I've been thinking of doing this thread for a while, but this site I just found really made me do it. I thought I'd probably get a lot of opposition on my views, etc. but if you see this site and still think the laws shouldn't be changed, then you need to wake up, this is no opinion, this is fact.

In a bit I'll post a little essay I just did on drunk driving that outlines by views and what I think should happen to drunk drivers and what the news laws should be.

Just now though, I found something online that is one of the saddest things I have seen and has made me so angry I want to kill this guy...here's the link.

http://www.parlorcity.com/bmeyer/drunkdriving.htm

*Don't read until after going to link*


I went to some other sites about this story, and in 2001, that "guy" got 7 years in Prision and a $20,000 fine for the killing of her 2 friends and the burning of her.

SEVEN YEARS!?

This is proof right here that the laws need to change. I'll post my essay in a bit.

HOLY SHIT.

Advice for the weak of heart, LINK IS SCARY.

... Although, I think seven years is probably enough since he well...
Regreted what he did. It doesn't make what he did any better, doesn't turn back time and give those people their lives back.

But he regrets it. And it wasn't intentional. Hopefully, this means he won't do it again. And he'll have seven years to think this over and by the time he comes out, drink-driving will probably be expunged from his system and he can be part of society again.

And there are greater evils in this world than someone who regrets doing a serious crime.

Uh...wake up. If other people who drink see this, which they have and will, they see he got SHIT for a sentence, and he had bad "luck". Most people don't kill 2 people and burn someone else alive, so just think how leniant that crap is. If they nailed this guy and other drunk drivers it would send a message and drunk driving wouldn't be so damn common.

If you can get life in prision for 2 convictions of rape, then you sure as hell should get more than SEVEN years for ruining 3 families and killing 2 people and torturing another one for the rest of her life. If I was that girl's dad I would have most likely killed that guy, seriously.

http://texasdwi.org/images/jacqui_poster.jpg

Okay, suppose one of your friends got drunk and crashed and killed your ... cousin. Or some other relative. He's upset about this, he didn't mean for it to happen, he's really really sorry.

This is bad. You would probably not be friends anymore and you'd probably never speak to him again.
But you know this guy. He came over to your house, played video games with you, laughed with you, exchanged jokes with you, and all that. You wouldn't want to kill him.
Eye for an eye only leads to more blindless.

Compare this to some random stranger raping your cousin/relative. You'd be a lot more judgmental on the stranger, right? You'd be thinking OMG, HE DIES NOW. Something along those lines. It's easier to have hatred of someone you don't really know.
And if it were rape, it would be intentional.

The intent here, is what I'm getting at. It's all about what the person INTENDED to do. Accidents can be forgiven with time. Malicious intent cannot.

Actually anyone I know who has drank and drove I have either argued with intensively, or in most cases cut all ties with. I hate drunk driving more than anything in this world. So if someone I knew killed someone, let alone a cousin of mine..I would first beat the shit out of them, and then laugh as they go off to jail for probably 1 to 2 years (ridiculous).

Well, my essay is all messed up so I'm going to re-type it (I have a paper copy here that was left over).

Don't worry, he'll get his justice eventually if he hasn't already received it.

Retribution purifies. Sorow for actions done is good, but without justice there is little good that can come from it, and it is necessary.

However, justice with mercy is critical. Without mercy, justice can become vainglorious vengeance, and it is no longer right.

Well he sure as hell got mercy. Like I said in the forum I found this site in, I wish they would burn this guy alive and then save him and make him live this life, but I guess that's not very humane. Either way, he'll most likely burn in hell. I don't care if you're Christian or not, but the way the churches teach now, they tell you you can basically do anything and go to Heaven, I don't think so. Go read the Old Testament if you want, God doesn't put up with that crap, and I would hope not to have people like this guy in Heaven.

The old testament also said that it was moral to have slaves.
The old testament also forbidded working on the Sabbath.
The old testament also forbidded swearing.
The old testament also said wearing cotten hybrids was unclean.
The old testament also said talking to a women in her menstral period is bad. :angry:

I don't think this guy is worrying too much about getting into heaven right now. I mean, what kind of a jackass says "OH SHIT, I KILLED SOMEONE, GUESS I'M NOT GOING TO HEAVEN NOW!"?

Sir Balancer, you're uh... waxing poetic. Which is okay but do you have a point in there or is it just to look pretty?

Seven years is a long time, Neo. You're like what, 16, right now? Think back to when you were nine years old. You're a WAYYY different person from who you were back then, right? :lmfao:

I am 17, and seven years for destroying 3 whole families lives forever, killed two people, and torturing another her entire life is not long enough.

Once again, wake the fuck up. Anything anybody says you have to rebut in someway or say it's not possible.

Part of this is the essay I wrote for school but about half of it I just typed up now. There might be grammar or spelling erros because I don't have MS Word on this computer yet (just got it) so I had to used Wordpad. I hope I didn't miss anything, but these are the thoughts I have come up with about drunk driving.

One of the things I am most passionate about is drunk driving. I hate it more than almost anything. It is one of the most dangerous, pointless things a person can do, but the punishment for it is very slim in most cases. What makes it worse is how common drunk driving is. In 2001, 17,400 people were killed in crashes involving alcohol, representing 41 % of the 42,116 people killed in all traffic crashes.

Many studies have shown that impounding or immobilizing offender's vehicles even on the first offense, drops the DWI offense rate down by substantial numbers. First time offenders who had their vehicles impounded had 25% fewer crashes and repeat offeneders had 38% fewer crashes than similar offenders who had access to their vehicles in California.

Revoking the license of a convicted drunk driver can help, but not a alot. 50-75% of drunk drivers who had their license suspended continue to drive and 32% of suspended second time offenders and 61% of suspended third time offenders receieved violations or were involved in crashes during their suspensions. How about taking their car away since they're obviously going to continue to drink and drive, drive, and break the law. It's just so senseless I don't get it at all.

Even better than impounding a car, or taking a license away, which can cause job loss (leading to more welfare, etc.) or people driviing on a suspended license, is to put Alcohol Ignition Interlock devices into any car of anybody with a DWI. Interlock systems have reduced repeat DWI offenses among convicted drunk drivers in Maryland, CA, and other states by 65% to 90%. That way, they can go to jail for the night or pay their little fine they get currently, but now next time they get into the car drunk, the car won't strart when it detects their drunk breath. Most people don't go to work drunk, so these people could still go to work, pick up the kids from school, etc. but wouldn't be on the road later that night on the way home from the bar driving drunk.

I hope would they sometime in the future they implement this feature into all cars. Because if you only do it after they're caught, they have have driven drunk many times before that. Instead of pulling them over for driving drunk, they could be pulling them out of their overturned car dead, and probably some innocent people they just hit head on.

I've never even known anyone hit by a drunk driver, and only had a very close call when I was about 8, he ran a stop sign going about 40mph and almost hit my side of the car. I would have most likely died, but it's not even that that makes my hatred so severe. It's just how common it is, and how deadly it is, and how low the penelty is for it.

I think if you are caught drunk driving, you shouldn't be charged with it, you should be charged with attempted murder. Even if it's not intentional, your stupidity and lack of responsibility, and more importantly, you, are attempting to kill someone with your car when you sart driving it on a highway and/or breezing through stoplights/signs when it's not your turn. (Not part of the essay but something I recently saw in the paper. Last November some idiot drove drunk down the highway in a minivan on the WRONG SIDE of the highway and was going 80 mph with his lights off when he hit another car head-on and killed both people inside. He of course lived and I think got 5 years in jail..wtf?)

This may seem steep or harsh, but just remember that whole families are killed by drunk drivers, and if not, whole families are destroyed by the aftermath of one. People's kids are killed, people's parents, siblings, friends, loved ones, wives, husbands, co-workers, etc. just because somebody wants to save a few minutes and not call a friend or cab, or is too stupid to do either.

Drunk driving should not be as common as it currently is and should be a severe mark on your record that never comes off. That brings me to my next point. If you're charged with a DWI, your car insurance should skyrocket. When a 16-year-old teen begins driving, their insurance is over $160. I have been driviing for over a year and never been in an accident, bu my insurance is higher than some people with DWI offenses. Along with this, offenders should have to do community service and pay fines, which happens already in some cases.

Hopefully these laws change drastically in the future, and more people fight for this issue not just after someone close to them has died for no reason due to a drunk driver. Someone diees every 22 minutes because of a drunk driver. That is not right at all and someting needs to be done. What I propose be done has been already been presented, but again I say:

- Install the Interlock devices in any DWI offender's car and all their future cars (at their expense through payment or community service)

- Make DWI charges severe

Let me state a few more details on my idea of changing it to a charge of attempted murder. Think of this. How many people fight with parents/siblings/kids/friends/etc. Many people verbally fight and shout at each other, but not too common (in relation to how many fights there are) does someoe actually pull out a deadly weapon and go after them..because they know they will be in big trouble for it. Same with drunk driving, if someone who drinks knew that they were going to get nailed for drunk driving, they wouldn't be so careless to drink and drive. The first few people would get nailed hard, and then they would get the Interlock systems in their car after some community service and possibly a fine or jail time (depending on cost of the system in their car, severity of the DWI/crash, etc.)

A minimum of a week in jail would also be implemented. People would think a lot harder and plan for designated drivers, etc if they knew what ws waiting for them if when they get busted. All it takes is one time, and I believe the interlock systems are the way to go, but until these are in every car, making these laws tough and making an example out of these criminals is the only way to stop the outrageous DWI rates.

- Every car in production has an Ignition Interlock system installed into it. This one stop even the first time of drunk driving and wouldn't be a hassle to any innocent driver, the system is not intruding into a car's looks or appeal.

Those are my three main points and I hope you understand them and think about this, because I gaurantee you that you will know someone who gets hit and/or killed by a drunk driver in your lifetime unless these laws are changed.

Just you sweetie.

I think I really believe some of the stuff I say.
You know, that's usually how it works.

-_-

Killing is bad, yes.
Seven years is a long time.
People can change in that amount of time
Whatever happened to that forgiveness thing Jesus died for, or something like that?

Sorry, I don't forgive people who drink and drive, I am not Jesus. God can forgive them, I can and will not in this life.

okay.
I guess that's reasonable.

Read my post and you may learn something.

OneToMany, I cannot help those who incapable of understanding to grasp a point.

Do not presume to know me or what I am saying, I normally speak like this. If you cannot comprehend what I say, blame not me.

I understood what you were saying in your post, basically that nothing good comes from no justice, but that you must have a merciful justice or it become inhumane and serves no good and is immoral. You also talked about being sorry for your actions is good but that there must still be justice. In this case, I don't think justice was achieved. I'd like to know what the dad thinks of the verdict, because I was shocked when I read it. I myself wouldn't burn this guy, but if he happens to die in a car accident by fire, I wouldn't be sad in the least.

yes he speaks like this and GB is one of the wisest ppl i know.. trust me he has taught me many many lessons in life.. here are my thoughts:


yeah the punishment that he gor was very small but i dont know it sucks and its sad that people like that will still continue to do that
"an eye for an eye will make the world blind" -gandhi


i think he should be locked for life.

Amen to that.

Ignition Interlock Alcohol devices!
I like that idea. Since the problem of drunk driving is that drinking impairs your judgment, the interlock should be a fair enough warning signal. Heh.

I still don't think the intent is to go out and kill someone when you drink and drive. When people are drunk, reasoning and judgment are some of the first things to go so they might think that they're perfectly able to drive when they really can't. With the interlock system, those kind of mistakes won't cost them and their victims. Sounds great, heh.

With that said...
SPELLING NAZI TIME! :evil:

1. 2nd paragraph: 'offenders'
2. 3rd paragraph: last sentence is run-on. comma or period recommended
3. 5th paragraph: you repeat have have. Did you mean 'would have'?
4. 6th paragraph: After the "when I was 8" should be a period. Also, in the last sentence, if you use 'and' then you don't need the commas
5. 10th paragraph: 'dies'
6. 11th paragraph: 'but --it's-- not too common" Also, consider a question mark after the etc.?
7. Last paragraph: 'guarentees'

... No really, I liked the essay. Very coherent, very thought-provoking, introduces a lot of rational points. I just have a love of grammar as well. :D
I'm not saying you should listen to that, I'm just playing with my Spelling Nazi title a lil longer. ^_^ Microsoft word is definately the way to fly.

he the spelling errors were necessary to show what happens when you type drunk..

you fail reports..

I didn't fail the report. I had to retype it all and I added like another page of stuff and I wasn't using MS Word so I said there would be errors before I even posted it I think..

On my essay that I turned in which wasn't as detailed as this one I posted I got like a 21/24. I wrote a similar one in 8th grade from an opinion assignment and got a D on it due to a bias teacher. I brought it to the office and everything. At that time I was working at GameCubeXL.com and the paper had perfect spelling and grammar and it was an OPINION essay, and she can't grade my opinion. I thought it might happen with this teacher too but she seems a little more fair.

People always complain that the teacher is unfair when they get poor grades.

At least, that's the trend I see. :fufufu:

Well I showed many people the essay just like I did today and everywhere said it was well written.

well it all depends on who you asked... <_<

I don't still have the essay, but if I did I would post it. It was really well done. I showd probably 50 people total, about 10 people in real life and no one said one bad thing, it was really well done. If I hadn't rushed that essay above (spent like 30 minutes on it) I could make it perfect to my liking.

i meant who exactly you asked... were they all kids around your age? friends?

My Mom, al sorts of people of different backgrounds and ages off GameFAQs who wouldn't mind telling me it was crap, and other students at school. I think I said 8th grade before, but it was actually 9th grade.

all right... i just wanted that cleared up...

however you still don't know how much each person knew about grammar... and there is a possibility that while it was a well written paper it wasn't what the teacher was looking for (i.e. you didn't talk about something the teacher had as a requirement)

it was a joke neo :)

Actually, I loathe opinon papers that say "this is the way it's gotta be, end of story" without presenting opinions from the other side (at least, opinons from the other side that are presented in a way that doesn't make them look absolutely moronic). I know it's an opinion piece but it just makes me feel that the person didn't thouroughly consider the other options or that the person thinks that anyone who disagrees with him is a TERRORIST :angry:

Not really. But it just irks me and it reeks of fanatasism.

i feel the same way. for any opinion paper to be taken completely seriously, it needs to present the other side. otherwise, it just looks like the writer could be ignorant, plus its more convincing when you hear high points from the other view be taken apart, it shows weakness in the opposition.

Well, in a paper about drunk driving, what good or high points is there to say for drunk driving? I don't think there is supporters of drunk driving, there's just people who choose to ignore or don't care.

but im sure you listed the punishments and what you would change about them, list what good things there are about the current system, you dont have to agree, just mention it so it isnt one sided

The only good thing about the current system is that they don't let them go completly. Like just recently, Diana Ross was busted for DWI and got 48 hours in jail, wtf is that? and then there's this story, which makes drunk driving sound like some comedy sketch.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ermany_drunk_dc

Both of those examples and why the drunk driving laws are a joke. Diana Ross could have hit and killed people, but everyone got lucky and they pulled her over. Instead of giving her some punishment that will make sure she never does it again and send a message to others (like they did with Martha Stewart) she gets barely anything.

that's what happens to most celebrities neo... remind you of oj simpson at all?

No, she didn't get that punishment because she is a celebrity, that's a standard DWI/DUI punishment, celebrity or not.

ahh... do you know what her intoxication level was though? they could have downgraded the sentance...

dui laws are also a joke because you can get in trouble without being legally intoxicated. thats retarded. if you get pulled over and recieve a dui, you should have to be at or above the legal limit, thats what its there for. i think that giving them out when someone is at .04 or something is infringing on their right to drink at a bar or just out of the home, because you can get in trouble for trying to get back.

i dont drink, but i think people deserve the right to do it, thats why we dont have prohibition. as long as no one got hurt, and they arent above the limit or driving erradically, let them go.

I agree, if they arenn't right at the limit and driving crazily at all and stuff that's fine...but people above the limit need to be hit hard...it's just ridiculous.

Most people I know just laugh about driving drunk and think it's funny.

I don't agree, anyone who gets behind the wheel after having a few drinks is a danger to the people around them.