DUI/DWI Talk

[DocEllis70]

sorry Joce, that sucks. i know in Ct that the DMV is the one that takes the license or gives you a suspended license for work, not the court. not sure if thats the same in NH. hopefully you can get permit to drive to and from work. And Yoda, i dont think she was asking for sympathy just suggestions as to what to do, so yes, youre an ass.

[Yoda]

Fine...I\'m an ass.  I just don\'t believe in drunk driving.  Let somebody else drive or designate a sober driver.  I know that Jocelyn is not looking for sympathy, but I also don\'t agree with finding ways to get off when you know that you were guilty.  That\'s all that this ass has to say.

[oldnewbie]

Fine...I\'m an ass.  I just don\'t believe in drunk driving.  Let somebody else drive or designate a sober driver.  I know that Jocelyn is not looking for sympathy, but I also don\'t agree with finding ways to get off when you know that you were guilty.  That\'s all that this ass has to say.

let\'s hope so. i say you do whatever you can to make it better for yourself in any way you can. keep your chin up joc!!!

[princesscaspian]

my friend got arrested in washington state for dui, second offense. they put a breathalizer in his car - he needs to pass it: 1) before starting the car, 2) 10 minutes after starting the car, and 3) at 40 minute intervals while driving the car, for 8 months. pretty awful eh?

[Gordo]

Fine...I\'m an ass.  I just don\'t believe in drunk driving.  Let somebody else drive or designate a sober driver.  I know that Jocelyn is not looking for sympathy, but I also don\'t agree with finding ways to get off when you know that you were guilty.  That\'s all that this ass has to say.

I think no matter what the "cost" ends up being Jocelyn is smart enough to understand her mistake and change because of it.  I\'m sure she\'s not hoping she gets off on all charges so she can go get wasted, drive around and celebrate. Sure, everyone wishes they didn\'t make the mistake (that could have serious consequences on multiple levels) once it happens, but shit does happen and people fuck up sometimes.

This isn\'t a black and white situation man. Yes, Jocelyn is guilty. Yes, she should take responsibility. No, I do not think she should have to sacrifice all of the positive things she has going in her life (ie with kids and horsies this summer) because she made this mistake.

I\'m sure Gavin isn\'t driving around drunk now that he\'s been cleared. You get a taste and you don\'t want another. Those who keep going back to the well deserve very little to no mercy at all, I don\'t think this is the case here. Is it???

[Yoda]

Do I think that Joce intentionally did what she did, knowing her - absolutely not.  Have I ever had too many - unfortunately yes.  But when you\'ve been affected by one of these situations, it\'s hard not to look at it from the POV that I\'ve been speaking from.  I do think that if you\'ve been arrested for DWI or DUI, there should be legal consequences and a lawyer should cancel out those penalties.  My cousin got busted for having drugs in his car and driving high.  My uncle got him off on a technicality and I haven\'t been able to look at my uncle the same since.  I guess that I could never be a DA.

my friend got arrested in washington state for dui, second offense. they put a breathalizer in his car - he needs to pass it: 1) before starting the car, 2) 10 minutes after starting the car, and 3) at 40 minute intervals while driving the car, for 8 months. pretty awful eh?

I think that\'s pretty justified if you\'re allowed your license back after a second offense.  I think in NJ you lose your license for an automatic year after a second offense.  I think your friend got off pretty light.

[ChrisF]

my friend got arrested in washington state for dui, second offense. they put a breathalizer in his car - he needs to pass it: 1) before starting the car, 2) 10 minutes after starting the car, and 3) at 40 minute intervals while driving the car, for 8 months. pretty awful eh?

wouuld you be able to hook up a can of compressed air to the breathalizer they put in his car? or would it know that it was fake?

[SkyePrizm]

I think no matter what the "cost" ends up being Jocelyn is smart enough to understand her mistake and change because of it.  I\'m sure she\'s not hoping she gets off on all charges so she can go get wasted, drive around and celebrate. Sure, everyone wishes they didn\'t make the mistake (that could have serious consequences on multiple levels) once it happens, but shit does happen and people fuck up sometimes.

Jocelyn definitely comes off as a girl who will never ever let this happen again.  I wish they could judge these situations case by case.  

Good luck.  I really hope NH grants you some kind of work permit to at least drive around for those purposes.  

CT has gotten stricter over the years.  So with that said, everyone be careful this summer.  CT has granted towns extra money for patrol units to do random DUI checks near holiday weekends.  They started this over the course of the last few years or so.  Some people don\'t realize it.

[kindm's]

get a good lawyer.

many states will issue a conditional license for work.

I hope that your students are yours and that you do not work for a company as that company will most likely take issue with your arrest, especially if it means you have to transport people especially kids.

I wouldn\'t jump at a rehab clinic just yet. I am sure much has changed since my run in, but you may find that the state will offer such a program as part of your fines/penalty.

The biggest thing to remember is that the State will basically be punishing you using red tape, there will be fines, there will be multiple court appearances (if your lawyer knows what he or she is doing), be prepared for this to drag out for a while. If your lawyer is good / decent they will try to postpone or ask for later and later court dates. This is a good thing but can be frustrating to a person who wants to put it behind them. The longer the issue hangs around in the court the more willing (sometimes) the court is to just make it go away or have you plead down.

Speak to an attorney, see what they think your next best move is. Good luck. Keep your head up. The worst case scenario is that you will lose your license and will have to take classes (rehab).  Try not to worry to much (I know that is going to be hard) you are not going to jail. If this is the first thing you have ever gotten in to trouble for then all the better.

It will put your life on hold for a bit, and that is what you really need to be prepared for. The costs of paying an attorney, the fines, the potential loss of license and the dramatic life change. Don\'t under estimate the stress etc. Not trying to scare you at all just want you to be prepared.

The above was a huge deal for me and I still get pissed off about it even now.

[tyzack]

My $.02 is that DUI/DWI is really a general bad idea.

It also seems to be a subjective line on the parts of the cops. Cops are very rightly very aggressive toward even the slightly drunk because of the damage they can cause. I back the cops up on this one, and pray that I never get into that situation.

I don\'t think there is such thing as a legal limit, either. Driving is an activity that requires alot of attention and awareness and with the distractions that abound in cars now a days (cds, cell phones, passengers, etc) I don\'t think it\'s a wise idea to drive after having anything at all to intoxicate yourself.

I think that every house/appartment/bar/concert hall should feature a barely-furnished room for the sole purpose of drunk people crashing in.

The room should have coffee.

And probably taste kakes.

[Jim Cobb]

i\'m appalled that so many of you condone driving under the influence.

Joce, I\'m sorry that you\'re work is being affected by this, but on the other hand, you\'re lucky that you\'re just dealing with license issues as opposed to having killed someone.

[Yoda]

Holy shit...someone else on the board that doesn\'t think I\'m the devil for thinking it\'s wrong to drink and drive!

[tyzack]

I was under the impression that there was a general concensous that intoxicated driving is (very) bad.

There also seems to be general compassion for a friend, and with that advice to help them mitigate the negative side effects of this event.

[kindm's]

i\'m appalled that so many of you condone driving under the influence.

Joce, I\'m sorry that you\'re work is being affected by this, but on the other hand, you\'re lucky that you\'re just dealing with license issues as opposed to having killed someone.

I didn\'t see a lot of folks saying it was OK. I think that a lot of people just happen to have experience with this issue.

I don\'t drink and drive anymore. I would be lying if I said I had never done it. In HS / college I was the guy that would get you home. It was certainly a different time then (not really that long ago but the penalties and checkpoints and all that stuff became a lot more common after I got out of college)

The issue is that it happened and we are trying to help her deal.

The issue is that you can be fine to drive but over the limit. I am not saying that was the case here. And I am not saying that makes it OK. But life isn\'t perfect and bad things happen to good people.

1 of the biggest reasons that I have yet to go to the Stone Church is that there is no hotel / motel in walking distance to the venue. Which means that if I drive all the way there no booze for me (especially with all the stories of the local police). I avoid these types of venues simply because if I want to have a few drinks I don\'t want to have to chance it.

[FrankZappa]

I think everyone has done things they are not proud of. If you\'re a repeat offender without compassion it\'s one thing, but I seriously doubt (in fact would be outright shocked) if this was the case. Helping your friends when they are down does not mean you are agreeing with what they have done, it means you care for them and want to help them through a rough period in life. It\'s up to the person your offering the help to to decide if they want it or not, and if they want to learn from what happened and change for the better or worse from it.

If you choose to ostracize or give your hand, throw stones or block them is up to you as a person, but regardless of which side you fall on it shows that you care for both the person and society in general to want to prevent something like this from happening. No one ever wants to be on either side of this situation, and the less it happens the better. That said, it did happen, thank whatever it is you speak to when you\'re alone that nothing other than jocelyns financial situation and a few minutes of a police officers time was affected, reflect on it, take away what you can to learn from it and we can start to move on.

That\'s what I love about an open community like this; everyone has an opinion and is free to express it. I\'m sure more than just jocelyn will take away something positive from this thread.