New for 2009 DMV Vehicle code laws/rules/fines?

[Steve Ekstrand]

Drunk driving: Drivers on probation for DUI convictions face suspension of their license and towing of their vehicle if they drive on California highways with a blood or breath alcohol level of .01% or higher. My take.......This level is so low that it seems just kissing someone who has had a drink could set off the breathalyzer. Talk about being a social pariah.

I agree with this one. If you've had a DUI and now you're around drinkers (probably not a good place to be since you already have a demonstrated problem with alcohol and judgement) and you think that their *aura's* may register on a breathalyzer, get a ride. You've already blown it big time and deserve a ridiculous amount of scrutiny. In my book, drinking and driving is a real public hazard that directly affects the well-being of others. Unlike helmet laws where people should be allowed to be stupid because they can only hurt themselves.

I'm taking them straight to jail, where I can arrange to have them fatally shivved. Sensitive topic in this household.

[Jeff Shyu]

Drunk driving: Drivers on probation for DUI convictions face suspension of their license and towing of their vehicle if they drive on California highways with a blood or breath alcohol level of .01% or higher. My take.......This level is so low that it seems just kissing someone who has had a drink could set off the breathalyzer. Talk about being a social pariah.

I agree with this one. If you've had a DUI and now you're around drinkers (probably not a good place to be since you already have a demonstrated problem with alcohol and judgement) and you think that their *aura's* may register on a breathalyzer, get a ride. You've already blown it big time and deserve a ridiculous amount of scrutiny. In my book, drinking and driving is a real public hazard that directly affects the well-being of others. Unlike helmet laws where people should be allowed to be stupid because they can only hurt themselves.

I'm taking them straight to jail, where I can arrange to have them fatally shivved. Sensitive topic in this household.

i also have nothing against this change. it seems like people do not really learn from their own (or other's) mistake on this.

I used to be guilty of this myself, but as i get older, i've become more responsible on this, packing sleeping bag / planning on the couch if/when i drink.

my soon-to-be-ex-roommate had a DUI, got a 2nd DUI within 12 months, paid through the nose for lawyer fees, spent a month in county jail, has to attend DUI school every month or something like that... ---EVEN THEN--- he still went out drinking NYE, and drove home. I've even offered to go out and pick him up in the middle of the night, but he has yet to take me up on the offer.

some people just won't learn.

[Steve Ekstrand]

All you need to know about DUI

My mothers car after meeting a career drunk driving without a license. The perp had two previous DUI's. She was also previously a passenger in a DUI crash resulting in a wrongful death. She's now in jail serving a 12 yr sentence. When she gets out early for good behavior or jail overcrowding, I'm sure other families will suffer like we have.

[Bob Beamesderfer]

She's in state prison, right? If you get her inmate ID number, which should be in the sentencing report or available from the DA's office, you can track where she is.

[Steve Ekstrand]

State, yes. I have the number somewhere. I had the tracking setup on my old computer.... Oops... If I ever get caught up around here, I'll try to find it again. But I think I'm booked through 2011. Or at least that's how it feels.

The Riverside DA says they will absolutely contact me if there is a parole hearing. They did communicate with us well. But I don't trust the system.

[George Schilling]

Drunk driving: Drivers on probation for DUI convictions face suspension of their license and towing of their vehicle if they drive on California highways with a blood or breath alcohol level of .01% or higher. My take.......This level is so low that it seems just kissing someone who has had a drink could set off the breathalyzer. Talk about being a social pariah.

I agree with this one. If you've had a DUI and now you're around drinkers (probably not a good place to be since you already have a demonstrated problem with alcohol and judgement) and you think that their *aura's* may register on a breathalyzer, get a ride. You've already blown it big time and deserve a ridiculous amount of scrutiny. In my book, drinking and driving is a real public hazard that directly affects the well-being of others. Unlike helmet laws where people should be allowed to be stupid because they can only hurt themselves.

I'm taken aback at the reaction to this one. I just picked Will's quote as an example of support for this law. I'm especially sympathetic to Steve of course. No one should have to go through what has happened to his mom. That said, I think the law unfairly singles out someone who has made a mistake, has paid or is now paying the price for that mistake, but is now expected to act like a saint because of that mistake. I hate the thought of people driving while impaired as much as the next guy, but the key word here is "impaired." .01% is not even close.

At a party Saturday night, I had a margarita. Then a second. I rarely drink alcohol, and never more than two, which in itself is a rarity. However, 3 hours after that second margarita has long since been digested, I drove home, I wasn't remotely impaired, yet I probably would have blown a .01% in a breathalyzer. However, if I had had a previous DUI, even though I was not impaired and certainly not a threat to anyone, I would lose my license, possibly my livelihood, even though I was acting responsibly. This is just not fair. And believe me, my father was drunk (thankfully he has not had a drink for over 40 years) and I have no love whatsoever for people who ruin their life and the lives around them with alcohol or drug abuse. While I can understand the sentiment expressed here, anyone ever heard of the phrase, the punishment must fit the crime. In this case, it doesn't.

[Steve Ekstrand]

Its easy George. Don't get the first DUI. Remember this is for a maximum of 1 year under a court order probation period. Its not a lifetime. Though for victims its forever.
Once you've had one conviction, you're suspect. You've the lost the right for the simple indulgences others have. Yeah, it would probably more fair in application to make it .02 or .04 just to avoid the false read potential, but that does screw up the message which is that for you of questionable judgment or control, 1 drink is too many. I firmly believe that a DUI is so serious that once you've had one, you can't be trusted to drink at all and drive. For those convicted of a simple DUI they are merely lucky that they got caught before they killed themselves or killed somebody's mother or child.

I probably would make it complicated though that's not my nature. Even as bitter and sensitive as I am to DUI's, I do differentiate between the .08 minimally impaired guy coming home from a seasonal party and the flat stoned .24 with cocaine as well that killed my mother. While there are escalators for the severity of the intoxication under current law, they are not near enough. If you are driving a car with a .2% BAC, you are a chronic hardcore drunk. I don't drink unless I try to rip my arm off and can't sleep. So, previous to my season of Tequila by the Super Big Gulp cup, I would have been unconscious at .24%. As with most of you.

So, I believe that if you are caught at that level, some serious jail time is in order. That person is just as responsible for the DUI deaths in society as the person at the scene. Its the same crime at that level of intoxication simply differentiated by the vulgarities of time and space.

Miss you mom.