sciencechick's Open Salon Blog

MADD and out of control

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:06:32 -0400

OK, so this may not be a sentiment that everyone will automatically agree with.. but stay with me, ok? Here we go: I really think that MADD and other similar anti-drunk driving programs have gotten out of control - to the point where their influence has made drunk driving penalties completely unjust.

Now admittedly, I can only speak to the state I currently live in, and the only one I've been arrested for DWI in. In speaking to others, I think this state has pretty harsh laws. The level for intoxication is .08, which is pretty low. As I mentioned in another post - for a woman of reasonable size, 2 glasses of wine will put you over the limit.

Also, as a matter of full disclosure, my views are definitely skewed by the fact that I've recently been through an arrest and trial for DWI. I was coming home from a night with friends when I was pulled over for a bullshit charge (changing lanes without signaling) and eventually arrested for DWI. I refused to submit to a breathalyzer during the arrest.

So let's look at this... I am a first time offender. I've never been arrested before - I haven't even gotten a ticket in 14 years. Since my arrest I've had an evaluation by a substance abuse counselor which indicates that this is an isolated incident and that I don't require substance abuse treatment. I've done everything by the book. Yes, I made a bad decision - after using alcohol, which after all, IS LEGAL. Yet I am being treated exactly the same as someone who's got substance abuse problems, who has multiple offenses, who is a real threat to others one the road.

Does that seem just to you?

OK, let's hear it: Impaired driving is unsafe at ANY level of impairment and therefore I WAS a threat to others, no matter HOW much alcohol I'd had prior to getting behind the wheel. So let's look at that. It's the reason that many states have reduced their level to .08. Well, why not .05? .02? For that matter, why do bars even HAVE parking lots?! You think that's funny, but I'm serious. Either it's OK to let people drive to a bar to do something that IS LEGAL, or it's not. I haven't done the research but I'm sure someone somewhere has data showing that lowering the legal impairment limit has helped decrease alcohol related accidents and fatalities.

So if we stipulate that, even so, my original point stands: is it really the right thing to do to charge every single person, regardless of situation, with a crime? In the state I live in, DWI is a misdemeanor, meaning if I hadn't gotten my charge dismissed (which I did), I would have a criminal record. For a first offense. Does that seem reasonable to you?

It seems to me that it would make more sense to have punishments that are appropriate to the level of the offense. First time offenders could be sentenced to drinking driver classes and/or defensive driving classes, with the possibility of formal alcohol treatment if screening indicated that would be beneficial. The penalties could even be based on BAC at the time of arrest, if that would make sense. Repeat offenders would face harsher penalties, up to and including jail time and loss of license. Doesn't that make more sense? Why is it necessary for first time offenders to lose their license? And why (as it is in my state) is it a one year revocation of license for refusing the chemical test?? (What would you do? Do you know what to do if you're asked to take a breathalyzer? I refused because I thought it was the right thing to do. I still can't decide if it was or not, but I can tell you one thing - if you ask the cop for more information to help you decide you will NOT get any help.)

I'm not saying it's OK to get hammered and go cruising... not at all. I'm also not saying that if you are a habitual offender, or have a serious abuse problem, or get in an accident or God forbid hurt someone while you're driving... that you shouldn't have the book thrown at you. What I'm saying is that the anti-drunk driving forces out there (MADD being one of them) have gone way over the line of what's reasonable. Punishments are theoretically supposed to fit the crime, and in my case I don't think that's true (my lawyer agrees with me, so it's not just me).

And it's not just in my case, either - there's a new law here that states that if you're pulled over for DWI and you have minor children in the car - it's a felony with mandatory jail time. So if you go to dinner with the kids and have a couple of beers and are pulled over... or stop on the way home from baseball practice to get the kids ice cream and have a glass of wine or two... you're automatically goin' to the Big House.

And after August 1 if you get an alcohol conviction you'll be required to put an ignition interlock in your car (which of course you'll be required to pay to have installed and maintained). These things don't always work though - there've been instances of them being set off by hand sanitizers and mouthwash.

Seriously? How is all of this not unneccessarily punitive? Or am I just so biased that I can't be objective about it?

DWI update

Tue, 1 Jun 2010 19:06:16 -0400

First of all - thank you to everyone who has expressed support for me during this difficult time. I've been absolutely stunned by the fact that not one single person I've talked to about this has given me the judgy-judgemental attitude... not one. Everyone has been supportive, and sympathetic, and it's helped a lot. So thanks.

For those who've asked how things are going:

- I went to court on the 24th and a minor miracle occurred - the cop hadn't filed the paperwork on the chemical test refusal. So the judge postponed the arraignment hearing for a week, meaning I had my license for an extra week. That helped a lot - helped my mental state, but also helped in that I had a job interview in another state and having a license meant I could rent a car after all. Whew! (The interview went great.... fingers crossed.)

- Went back to court today and my license was in fact taken away... the bad news. The GOOD news, amazingly, is that I might actually get my trial next week! Unheard of - my attorney said it's the fastest she's gotten a trial in 18 years of work. If it happens, it'll be good mainly because once the trial's over I'll be able to get a conditional license, which means I'll be able to drive to work. It also means the clock starts running on the year revocation of my license. All good things.

And I... I'm doing better. I was really depressed for the first couple of weeks after I was arrested... spent a lot of time berating myself for doing something stupid. STUPID. Telling myself that I should have just taken the stupid breathalyzer. Yeah, using the word "stupid" a lot. But now... I guess I'm getting more pragmatic about it... it's a crappy situation, but it's just something to deal with. And as many people who have been through it keep telling me - the worst part (being arrested) is behind me, and it doesn't get worse from here. (Although I think every time I write a check I'm going to feel worse again! But not as bad, certainly, as I did while I was handcuffed in the back of a police car.)

Once everything is resolved, I'll touch base again. Maybe I'll write about what it's like to go to "drinking driver" classes. Or maybe, just maybe, once this is out of my system I'll write that blog that's been percolating in the back of my mind about how I went to high school with Glenn Beck...

It could happen to anyone

Sun, 16 May 2010 17:05:44 -0400

Last Thursday morning, about 2 AM, I was arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated.

I had been out with some friends celebrating the end of the semester. I had approximately 4 1/2 drinks in 4 hours, and stopped drinking approximately one hour before I was pulled over. The officer told me he was pulling me over because he saw me change lanes on the freeway (no other traffic, 2 AM) without using a signal.

He asked me if I had been drinking, and I said that I had. At that point he asked me to get out of the car and administered a field sobriety test. I did not pass at least some parts of the field sobriety test and the officer then arrested me.

I was placed in handcuffs and put in the back of the police car. My car was towed, although I was given my purse, cell phone and coat. The cop then asked me if I would submit to a breathalyzer when we got to the police station. I said that I didn't know whether I should or not. I was given very little help in making my decision, and in fact the other cop said some things that made me believe that turning down the breathalyzer was the right thing to do. So I said no.

I was then taken to the police station, photographed and fingerprinted. Thank God, the handcuffs were removed by then. If you have never been in handcuffs you have no idea how humiliating it is (although I had my cell phone so I could text even though cuffed. Strange.)

I managed to get in touch with a friend who agreed to come get me. I owe him a debt of immense gratitude because otherwise I'd have been stuck a long way from home, humiliated, terrified and emotionally overwhelmed. While I was waiting for him, the cop asked me again if I'd take a breathalyzer, and I said no. Did you know that this is the wrong thing to do? Well, it is. Turns out, the penalties for refusing the chemical test are in some ways more serious than the DWI itself. I'll get back to that in a minute.

Anyway, here's what I'm now facing.

- It cost me $100 to get my car back after it was towed.

- I have to pay an alcohol counselor $150 to get a substance abuse evaluation. I don't really drink that much, so it will be fine, but it's still humiliating. I'll be urine tested tomorrow. Lucky for me the thought of having anything at all to drink is utterly repellent to me right now.

- I hired an attorney, who's a good DWI attorney but it's gonna cost me $3700.

- The penalties for the conviction (more on this later) are going to run somewhere between $600-900 dollars. Plus, in order to eventually get my license reinstated I'll have to pay a civil penalty of $500.

So here's something you maybe didn't know... getting arrested for DWI is expensive. REALLY expensive.

I met with my attorney on Friday. He said that because I refused the breath test I'm going to lose my license at my first hearing, which is the 24th, and there's absolutely no hope of a conditional license. Which means I have to rely on people to drive me to work for a minimum of 2 weeks, and maybe more. No license. Within 15 days of my first hearing I have to have a second hearing on the refusal. At this point my attorney is going to attempt to get me a provisional license, although that's hardly a guarantee. What's more likely is that I'll be completely without a license until there's a bench trial.

At the trial we are going to go for a reduction from DWI to DWAI, driving while alcohol impaired. This is not a criminal charge, like DWI - it's like a really bad speeding ticket. If I am convicted of DWAI I am then eligible to go to alcohol classes (which will cost another $300 or so) and at that time I'll get a conditional license.

The conditional license will let me drive to work, alcohol classes, and court appearances. That's all. I will have a 3 hour period on the weekend during which I can also drive, go to get groceries, appointments, but that's all. And this will probably last for a year. A YEAR. My license will be revoked for a year, during which my freedom to drive will essentially be gone.

I gave up my YMCA membership and will have to move to a yoga studio that I can walk to. No road trips to visit friends. Can't rent a car when I go home to visit. For a year. Work and back, that's it... for a year.

And if I'd taken the breathalyzer, there's a chance I could have had the whole thing dismissed to nothing... but if that happens now, I can't get the conditional during the year revocation for the refusal.

Anyway, why am I writing this? For one simple reason: just about every single person I know has driven in the same condition I was in Wednesday night. Have you? I bet you have. And did you think about getting pulled over? If you did, I'm willing to bet it was just a fleeting thought. You thought it would never happen. And for me, for 30 years of having a license, it didn't happen, either.

So here's the thing. I'm not a drunk. Yeah, I've had my issues with alcohol abuse in my younger years but now, I'm very much a social drinker. I can count on one hand the number of times I've had more than a single glass of wine this entire year. I'm a 46 year old professional woman who has NEVER been in ANY trouble. Hell, I just recently got my first speeding ticket in 14 years (which now really doesn't seem like as much of a big deal now as it did at the time). What I'm trying to say is, I am just like you, unless you never drink and drive. And honestly, how many of us can say that? Honestly? Never gotten in the car after a couple glasses of wine with dinner? Really? NEVER? Of course you have. We all have. And if you'd gotten pulled over after those two glasses of wine, you most likely would be right where I am now.

I'm not trying to preach here. God knows I should have known better, but I didn't. So this isn't a lecture. It's just a word of warning. It happened to me. It could happen to you. Yeah, it could. And if it does, it's a lot more serious than you can imagine right now. If things don't go right for me, I could end up with a criminal record. Do you know I probably will be refused entry into Canada for at least 7 years now? Seriously. This is going to screw up my life for a good long time. I'm going to have to depend on friends and associates just to be able to do things like go to work, get groceries, take care of ALL my "things"... because I won't be able to drive. Think about the last time your car broke down and you had to get driven around. How long did that last, a couple of days? A week? What if it had been 2 months? Three? How would you have coped? How would you have felt, having to ask for help?

If I had really known how bad it is, I'd like to think I would have made a different decision. So I'm writing this so you know.

It's really, really bad.

(I have the comments turned off on this post for a reason. I'm not looking for sympathy or support or anything else. Don't feel sorry for me. If anything, just think about what I said here, and take it to heart to whatever degree you will... and that will be all the support I deserve right now.)