What are your thoughts on DUI check point

Ken Majors wrote: rednekk98 wrote: I'm convinced that checkpoints are more of a PR and revenue generating thing than actually a useful deterrent. A more interesting statistic would be the average BAC of the violators. As I said before, in this state, checkpoints are usually held on weekend nights near college towns or entertainment districts. Blow a .09 after having three beers in a two hour period, get your car impounded and go to jail. In the meantime while the police are running the checkpoint, drunk retards are drag racing elsewhere in town. I'm not sure about sobriety checkpoints, but in a normal stop in this state, you must first fail a field sobriety test before they breathalize you.  If you do fine on the field sobriety test, you should not be too impaired to drive no matter you BAC. Roving police patrols would be more likely to target abnormal driving behavior and would probably be a more efficient use of manpower. If I get stopped at a checkpoint an am not even intoxicated the police are probably going to find something wrong with my car to cite me for(ripped windshield wiper, registration sticker in wrong corner of the plate) in this state. I for one have a problem with getting stopped, searched, and interrogated about my nightly travels when I've done nothing wrong, and since these are usually held late at night, now I'm going to be late to go home and sleep. Driving when you are sleep deprived is worse than driving drunk. I agree with this. Everytime there is a checkpoint in my area. Everyone knows about it beforehand. It is even advertised on the radio, newspaper, and Television. So if you get stuck in one, you are seriously uninformed or stupid. It is a huge PR deal for the cops.

Yeah, and that pr tells people not to risk it.

It tells people that there will be other checkpoints, even unadvertised ones.

Bunkered wrote: Gatyr wrote: Bunkered wrote: Well, I'm well beyond that as far as first time I drove. That was 13 years ago. My driving instructor when I was 15 thought I was better the first time I got in the car with him than most students were leaving his class, and he told me this. Now I'm 20 and have driven well over 200k miles without any incident, ticket, accident, etc. I'm fairly certain that's evidence to support the fact that I'm an "above average" driver. And that's during the time when I'm supposed to be most dangerous. Now I've got more experience under my belt, I'm far LESS likely to have an incident while driving. So would none of that have to do with the sparsely populated area you live in? I bet those dirt roads you allegedly adhere to have some rough traffic you manage to avoid. I adhere to dirt roads only while drunk. The areas I "hang out" in are more like Pontiac, Flint, or (if I'm house-sitting for my sister as I do sometimes), Detroit. Hardly what I'd consider "low traffic." I'm usually the one who drives on our two annual 4-hour road trips to Boyne/Nub's Nob, and that is usually during some nasty, snowy weather with decent amounts of traffic (lots of people head north for the weekend here). I also drive to Cedar Point about once a year, and do a lot of joy-riding around the Auburn Hills area. You don't rack up 200k+ miles driving around a town that's 15 miles wide (if that). I'm not saying I'm the best driver on Earth by any means. Just that I'm not your average, testosterone-fueled maniac teenager that thinks going fast/driving recklessly makes you cool, and that I have a fair amount of experience; much more than most people my age. *Edit: Forgot, I drive to Alabama once a year also to visit relatives. My parents got tired of driving 13 hours once I turned 16 apparently.

Careful, middle aged people die in DUIs all the time. Are you suggesting you've more driving experience than an average 40 year old?

carl_the_sniper wrote: I have never seen a wild bear in Canada.

I have.

Da Hui wrote: Um, Susan, I am a super awesome driver. While I am speaking of driving. Yesterday I was in the car with my Dad behind a newer Range Rover. Well we see something fly off the guys rear right wheel and we hear it hit our car. Then the guys wheel just falls of and the car is skidding along on its rear brake while the guy tries to slow his car from 45mph. He manages to get the car into the median/ditch without hitting anybody. It was freaky as hell. I was surprised the guy next to us didn't hit the guys 20" rogue wheel.

What does that have to do with anything?

Bunkered wrote: carl_the_sniper wrote: When you are high, you are MUCH more easily distracted. Not to mention distracted by anything. 25 mph will still kill a person. Who is? You? I've never had any problem focusing while stoned.. I'll try and find the study to post a link. This study done in Europe suggests that with a 100% saturation of THC in your blood (as high as you can possibly be), your driving is impaired to approximately .04 BAC. Susan: The majority of these "teenage" male drivers (I'm 20, close enough though) also have multiple speeding tickets, an accident, or a DUI. I have none of the above; my car insurance company at least considers me a "safe" driver. My dad (hasn't had an accident in 30 years, or a ticket), my mom, my uncle (cop), and all my siblings (in their late 20's) think I'm an above average driver. You've never been in my car. Therefore you have no room to place judgement on how good of a driver I am.

Sure you haven't...

You would be much better off sober than stoned don't you think?

I seriously doubt the validity of that study.

I don't have any of those either and I am not a good driver. You are probably not a good driver either because you are so new to it.

Bunkered wrote: As a matter of fact, if we want to talk stereotypes... You're probably one of those women who haul ass around in a massive SUV while putting on makeup, talking on a cellphone, and eating at the same time. Not paying attention to the road because if you get in an accident you'll be alright. But that's alright, because at least there wasn't a drop of alcohol in your system. Well, I drive a Grand Marquis, and I drive it about as slowly and cautiously as their normal drivers: grandpas.

HAHA That's how i've always pictured susan also.

Not even kidding.

Bunkered wrote: Well, I'm well beyond that as far as first time I drove. That was 13 years ago. My driving instructor when I was 15 thought I was better the first time I got in the car with him than most students were leaving his class, and he told me this. Now I'm 20 and have driven well over 200k miles without any incident, ticket, accident, etc. I'm fairly certain that's evidence to support the fact that I'm an "above average" driver. And that's during the time when I'm supposed to be most dangerous. Now I've got more experience under my belt, I'm far LESS likely to have an incident while driving.

Unless you are driving drunk or stoned or something.

Of course you don't do that though.

I've seen studies that have concluded you are not even considered to be an average driver until you've been driving for at least 5 years.

carl_the_sniper wrote: When you are high, you are MUCH more easily distracted. Not to mention distracted by anything. 25 mph will still kill a person.

Who is? You? I've never had any problem focusing while stoned..

I'll try and find the study to post a link. This study done in Europe suggests that with a 100% saturation of THC in your blood (as high as you can possibly be), your driving is impaired to approximately .04 BAC.

Susan: The majority of these "teenage" male drivers (I'm 20, close enough though) also have multiple speeding tickets, an accident, or a DUI. I have none of the above; my car insurance company at least considers me a "safe" driver. My dad (hasn't had an accident in 30 years, or a ticket), my mom, my uncle (cop), and all my siblings (in their late 20's) think I'm an above average driver.
You've never been in my car. Therefore you have no room to place judgement on how good of a driver I am.

Half the people in the world are below average drivers.

Susan Storm wrote: Allow me to vaguely paraphrase Bunkered's point: Driving drunk is dangerous, but it's ok for Bunkered, because he is a super-awesome driver who learned to drive as a kid. Of course, the overwhelming majority of young male drivers think they are super-awesome drivers, when in fact they are aweful drivers, even before they start drinking. But since Bunkered knows for sure that he actually IS a super-awesome driver (unlike those other millions of kids who are wrong), I guess it is perfectly ok for him to drive drunk.

Once again, susan ftw!

Allow me to vaguely paraphrase Bunkered's point:

Driving drunk is dangerous, but it's ok for Bunkered, because he is a super-awesome driver who learned to drive as a kid.

Of course, the overwhelming majority of young male drivers think they are super-awesome drivers, when in fact they are awful drivers, even before they start drinking.

But since Bunkered knows for sure that he actually IS a super-awesome driver (unlike those other millions of kids who are wrong), I guess it is perfectly ok for him to drive drunk.

Edited by Susan Storm - 08 December 2007 at 12:48pm

Wow.. Now to retype that small novel since I deleted it accidentally.

Since I smoke weed and drink underage, it should be rather apparent that I don't worry about doing illegal things for the sole fact that they're illegal.

Not that it really has anything to do with the conversation, but I guess I'm not your average driver. My dad taught me how to drive at a young age (about 7), and he taught me how to get out of trouble while driving. We used to go to an abandoned parking lot and he'd have me put the car in a spin just to practice getting out of them. I've been in two spins on the road, both doing over 50, and recovered from both without hitting anything or going off the road (neither were alcohol-related btw). Anyone who slams on their brakes in a skid is a moron since you're supposed to let off the brakes until you regain control of the vehicle.

Maybe the dope is what keeps me from getting over-confident when I'm driving buzzed (I'm going to stop saying drunk, because I'm not what I consider "drunk" at .08, and people have previously said that I must not have only had 1-2 if I was drunk). It actually has the opposite effect... Ever notice how high people drive slow?

When did I ever whine/act emo about them ticketing me or suspending my licence? Never; because that's never happened (nor is it likely to). And if it did, I understand that the law is still the law, and the police/courts must uphold it and would take full responsibility for my actions. I might be upset if I blew a .08 and went to jail for it, but tickets/fines/etc. is the law of the land.
Why do you think I said I don't drive on main roads/highways/in cities, etc? Only in my small town where I can stick to dirt roads with NO ONE on them (I still don't think you know how few people are on them; people don't even like to drive down the ones I use because they're so damn bumpy), and where I know every inch of road and can pay attention to other things (like these children that supposedly are going to dash across the road at 3am less than 15 feet in front of my car).

Susan: I agree that no study probably exists to deny that drinking impairs your ability to drive.
What I question is whether the .25 seconds or whatever that it slows me reactions (which are faster than usual anyways) makes me a serious threat to anything while going 25mph or under. How far do you travel in .25 seconds while going 25? 9.16 feet, assuming I'm going 25, and I usually do a few under because of potholes.
Maybe someone better with physics could tell me how many feet it takes to stop a car moving 25mph and make this even more accurate.
It would be virtually impossible for me to not see something 15 feet in front of me (plenty of time/space to stop at that speed), especially considering my devout attention to the road, and the fact that I'm a highly observant person.
I'm not saying I'm not somewhat impaired at a .08 BAC. I'm just saying that I'm not so impaired I can't operate a vehicle under good road conditions at near-idling speed, and more than that, still better than your average driver.