one per state dcattered in a GIGANT area of square miles.

it is bad, and far worse than the stuff libtards emphasize like "which words you must say or can't" but not serious.

in driving class we learnt the amount in blood so i asked for an example how much beer will cause too high.

the ones caught who were NOTICED were probably far above the limit so better to raise the level only punish if drank lots. or for high on weed etc.

DJB72 · Answer

The acceptable amount should be zero. It's not complicated. Just charge every drunk driver who is involved in an accident with attempted homicide if nobody died and murder in the first degree if someone dies.

At this time in history it's impossible for anyone not to know the effect on ability alcohol has.

MicroJ · Answer

It is a problem, but I don't believe that the threshold should be lowered from.08 to.05, that is more about revenue than making the roads safer.

There are more distracted drivers than ever, along with drivers who are texting, those who are high on prescription drugs, or smoking pot. It is easier to detect alcohol than THC or a painkiller, at this point in time.

Most drivers that you read about getting a DWI/DUI are actually 2 to 4 times the legal limit. That's the problem, not someone who has had a glass of wine with their dinner.

goaded · Answer

Obviously, but it kills less than half as many people in the US as firearms, and (almost?) none of them are intentional murders.

As the Third Rock from the Sun characters said after getting a driving licence: "Imagine how hard it must be to get a gun!"

ProbablyClueless · Answer

Seems like it's a very serious problem. And I think the most heartbreaking part of the problem is that it's a completely needless offense to commit.

It's just so easy to not drive drunk, but you'll get all these people who take the risk anyway.

I used to have a friend like that. You just couldn't take the keys from him when he drank. He was always so insistent that he was good to drive. Thankfully, he never caused an accident (at least not in the time he was in my life).

LizzieLondon · Answer

Definitely a serious problem. I think it's less of a problem than it used to be, because penalties are stricter than they were and because it's regarded more seriously by the public.

And drug driving is just as bad as drink driving, and using phones can be just as dangerous. So we shouldn't just target drink driving but also anything else which means drivers can get distracted.

dustybiker2 · Answer

I reported one this past weekend off my dash cam.
Checked the report. Nothing has been done.
City loves to put up DUI stops for public curb appeal but hand them all the facts on a silver tray privately and... nada.

TommyMountainFigure · Answer

I think it is very selfish to get behind the wheel if you are not in full control of your vehicle.. I've seen the effects it has on people's lives all to often.

Yes. to answer your question.. 100% Yes

Telekinetic-Potato · Answer

I think it's too strict in certain ways. The fact that you can't pull off to the side of the road and sleep it off in a parking lot, or even sit outside the place and turn the heat on when it's cold is probably the source of many of the crashes.

Also, I think it's likely that many "dwi" cases are normal crashes where one of the people happened to have alcohol in their system but they just label it as the cause even if there's no evidence to show it.

V_Injector · Answer

Drinking makes driving fun. Hitting homeless people is like, +10,000 points.  Try to catch me... I plant these around my land.

b_lova · Answer

People who don't think it's a problem would change their mind if they were ever on the receiving end of such a reckless act.

Dropping the legal limit won't do anything as the offenders who take a life are typically so far beyond that limit. They should give automatic jail sentences of a 7-30 days of the first offense if proven to be intoxicated or under the influence while driving because fines are not helping neither does license suspension.

lightbulb27 · Answer

yes, huge problem here... people drink, discard the bottle while driving. Probability of getting into accident or killed is quite good... better than being bitten by shark while shark diving.

Fireguy17 · Answer

I have been on way too many MVA calls that were caused by impaired driving.
Sadly, many times the outcome is not good, usually for the one minding thier own business.
And all we hear from the impaired driver is how sorry they are.
It's a bit too late for that.
I don't need to respond to any more of them.
but that won't happen.
Then you find out that this was their 5th or 6th time.
How are they just not locked up for good after the first one?

Chazmatazz269 · Answer

Lowering the limits isn’t about stopping driving under the influence. It’s about money and marginalization. The limits have been lowered before. In some states more than once already. As you point out, we still have a problem. It’s just one of many that won’t go away until US citizens and the government get serious about recognizing and treating mental health issues.

OfMiceandMen · Answer

For sure it is, there is no reason to drink and drive and take the chance of killing someone. It's just common sense.

sage2021 · Answer

I think they should include people driving while stoned on drugs, not just alcohol.

zagor · Answer

Yes, but dropping the BAC limit is just stupid. Most accidents caused by DUI involve people with well beyond that level. It will just cause more trouble for people who are perfectly capable of driving, cause more congestion in courts, and keep the cops from concentrating on people who really are a danger to others.

But of course the lawyers who make up a disproportionate number of legislators will support it - more business.

Iron_Man · Answer

There is many different degrees. If you’ve had one little drink over the limit if you can completely control it I don’t feel that you need a DUI for something like that it also depends how big you are and how much you weigh. Driving for a little tiny buzz does not require a DUI. Just be careful when you’re driving, but those people that are completely buzzed completely out of it they have no business behind the wheel

Do you think DUI (DWI) is a serious problem?

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