DRUNK DRIVING!
Drunk driving is no new to
our community. Drunk driving has been
negatively affecting lives for many years.
In my Court we have several DUI/OVI charges every week. To my disappointment, I’m finding that the offenders
are getting younger and younger. I don’t
know if it’s the music, the media or lack of education but more and more people
are drinking to the point of intoxication and deciding to drive a vehicle.
FACTS ABOUT DUI/OVI’s:
|
|
·
Punishment
for your first offense includes a minimal term in jail of three days to a
maximum of 180 days, six-month suspension of your driver’s license and up to a
$1,075 fine.
·
Every
subsequent DUI increases the monetary fine, license suspension and jail time.
·
Refusing
to blow during the intoxication test will result in an immediate suspension of
your driver’s license.
THE WHY BEHIND THE DUI/OVI:
I’m not going to suggest that I know all the reasons
that a person would choose to drive a vehicle while intoxicated but here are a
few:
·
DENIAL – Many people think that
they can drink and then handle a vehicle.
In other words “I’m not too drunk to drive.” The problem with this thought is that if your
reason to drink is to “relieve some stress” or “take you to another state of
mind” It is only smart to know that the effect of a drink “easing your mind”
will result in an “easing” of your ability to operate a vehicle. When you are not in your fully functioning
state of mind, controlling a vehicle is dangerous and illegal.
·
FOLLOWING THE CROWD – This happens to both
teens and adults. When someone asks you
to drink or offers you a drink “No thank you” is not the normal response. Though “no thank you” should be the response
when you have to drive, for some reason we feel that its’ not socially accepted
when we chose not to drink. Take it from
me, when you are the person driving a car, the strong person is the one willing
to refuse a drink. Refusing to put your
life and the life of others at risk shows that you are responsible and careful
about your business. In fact, we should
begin to question the social acceptance of a person willing to drink and
drive. Should that person be my
friend? Should I even be around that
person? Those are the questions that
will change attitudes and behaviors in regard to drinking and driving.
·
ADDICTION TO ALCOHOL – Addiction is a serious
problem in our community. There are several reasons that a person becomes
addicted to alcohol. It could be the exposure that they have from family and
friends. It could be a fight with
depression. Regardless the reason,
alcohol addiction should be taken seriously.
If you are addicted to alcohol you have to get help. If someone you know is addicted to alcohol,
you have to get him or her help. Failure
to get help or to bring this to the addicted person’s attention can result in
harm to that person, someone else or even you.
It’s not enough to model the appropriate behavior when it comes to
drinking; we also have to be bold enough to call our loved ones out about their
problem. It is truly a matter of life or
death.
THE NEW DUI/OVI LAW:
On April 17, 2013 the United States Supreme Court made
a decision that will impact DUI’s across this country. In the case of Missouri v. McNeely, The Supreme Court held that when
officers in drunk-driving investigations can reasonably obtain a warrant before
having a blood sample drawn without significantly undermining the immediate
necessity of the search, the Fourth Amendment mandates that they do so. In that case McNeely was stopped by a
Missouri police officer for speeding and crossing the centerline. After
declining to take a breath test to measure his blood alcohol concentration
(BAC), he was arrested and taken to a nearby hospital for blood testing. The
officer never attempted to secure a search warrant. McNeely refused to consent
to the blood test, but the officer directed a lab technician to take a sample.
McNeely’s BAC tested well above the legal limit, and he was charged with
driving while intoxicated (DWI). The
Supreme Court ruled that this action was a violation of McNeely’s rights.
In your everyday life,
this decision by the Supreme Court does not change much. You will still be stopped if there is
suspicion of drunk driving, you will still have a license suspension if you
refuse to blow for the test and officers can still get a warrant to test your
blood. The bottom line is that we need
to stop drinking and driving. Too many
innocent lives are put at risk based on the selfish decision to drink and drive. Be a cycle breaker, before you drink and
drive, think about the end result or, as I always say, Finish First!
Judge William L. Dawson
East Cleveland Municipal Court
East Cleveland Municipal Court
No comments:
Post a Comment