But the lack of public transportation argument is totally separate from the drunk driving penalties argument. I just don’t see it making a difference. It’s been proven that in Houston, people don’t leave their cars at home and take public transportation to get to work during the day. Why would they do it on nights and weekends to go to an Astros game? Check any existing thread on that subject. We’re just too reliant on our cars. I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree about whether the existing drunk driving laws are a deterrent to people driving drunk or not. I think they are. You don’t. You are more concerned about what’s being done with the money after the fact. I admit that I really don’t care what happens to the money after the fact, as long as the laws are providing a deterrent. I can only judge by my personal experience and say that the laws are VERY MUCH a deterrent to me driving drunk.
You must have never spent much time in cities with good public transportation or international cities. In shanghai we got out and and its an absolute blast and we either take the metro or just hop in one of the millions of cabs. If the public transportation is there, then people will use it.
Quoted for truth. There is no better way to combat drunk driving than with public transportation. There is no other way that even comes close. In New York City, there's no advantage at all to driving after a night out and people almost never do it. The same is largely true in Chicago, I'd wager. In Houston, I'm sure that more than half of all people in bars end the night by driving drunk. If there was a way to do a credible survey on this the results would be astounding. Most people (more than half) leave bars in a state that the law would consider drunk. And most of those people drive. It's not an anomaly; it's the norm. Wanna fix it? Invest in a real, workable public transportation system. We are the largest city in the nation without one and it is stupid on about a hundred levels.
It seems like non progressive cities are the ones who lag behind on public transportation. Why do you think this is?
Perhaps. I guess it’s the old chicken or the egg argument. FWIW, I take public transportation to work every single day. If I didn’t have to, I wouldn’t even OWN a car because I HATE driving in Houston. I agree that public transportation leaves much to be desired here. If it were designed better, I wouldn't take my car ANYWHERE. You guys are preaching to the choir on that one. But I still maintain that enforcing the existing drunk driving laws (within reason) IS a deterrent to drunk driving. That’s really all I’m trying to say.
Viable public transportation would lead to a decrease in drunk driving and really make our roads safer ... which is precisely why it's unlikely that we'll see viable public transportation. The state of Texas makes MASSIVE amounts of revenue from all the fees/penalties/whatever they can pile on from drunk driving convictions. Our state tax is essentially paid to TX-DPS. There's a limited extent to which this routine is really about safety on public roads - but it much more a case of using the outrage generated by a number of public groups to turn anyone who ever leaves a bar, drunk or not, into a massive cash cow for the state.
Aw, man... it's sort of stupid of the point-zero-whatever level to be the "you're drunk" decisive factor... but... I don't blame you... you refused to take the breathalyzer test because you thought you were guilty... Who told you this? I hope it was someone with at least a degree from a good college of law... Oh... now I see... yeah, you messed up, yo. LOL!!!! I laugh at your so-called advice on "how to handle cops"!!! Sincerely, Spoiler
I echo this. I have been pulled over no less than 2 dozen times in the last 10 years probably (I drive 40-50K miles a year for my job) and I have been nothing but nice/respectful to the officer. I have received only 4-5 tickets. At least 2 of those were for expired registration, one was for speeding 90 in a 65 (the officer put the speed down at 80 so I could get DD) and the other 1/2 was for running a stop sign/stop light. All 5 were legit tickets. I have only had 1 negative experience with an officer, and that was when I was 19. Looking back, I was pretty arrogant with the officer and deserved the tongue lashing I got.
I got a DWI about 15 years ago and I was completely drunk. It was about 2am and I had just finished a pitcher right before last call and then got a pitcher at last call that we finished before the Tavern in Austin closed so I was getting drunker as I was driving. Thats why I didn't blow and didn't do a video and didn't have blood test. I beat the wrap with Deferred Prosecution when the cop didn't show up to my hearing.
Here's my thing, folks. I've been pulled over about 5-10 times in the past decade, and only once for a moving violation. (Dumbass cop said I was speeding, which was impossible. I don't speed.)
I don't know. It's great that you guys have had good experiences. I've never been anything but extremely patient, courteous, etc. with cops. I don't feel like counting, but I've been pulled over probably 10 times in the last 10 years. And I've been let off with a warning exactly once. I was always pulled over for speeding, and at least 4 tickets were for either 5 mph or 7 mph over the limit (37 in a 30, 35 in a 30, 77 in a 70, etc.) Thankfully I lived in TX for part of the time, so defensive driving and deferred adjudication were options. But my point is just that you guys have had unusually good experiences.. doesn't mean that being nice and patient will help you out. Just won't hurt you.
Good question. Several Google searches yielded partial information. There isn't any one data table for the whole state, you can only find some numbers by each county and even these can be 3 years old. It's a significant number that is high enough for powerful interests not to invest in a better public transport system like the ones in NYC and Europe. UT students for instance have this thing called the E-bus which is a free shuttle to downtown/6th St operating from 10pm-3am. Very few people choose to drive because the service works just fine.
Since you're a police officer, I was curious to know the difference between a DUI and DWI. Now I know DWI's are warranted after you go over the .08 BAC, but how exactly do DUI's work? Say, for example, you blow a .01-.07 can the officer give you a DUI? Or is it mainly used for drug abusers or what?
I wish I could tell you that. Let's use Harris County as a micro-example. [From TX Dept State Health Services for 2004] 10,543 DWI convictions. Each 1st conviction has up to $2000 fine plus $1000 x 3 years ~ estimate total of $5000 (assuming all arrests were only 1st time..) 10543x$5000= $52,715,000 in revenue Add in the other major population centers like San Antonio, Dallas-FW, Austin, etc. Then you'll comprehend the huge amount of money involved here. http://www.tcada.state.tx.us/research/statistics/index.shtml
