Keith Williams Suspended Two Weeks, Will Miss Four Games

[JJ Husker]

I am not an a-hole for expressing a reasonable opinion.

Okay.......so when are you going to start expressing a reasonable opinion?
You have stated 3rd offense dui is not that big of a deal and provided some anecdotal evidence of how you drove drunk numerous times (was it 6-8 weekends in a row you should've got a dui...?) without harming anyone and this lucky occurrence leads you to believe that driving drunk is no big deal and that anyone who lives in the United States should just accept that possibly getting killed by a drunk driver is somehow an expected risk we all assume. Sorry, that isn't reasonable. In fact, it is the opposite of reasonable. You might want to start over.....or just quit before you say more things that make you look foolish and irresponsible.

 

[JJ Husker]

I definitely agree with you there. I personally believe first offense DUI should result in significant jail time.

Same with texting while driving. Get caught looking at your phone, go to jail. Dead is dead.

Yeah, I'll take an experienced driver with a .08 over the people convinced they can continue to have a text conversation behind the wheel.

Why should a person take either one?

 

[84HuskerLaw]

I think we can all agree that negligent driving, whether it be the result of intoxication, inattention as a result of paying too much attention to your phone, your stereo, a Big Mac or your make up installation, stupidity, lack of driver ability (so often the case with teenagers and the elderly and so on), a vehicle that is not properly and safely maintained, or whatever, that results in an accident with injuries, property damage or death, is quite regrettable and many are avoidable.

People do regrettable and foolish things all the time. Talking about 'the death penalty' for negligent driving is nonsensical to most people I dare say. Long prison sentences and deprivation of driving privileges, massive fines and incredibly burdensome probation terms and so forth often have a counterproductive effect. Being a negligent pedestrian can be dangerous as well.

Not all accidents are CAUSED by the driver who has been drinking and this fact is almost always not even considered when the reporting and discussion of a given accident happens. Many drivers are negligent when stone cold sober. Do we imprison them? Most would say NO! Just some more perspective.

 

[Red Dead Redemption]

I think we can all agree that negligent driving, whether it be the result of intoxication, inattention as a result of paying too much attention to your phone, your stereo, a Big Mac or your make up installation, stupidity, lack of driver ability (so often the case with teenagers and the elderly and so on), a vehicle that is not properly and safely maintained, or whatever, that results in an accident with injuries, property damage or death, is quite regrettable and many are avoidable.

People do regrettable and foolish things all the time. Talking about 'the death penalty' for negligent driving is nonsensical to most people I dare say. Long prison sentences and deprivation of driving privileges, massive fines and incredibly burdensome probation terms and so forth often have a counterproductive effect. Being a negligent pedestrian can be dangerous as well.

Not all accidents are CAUSED by the driver who has been drinking and this fact is almost always not even considered when the reporting and discussion of a given accident happens. Many drivers are negligent when stone cold sober. Do we imprison them? Most would say NO! Just some more perspective.

This.

Also fleeing in your car to avoid ticket/arrest doesn't usually result in prison sentences, but it can definitely result in senseless fatalities. I see it as equivalent to firing a gun into a crowd -- it's just good fortune when nobody is hit/killed. Maybe harsher punishments are needed for actions like this and distracted driving, such as impound or full seizure of vehicle, or significant community service, or something else -- I don't claim to have the answers, but imprisoning someone for acts negligence can have detrimental effects by simply creating more convicts/ex-cons instead of rehabilitated productive members of society.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

I definitely agree with you there. I personally believe first offense DUI should result in significant jail time.

Same with texting while driving. Get caught looking at your phone, go to jail. Dead is dead.

Yeah, I'll take an experienced driver with a .08 over the people convinced they can continue to have a text conversation behind the wheel.

Why should a person take either one?

We don't have a choice, so it's moot.

But if we did, I'd take the former.

I'm also concerned that there are far more people rationalizing their smartphone distractions -- and many of them would never dream of driving drunk.

 

[skersfan]

We have had a large number of cyclists killed out here in the last 7-8 months. Young females driving while texting seems to be the number one cause. We are also seeing hit and run deaths at an alarming rate. Seems like almost every day for the last couple of weeks. I see serious laws coming on the smart phone use. Vehicles that will not run when the phone is in operation. Ones that will block calls while the vehicle is moving. All seems very possible to me. I know all of us see this affecting our driving every single day.

Until DUI/DWI actually affects you personally, on the death side, it never seems like that big of deal for some reason. I guess because it was accepted for so long until MADD got their voice heard. The only difference between firing a gun recklessly and driving is the size of the bullet. No one on here would say it is okay to fire a weapon into a crowd, drunk or not, but driving a car seems to be okay with some.

 

[Ratt Mhule]

Now were talking about any form of distracted driving should carry hefty punishments? What about the semi-truck drivers that drive many hours a day fatigued in order to meet delivery deadlines? Should they be punished for doing their job? Driving fatigued is just as bad as driving drunk and if you say otherwise, you prob have never driven fatigued.

I worked as an on-call x-ray tech for a company called mobilexUSA when I first graduated college. We would travel from nursing home to nursing home and were available 24/7 365 with an area from one end to the other end about 100 miles. They would have only one tech (me) on call from 630 pm Friday-8am Monday. Any xrays that were ordered between those times was on me to get them done. Each x-ray had a time limit I had to get them done. I remember one weekend I worked from 630 pm-2 am Friday night. Got my first call at 8 am Sat and worked non-stop til 1030 pm. Got home and into bed and was woken up at 2 am for a stat xray 50 miles away. And then got my first call for Sunday, again at 8 am and worked non-stop til around 8 pm. I was so tired that whole weekend I left the computer on top of my car and drove 10 min on the interstate with it still on the top of my car until pulling off at my exit, and stopping at a red light and the person next to me saying, "hey man your comp is about to fall off the top of your car." I have never had slower reaction time in my life than driving that weekend. I could only see what was directly in front of me, even when I tried to focus, I could not see anything in my peripheral vision. Tunnel vision at its finest.

I told my boss the company needs to change their policies because it is dangerous to drive after working that many hours and driving so much. He said, "there is nothing I can do." The moral of the story is, there is always a risk when taking the road. This company is still around, nationwide company pushing their techs to the very limit every day. semi-truck drivers trying to make deadlines. Families driving home from vacation, driving multiple hours in the middle of the night. Driving drunk is a personal choice. Driving fatigued is often a person trying to keep their job bc if they refuse, they get fired. Should these people be punished and thrown in prison?

 

[SABER]

A lively discussion, It looks like we need to build more prisons. But then, could you let anyone out on work release??? That is the next question to be answered.

 

[JJ Husker]

Saying that the death penalty or extremely long prison sentences are not appropriate for most drunk driving offenses is much different than saying it's no big deal.

The comments I've read justifying drunk driving haven't been specifying that they are directed at people calling for overly harsh punishment. If that is a persons point, maybe it would good to be more specific what your point is. There have been a couple sarcastic comments (at least I thought they were sarcastic) that the death penalty for first offense is called for. I've been fairly vocally opposed to drunk driving and haven't proposed any ridiculous, over the top punishments. So, when somebody chooses to take me to task on my comments on the subject, I assume they are disagreeing with me that dui is a bad thing. If you have a problem with somebody calling for ten years in prison or the death penalty for first offense, then maybe you should say as much instead of resorting to hyperbole, sarcasm, and justifying the unjustifiable. Also, who here has said texting while driving or driving fatigued are not also problems? False equivalencies and strawman arguments.... I thought the discussion was about drunk driving not any and everything that might also be considered dangerous. Bringing up something as bad or worse doesn't make dui any better.

 

[broganreynik]

BTW my first offense comment was in regards to felony offenses. Significant jail time, to me, would be a one year mandatory.

If you're piss drunk and driving, there's no reason to think one year is too harsh. Unless you're one of the piss drunk drivers, I guess.

At the very least, a one year license suspension.

 

[skersfan]

January 13th, 1969 my little brother was killed/murdered by a drunk driver. He spent the weekend in jail. It was his second DWI.

I dealt with an alcoholic mother and several step fathers. 26 years in the Marine Corps brought me in contact with many alcoholics. These people do not quit, get better. They may learn to control the situation, but it is always there

A man with three arrests for driving under the influence has not quit, recovered or gotten better. I am not happy about him being involved with this team in any way. It does not show any type of consequences for his actions. I am a huge fan of Mike Riley, want him to succeed most likely more than anyone due to my total dislike for the past head coach. But this for me is a strike against Coach Riley. I pray that no one will regret this decision.

 

[dvdcrr]

The generation NEXT hypocrisy: How many of you scorn your fathers for drinking a few and driving, all the while texting and tweeting going down the road?

 

[GBRFAN]

January 13th, 1969 my little brother was killed/murdered by a drunk driver. He spent the weekend in jail. It was his second DWI.

I dealt with an alcoholic mother and several step fathers. 26 years in the Marine Corps brought me in contact with many alcoholics. These people do not quit, get better. They may learn to control the situation, but it is always there

A man with three arrests for driving under the influence has not quit, recovered or gotten better. I am not happy about him being involved with this team in any way. It does not show any type of consequences for his actions. I am a huge fan of Mike Riley, want him to succeed most likely more than anyone due to my total dislike for the past head coach. But this for me is a strike against Coach Riley. I pray that no one will regret this decision.

I'm sorry to hear your situation - i would have to agree that a lot of drinkers don't stop. To say that "these people do not quit, get better" is only your experience. I have a buddy that got his first one in college and second one 2 years out of college (he was lucky to not have 15 of them by then). We are both 24 years removed from college and i see him reguarly - Nether of us drink often and when we do it is almost always 3 drinks or less. I'm sure my example isn't the only case similar. Unless you know KW and have a strong feel for him - it would be best to hope and pray that he comes out of this on the good side. KW has a lot to look forward to and will have a strong support system - both increase the chance of success.

 

[Landlord]

The generation NEXT hypocrisy: How many of you scorn your fathers for drinking a few and driving, all the while texting and tweeting going down the road?

While I don't want this to be taken as a carte blanche defense of texting and driving, because I think it's awful and dangerous and hate the times I feel I'm forced into having to respond to something on the road, they're still not exactly the same thing.

If I'm texting while driving, at least personally, I keep my eyes up, using muscle memory to know for the most part where I'm hitting on the keyboard, and then at stops or in areas where there are no vehicles oncoming or immediately around me I'll drop my eyes for a moment to check for mistakes (assuming I'm not using siri in the first place). it's still a distraction, but it's a distraction that I can control to the extent that I decide. You don't really have control of anything whilst drunk. Your brain is in a completely different state of being, you can't step out of that condition to be careful.

 

[Elf]

Well I think the death penalty should apply for first time offenders, that way there is no chance to offend again. See how easily the problem could be fixed.

If that was the penalty and it was actually carried out a few times drunk driving would likely virtually cease over night.