I live just across the Ohio border and our laws are a little more severe. 180 days in jail with 177 suspended, three days in re-hab barring an otherwise clean record (which counts as the three non-suspended jail days). Six month license suspension with the "party plates" -- bright yellow license plates that stand out like a sore thumb. Fines are around $1,000.

 

I think penalties should be more severe for multiple-DUI offenders and for more extreme intoxication. It's not fair that a .08 and .30 are punished the same.

 

Arizona, for example, has DUI, extreme DUI (.15+) and super extreme DUI (.20+). All DUIs in Arizona require interlock devices for six months.

 

In Arizona, it's also a felony to get a DUI with a suspended/restricted license or if there's someone 15 or under in the car.

Although it's nice to think that when one goes out to have a few that they'll be accompanied by a responsible designated driver who has agreed to stay sober for the evening, and this undoubtedly happens from time to time, but in all reality like minded friends are more than likely going to be sharing the drinking ritual together ensuring that no one is exactly sober by the time they're ready to leave the premises.

 

We as a culture are fooling ourselves with the mixed message that it's bad to drink and drive (which everyone agrees is), while we fully encourage people to frequent establishments that are in the business of serving alcohol and draw people in with the promise of a "good time".

 

Many establishments also have ample parking spaces for their patrons to park their cars before entering, where 100% of these folks will get back into their cars after spending their evening drinking.

 

Go past any liquor store with a drive thru on a Friday or Saturday night at 1:00 a.m. and cars will be lined up around the building waiting to make obviously not their first alcoholic purchase of the evening.

 

We as a culture have also got ourselves believing that nothing goes better when attending a college or professional sporting event than an ice cold beer or two or three. Eventually the game will be over and it's time to drive home.

 

Super Bowl Sunday is practically a national holiday where thousands of people all over the country attend parties where 99.9% of them wouldn't be caught dead without a fridge and extra coolers full of beer. Advertisements remind you ad nauseam to stock up for the big game and big party. 99.9 % of the attendees of these parties do not live at the premises where the parties are held, so when game is over it's time to drive home. Just how many drunk people are on the road at the same time after these parties?

 

The smiling local newscasters who at times wear a frown when having to report a drunk driving death will smile with elation about how Octoberfest Cincinnati is breaking records for having a million gallons of beer available for their festivities. C'mon downtown and join in on all the fun.

 

Every NFL Sunday there is a tailgate party full of football enthusiasts starting super early to get the beverages flowing through their veins before attending the game where they'll continue to keep the beverages flowing, then it's game over and time to drive home after a day full of drinking.

 

The police might make a few random arrests to generate funds, but they're pretty much told to back down to not discourage people from attending these Sunday rituals because it in itself will bring in tons of money into the local economy, and by golly they certainly don't want to discourage that.

 

I'm not encouraging driving while high on marijuana, and attitudes are slowly changing towards that specific chemical, but by and large we are still a culture that encourages the hell out of drinking while categorizing pot as a gateway drug and something that only mind numbing hippies use. Who needs a gateway drug when popular culture already has their heads fully soaked in liver destroying alcohol that we seem to freely promote as such a wonderful thing?

 

The illogical way that society conducts itself pretty much has shown us all along that the mind numbing has been in full effect for quite awhile.

 

The ever present and mostly ignored mixed messages that we demonstrate show very vividly to anyone willing to look at reality and see is that we are backward, ignorant, and dumber than hell.

 

If I had anything to say about it, If there's any drinking encouraged at all in society it would be only if you planned to do it at home, and absolutely under no circumstances leave the house while doing so.

 

Otherwise we're just fooling ourselves.

As stated above almost no one gets caught driving under the influence the first time. Those that are caught in most every case have done so many many times before. It is actually almost a freak occurrence when someone is caught. If you look at an average city or county in Kentucky and how many officers are on duty at any given time there is a much higher probability that a drunk driver will not get caught.

 

Drunk Drivers are normally only caught in one of these ways...

1) Citizen calls in to 911 that they see a driver driving recklessly (then an officer has to be able to find them)

2) An officer witnesses a car driving in a way that would warrant stopping them for a possible DUI

3) They are caught at a Safety checkpoint

4) They are found to be drunk after having an accident

 

Option 4 is probably the #1 way DUIs are found

Option 2 is honestly just pure luck of being in the right place at the right time, when not answering other calls.

Option 3 catches more than you would actually think that it would (please no debate on this...they are legal get over it)

Option 1 does identify several, but in many cases just lead officers on wild goose chases

For those that think the penalty for first offense is too light, what if your entire family was at the park and someone just started taking random shots into the park. But today they didn't hit anyone, should we just give them a slap on the wrist and no that the next time we are at the park they are free to do it again?

 

Hyperbole? No an accurate comparison.

 

Every time someone drives a car under the influence it is just like they are playing Russian Roulette with everyone around them's lives.

We could require all those failing the FST's submit to a blood test. That should alleviate all of the "the test is fallible" crowd.

 

What about those refusing FST's?

I live just across the Ohio border and our laws are a little more severe. 180 days in jail with 177 suspended, three days in re-hab barring an otherwise clean record (which counts as the three non-suspended jail days). Six month license suspension with the "party plates" -- bright yellow license plates that stand out like a sore thumb. Fines are around $1,000.

 

I think penalties should be more severe for multiple-DUI offenders and for more extreme intoxication. It's not fair that a .08 and .30 are punished the same.

 

Arizona, for example, has DUI, extreme DUI (.15+) and super extreme DUI (.20+). All DUIs in Arizona require interlock devices for six months.

 

In Arizona, it's also a felony to get a DUI with a suspended/restricted license or if there's someone 15 or under in the car.

 

In KY anything over a .15 is an aggravated DUI. Any DUI past 3 within a five year span is a felony.

 

I think personally ANY DUI past your third should be a felony. Clearly that person has a problem, doesn't care about the law and has no regard for other people's safety, let alone their own.

Although it's nice to think that when one goes out to have a few that they'll be accompanied by a responsible designated driver who has agreed to stay sober for the evening, and this undoubtedly happens from time to time, but in all reality like minded friends are more than likely going to be sharing the drinking ritual together ensuring that no one is exactly sober by the time they're ready to leave the premises.

 

We as a culture are fooling ourselves with the mixed message that it's bad to drink and drive (which everyone agrees is), while we fully encourage people to frequent establishments that are in the business of serving alcohol and draw people in with the promise of a "good time".

 

Many establishments also have ample parking spaces for their patrons to park their cars before entering, where 100% of these folks will get back into their cars after spending their evening drinking.

 

Go past any liquor store with a drive thru on a Friday or Saturday night at 1:00 a.m. and cars will be lined up around the building waiting to make obviously not their first alcoholic purchase of the evening.

 

We as a culture have also got ourselves believing that nothing goes better when attending a college or professional sporting event than an ice cold beer or two or three. Eventually the game will be over and it's time to drive home.

 

Super Bowl Sunday is practically a national holiday where thousands of people all over the country attend parties where 99.9% of them wouldn't be caught dead without a fridge and extra coolers full of beer. Advertisements remind you ad nauseam to stock up for the big game and big party. 99.9 % of the attendees of these parties do not live at the premises where the parties are held, so when game is over it's time to drive home. Just how many drunk people are on the road at the same time after these parties?

 

The smiling local newscasters who at times wear a frown when having to report a drunk driving death will smile with elation about how Octoberfest Cincinnati is breaking records for having a million gallons of beer available for their festivities. C'mon downtown and join in on all the fun.

 

Every NFL Sunday there is a tailgate party full of football enthusiasts starting super early to get the beverages flowing through their veins before attending the game where they'll continue to keep the beverages flowing, then it's game over and time to drive home after a day full of drinking.

 

The police might make a few random arrests to generate funds, but they're pretty much told to back down to not discourage people from attending these Sunday rituals because it in itself will bring in tons of money into the local economy, and by golly they certainly don't want to discourage that.

 

I'm not encouraging driving while high on marijuana, and attitudes are slowly changing towards that specific chemical, but by and large we are still a culture that encourages the hell out of drinking while categorizing pot as a gateway drug and something that only mind numbing hippies use. Who needs a gateway drug when popular culture already has their heads fully soaked in liver destroying alcohol that we seem to freely promote as such a wonderful thing?

 

The illogical way that society conducts itself pretty much has shown us all along that the mind numbing has been in full effect for quite awhile.

 

The ever present and mostly ignored mixed messages that we demonstrate show very vividly to anyone willing to look at reality and see is that we are backward, ignorant, and dumber than hell.

 

If I had anything to say about it, If there's any drinking encouraged at all in society it would be only if you planned to do it at home, and absolutely under no circumstances leave the house while doing so.

 

Otherwise we're just fooling ourselves.

 

Gotta love Capitalism.

As stated above almost no one gets caught driving under the influence the first time. Those that are caught in most every case have done so many many times before. It is actually almost a freak occurrence when someone is caught. If you look at an average city or county in Kentucky and how many officers are on duty at any given time there is a much higher probability that a drunk driver will not get caught.

 

Drunk Drivers are normally only caught in one of these ways...

1) Citizen calls in to 911 that they see a driver driving recklessly (then an officer has to be able to find them)

2) An officer witnesses a car driving in a way that would warrant stopping them for a possible DUI

3) They are caught at a Safety checkpoint

4) They are found to be drunk after having an accident

 

Option 4 is probably the #1 way DUIs are found

Option 2 is honestly just pure luck of being in the right place at the right time, when not answering other calls.

Option 3 catches more than you would actually think that it would (please no debate on this...they are legal get over it)

Option 1 does identify several, but in many cases just lead officers on wild goose chases

 

If you ever get bored of scanning your local station at home you should listen to Boone, Kenton and Erlanger out of NKY. Lots of people coming south from Cinci that are intoxicated or couldn't wait to get home to shoot up their heroin. It's amazing how many folks call in possible DUI's. It's also somewhat impressive how often they're caught if the caller doesn't mind observing them for 2-3 minutes until officers can locate them.

For those that think the penalty for first offense is too light, what if your entire family was at the park and someone just started taking random shots into the park. But today they didn't hit anyone, should we just give them a slap on the wrist and no that the next time we are at the park they are free to do it again?

 

Hyperbole? No an accurate comparison.

 

Every time someone drives a car under the influence it is just like they are playing Russian Roulette with everyone around them's lives.

 

 

Especially on those back roads that most folks love about KY.

Although it's nice to think that when one goes out to have a few that they'll be accompanied by a responsible designated driver who has agreed to stay sober for the evening, and this undoubtedly happens from time to time, but in all reality like minded friends are more than likely going to be sharing the drinking ritual together ensuring that no one is exactly sober by the time they're ready to leave the premises.

 

We as a culture are fooling ourselves with the mixed message that it's bad to drink and drive (which everyone agrees is), while we fully encourage people to frequent establishments that are in the business of serving alcohol and draw people in with the promise of a "good time".

 

Many establishments also have ample parking spaces for their patrons to park their cars before entering, where 100% of these folks will get back into their cars after spending their evening drinking.

 

Go past any liquor store with a drive thru on a Friday or Saturday night at 1:00 a.m. and cars will be lined up around the building waiting to make obviously not their first alcoholic purchase of the evening.

 

We as a culture have also got ourselves believing that nothing goes better when attending a college or professional sporting event than an ice cold beer or two or three. Eventually the game will be over and it's time to drive home.

 

Super Bowl Sunday is practically a national holiday where thousands of people all over the country attend parties where 99.9% of them wouldn't be caught dead without a fridge and extra coolers full of beer. Advertisements remind you ad nauseam to stock up for the big game and big party. 99.9 % of the attendees of these parties do not live at the premises where the parties are held, so when game is over it's time to drive home. Just how many drunk people are on the road at the same time after these parties?

 

The smiling local newscasters who at times wear a frown when having to report a drunk driving death will smile with elation about how Octoberfest Cincinnati is breaking records for having a million gallons of beer available for their festivities. C'mon downtown and join in on all the fun.

 

Every NFL Sunday there is a tailgate party full of football enthusiasts starting super early to get the beverages flowing through their veins before attending the game where they'll continue to keep the beverages flowing, then it's game over and time to drive home after a day full of drinking.

 

The police might make a few random arrests to generate funds, but they're pretty much told to back down to not discourage people from attending these Sunday rituals because it in itself will bring in tons of money into the local economy, and by golly they certainly don't want to discourage that.

 

I'm not encouraging driving while high on marijuana, and attitudes are slowly changing towards that specific chemical, but by and large we are still a culture that encourages the hell out of drinking while categorizing pot as a gateway drug and something that only mind numbing hippies use. Who needs a gateway drug when popular culture already has their heads fully soaked in liver destroying alcohol that we seem to freely promote as such a wonderful thing?

 

The illogical way that society conducts itself pretty much has shown us all along that the mind numbing has been in full effect for quite awhile.

 

The ever present and mostly ignored mixed messages that we demonstrate show very vividly to anyone willing to look at reality and see is that we are backward, ignorant, and dumber than hell.

 

If I had anything to say about it, If there's any drinking encouraged at all in society it would be only if you planned to do it at home, and absolutely under no circumstances leave the house while doing so.

 

Otherwise we're just fooling ourselves.

 

You mean I shouldn't even walk the 2 blocks up to my nearest bar? Granted, the stumble home can be adventurous if I've been feeling particularly festive, but I can hold my liquor pretty well.

 

In all seriousness, though, really thought-provoking post.

If you ever get bored of scanning your local station at home you should listen to Boone, Kenton and Erlanger out of NKY. Lots of people coming south from Cinci that are intoxicated or couldn't wait to get home to shoot up their heroin. It's amazing how many folks call in possible DUI's. It's also somewhat impressive how often they're caught if the caller doesn't mind observing them for 2-3 minutes until officers can locate them.

 

That's the good thing about having a compact patrol area...down here if it's not in the city a Deputy or Trooper may have to run 10-20 miles to get to a car that's called in. If it's headed away with that big of a lead they can't get to them in a lot of cases.

What about those refusing FST's?

 

Any refusal is an automatic guilty.

 

Those with nothing to hide, hide nothing.

Police: Cold beer found in cup holder of truck that killed cyclist | Bluegrass Moms | Kentucky.com

 

by an illegal immigrant, no SS#, no license, and drove with him in back of truck until cops pulled him over in trailor park.

.....

 

No.

Most countries in the world 18 is the drinking age. Now most places have trains or they walk. Most people don't have cars. I worked for a company in Ireland. They just thought our view on drinking was to constrictive. It was normal they would hit the pub at lunch and come back to work.