squatch66 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 dude always goes out and gets tanked and drives home and will come into where i work after going out and getting tanked. guy got picked up last weekend for a dwi. he is telling me today about how he is paying a lawyer to fight the case and how they are going after the cop because he was white and my co-worker is hispanic. he is also telling me that the field sobriety test is illegal because he has a bad knee and that his doctor said he will give him a report to help him beat the charge. the thing that disgusts me is the fact that the dude drives drunk all the time and he brags about how he never gets caught. now that he has gotten caught his lawyer is playing the race card and is trying to find any way to get him out of it and he is totally happy about it. i think that the dude should be thankful that he didnt kill anyone and take his punishment like a man. am i wrong for feeling this way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACW Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 am i wrong for feeling this way?:no: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IONTOP Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 am i wrong for feeling this way? Define "tanked".... What did he blow? Also, I see you're in Plano... Were there any reasonable alternative methods of getting home that night? Was he pulled over, stopped at a road block or hit another car? I have one... I was the guy you're talking about, yet on the night I got mine, I was in a city 20 miles from where I lived, and got into an argument with the host of the party and had to decide $75 cab ride plus an hour waiting for it, or risking it and driving home... Needless to say I chose the ladder... Although it didn't turn out like I had hoped, I still think I made the most RATIONAL decision... Now, if he failed the field sobriety test solely on the fact that he couldn't walk a straight line... His knee issue is valid... I feel like you are automatically assuming that him bragging about getting tanked and driving home is him telling the truth... For all I know, he could be lying about driving or getting "tanked"... Plus his definition of "tanked" and yours and mine might be different... Edit: and just one more thing... Some people don't realize they have a problem until legal trouble starts... I know I didn't... Working at a bar (like I did) you see so many people who may just come in twice a week, but since there's so many people like this, you start to morph the image that a lot of people drink at bars every night and it's semi normal to do... The addiction is real, not physically (like saying "I need a beer to get through the day") but mentally (saying "I know so and so who does it, so I know I can do it as well and turn out fine") For me, I quit drinking for 8 months after I got my DUI, because I realized I was drinking because of depression... I'm aware of that and now realize that I should drink in a controlled environment (aka when I'm not at risk to drive and hurt someone) rather than drinking just for the hell of it.. Drunk driving is a bad thing, but looking back on it, I'm not sure if I would change anything I did that night... Except I would have liked the cop to have been behind me when I started my car rather than responding to the scene of an accident... I learned so much from that night, it has changed my life so much for the better, I'm a bigger man because of it... And without that... I don't even want to think about who I would be... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squatch66 Posted January 23, 2010 Author Share Posted January 23, 2010 i have seen this guy tanked iontop. like i said he stumbles into our workplace and is very obnoxious. he also gets drunk and leaves me voice mails in the middle of the night lol. unfortunately there is no couple of beers with this guy. i have other friends who have hung out with him and say they never will again because he gets drunk and coked up and starts fights. the guy has come in with bruises and cuts because people take shots at him. as for the situation he was he was at another co-workers party and got pulled over after he left. many of the people that were at the party work with us and could have driven him home but his cousin came into town and they were headed to a strip club to keep partying. like i said he got caught and instead of owning up to it like you did iontop he is trying to get out of it like he did nothing wrong and it kind of pisses me off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IONTOP Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 like i said he got caught and instead of owning up to it like you did iontop he is trying to get out of it like he did nothing wrong and it kind of pisses me off. Believe me, I tried to get off of it... lol.. The general reaction to it is to try to get off of it... I'll be the first one to say I should have been caught 75 times before I was... I'd just assume that he's not going to get off of it... DUI cases are really to the point of being rubber stamped "you did it" and let the county take the revenue... I really don't see how he could beat this... Step 1: Officer pulls you over for X reason... Step 2: Step 3: You blow over .08 at the county jail.... STEP 2 DOESN'T MATTER!!!!!!!!!!!! The officer was obviously right... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special K Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 No, I would be livid too. I get so upset with drunk drivers. I had a relative killed by a drunk driver and will never get over it. It is not a minor offense and I think everyone, no matter what number the offense should do jail time. Go out and drink, fine. I like to have fun and drink with friends too. But have a designated driver or get a taxi or someone to pick you up. It isn't THAT freaking hard!! Sorry, but drunk driving is one thing I will not accept excuses for. EVER. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighOnHendrix Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Who gets punished and how much is not always fair or right. I had a friend back in Ohio who got a DUI. He copped to it and pled guilty with no lawyer. The judge made an example out of him by giving him a weekend in jail and suspended his license for three years. My friend was pretty pissed it was so harsh since he claimed he wasn't even impaired (despite blowing over the limit) and they got him literally 100 ft. from his driveway. Ok, he can't drive, so he rides with his roomy. They both get lit at the bar a couple months later, and his roomy drives off the road and flips his car in the ditch, walks home, calls a lawyer the next day and has the whole thing reduced to reckless op! He got to keep his license and just pay a fine (and his lawyer, of course). Just goes to prove that our justice system is based less on right and wrong and more on how good your lawyer is, IMO. They were both wrong to have driven, but the punishment really should fit the crime and I don't think it did in these two cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 am i wrong for feeling this way? Not at all, and I believe I would have told him so. Didn't they give him a breathalizer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Harris Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 driving drunk is never "the most rationale decision" iontop. unless the other choice is driving high on crack maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mardi gras skin Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 No, I would be livid too. I get so upset with drunk drivers. I had a relative killed by a drunk driver and will never get over it. It is not a minor offense and I think everyone, no matter what number the offense should do jail time. Me too. A really cool uncle left 3 little girls without a dad because some idiot had some good reason to drive drunk. The youngest one can't even remember him. I'd be fine if dwi carried an attempted murder charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxBuddy21 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Yea I would be pretty ticked too. My brother in law has gotten 3 DWI's and has gotten extremely lucky with him. He kept blaming the cop every time. I sat down with him and asked if he was serious. If he seriously thought what he was doing was not wrong and he shouldnt have been caught. He finally admitted he had a problem after almost going to jail. He has been doing a lot better since then although he is still drinking. At least he hasnt made the decision to drive since then (as far as I know). I admit I have driven home when I shouldnt have a couple of times. I have never been "tanked" and driven but I am sure I shouldnt have been driving. Its usually when my options include that or a $200 taxi ride. I say I shouldnt have driven because of my own personal feelings about my inhibition level. When I was in college though, I had a night where I felt I shouldnt have driven a car (I didnt that night) and one of the safety officers let me blow the breathalizer for fun and it said I was under the legal limit! It still shocks me how people who are that drunk really think they could still drive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Shouldn't it be the white guys who play the race card in Plano? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. S Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I've definitely driven drunk my fair share. I've finally realized it's time to slow down though. I'm trying not to get drunk while out in general, regardless of whether I have a ride or not. I'll still probably get drunk at home, but only if the environment is right. Like you IONTOP, I feel I had been drinking a lot for depression and have successfully cut down now. To the original poster, you should be mad. The guy needs to learn his lesson. At the same time you never want a record either. Think though, he's still going to get a restricted or suspended license for at least a year. That means if he is caught again, that's just more charges against him. Sure he won't pay that big of a fine or serve jail time this go around, but it will compound. He'd have to have a really good lawyer AND catch the judge/prosecutor on a good day in order to get it reduced to reckless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redskins Diehard Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 No, I would be livid too. I get so upset with drunk drivers. I had a relative killed by a drunk driver and will never get over it. It is not a minor offense and I think everyone, no matter what number the offense should do jail time. Go out and drink, fine. I like to have fun and drink with friends too. But have a designated driver or get a taxi or someone to pick you up. It isn't THAT freaking hard!! Sorry, but drunk driving is one thing I will not accept excuses for. EVER. Agree. Sad that some people think a 75 dollar cab ride is too much and that putting everyone on the road between you and where you are going is the "rational" decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ax Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 30 some odd years ago, I met a couple guys, friends of a friend, at a bar where we were all chasing women, dancing, and drinking. A lot. At closing time, my friend and I both left with the ladies we had hooked up with, and the two guys I had met, drove home. We were all, drunk. You younger people need to realize, at that time, it was not uncommon to get pulled over, with an open beer sitting between your legs, and suffering no more than the officer making you pour the beer out, and telling you to "Be careful" driving the rest of the way home. It certainly didn't make it right, but that was the way things were. Shortly after waking up the next morning, I learned both men were killed in a head on collision. They had made it home alright, but had nothing to drink there. So, they went back out to get something. Even though I didn't really know either guy, we had just spent hours, laughing and having a ball at the bar. It was a bad time. What had happened was, a police officer, driving home after pulling a double shift, fell asleep behind the wheel, crossed a 50ft grass median, struck, and killed all three of them. Multiple eyewitnesses, confirmed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreatBuzz Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 This just shows how screwed up the whole system is. Let me share my story.... Back in 1987, I was 5 years old. I was sleeping in my bed in a house on a corner lot at around 2 am Memorial day weekend. (Anyone who lived in Waldorf then may remember hearing about this.) A drunk driver ran off the road, drove through our yard, and ran his jeep into our house. He managed to run right into my bedroom and hit me while I was sleeping. The doctor says if it wasn't for my antique oak headboard, I would have been killed. I fractured my neck and a piece of his blinker light flew through the air and punctured my skull. I luckily don't have much for long term effects from this other then a stiff neck in cold weather and a slight slur when speaking thanks to speech therapy. The driver of the car was taken to jail and release on bond 18 hours later. 6 days later he was drunk again on the road. He ran over a young girl in the street at 11 am and killed her. He drove home and killed himself. I hope this shows the effects of driving drunk. The legal system does not take care of these people. At least some of them take care of themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obibyn23 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 When i was 25 I got a DWI (This is when they were DWI's) and blew a .14. Completely guilty. But my lawyer got me off on a probable cause issue (Loong Story) and needless to say...instead of looking at it as a lucky break and continue drinking...I looked at it as a blessing (was facing jail time and some more for prior arrests) and started my road to sobriety. Needless to say within 2 year I stopped drinking all the way, and have been sober since. It's a shame your immature punk co worker cant do the same. Hopefully the judge will balk at this race card thing and do what is right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
da#1skinsfan Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 You should be mad but theres not much you can do other than, if you really want to, send an anonymous letter to your local DA warning them of his behavior. But that would be getting more involved than I would like if it was me. He'll get his, dont worry about that, just hope it doesnt hurt anyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
da#1skinsfan Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 This just shows how screwed up the whole system is. Let me share my story....Back in 1987, I was 5 years old. I was sleeping in my bed in a house on a corner lot at around 2 am Memorial day weekend. (Anyone who lived in Waldorf then may remember hearing about this.) A drunk driver ran off the road, drove through our yard, and ran his jeep into our house. He managed to run right into my bedroom and hit me while I was sleeping. The doctor says if it wasn't for my antique oak headboard, I would have been killed. I fractured my neck and a piece of his blinker light flew through the air and punctured my skull. I luckily don't have much for long term effects from this other then a stiff neck in cold weather and a slight slur when speaking thanks to speech therapy. The driver of the car was taken to jail and release on bond 18 hours later. 6 days later he was drunk again on the road. He ran over a young girl in the street at 11 am and killed her. He drove home and killed himself. I hope this shows the effects of driving drunk. The legal system does not take care of these people. At least some of them take care of themselves. Amazing story man thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjcdaman Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I've had one DWI. Had it dropped to a Reckless Driving. That was enough for me. The **** I went through to get my license back made me realize how stupid I was. But, I also have a friend who always drove drunk. When he got caught, he would get away with it because my dad was a cop and was a friend of his father. He never learned a lesson until he flipped his truck and is now a paraplegic. Seeing him would change your mind about drinking and driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10fttall Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Well it's a given that you should not drive when you're really wasted, and it would be great if that guy got what was coming to him. A BAC is not a good way to judge impairment (unless it's really high) Impairment depends on the person as well. Some people should not drive sober. Often these are the same ones with no self control who get this mental thing that happens whenever they have any alcohol. They could have one beer, then the switch gets turned on and they feel it's their duty to peel out, wave back and forth, and act like a general dumbass. This has nothing to do with actually being impaired, but with the state of mind. Then there are the people who get randomly pulled over with a .085 that are driving better than 90% of the other people out there. I have been given a Field Sobriety test when I was entirely sober, not having anything to drink in the past 24 hours. The officer claimed he smelled alcohol in my car, then on my breath, then he hollered and did the drill sergeant routine putting me through a couple tests. I don't think I did that great because of the stress and the fact he was making little comments while I was doing the stuff, which made it sound like I was failing. I was lucky that he was just being a tool and entirely bluffing (lying) about smelling alcohol. I guess that's his way of trying to catch people. So the tried and true "failing a field sobriety test," is not all it's cracked up to be. It depends on how it was administered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreatBuzz Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 You should be mad but theres not much you can do other than, if you really want to, send an anonymous letter to your local DA warning them of his behavior. But that would be getting more involved than I would like if it was me.He'll get his, dont worry about that, just hope it doesnt hurt anyone else. I once called the police on my best friend after he left a party drunk. I tried to get his keys but he was bigger and refused to give them up. He didn't get caught and started talking to me a few weeks later again. People who are scared of getting "too involved" have no right to complain when a friend or family member is killed by a drunk driver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACW Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 True about that $75 not being too much. I know that at least on some days (New Year's?) there are FREE cab rides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chachie Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Squatch- You definitely have the right to be angry. I'm not sure how nuch of it is your responsibility to express it to the guy but he's definitely got issues with alcohol and he will indeed have a rough future if he doesn't do something to either contain his habits or seek help. You mentioned he's a coke enthusiast as well, so I'm sure jail or rehab are right around the corner for this guy, who will probably be arrested again before he even goes to court for this DUI. Tough call on whether you should try to talk to him though. He doesn't sound like the advisable type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81artmonk Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 record his bragging to you without him knowing it and hand the tape over to the judge before trial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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