Do I detect a little ageism here? :)
I'm 73 and haven't had a moving violation since 83 and I drive and ride hard.
Posted on 08/02/2004 3:10:26 PM PDT by Rakkasan1
DULUTH, Minn. - Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence.
Rukavina, 54, was arrested on Highway 169 in Mountain Iron at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday after deputies saw him driving erratically, the St. Louis County Sheriff's Department said in a news release.
He was cited for fourth-degree DUI after being given field sobriety tests. He took a blood-alcohol test at the county jail and registered 0.15.
Rukavina was cooperative, Sheriff Ross Litman said. He was
(Excerpt) Read more at twincities.com ...
another day, another DFL arrest.I guess he was speaking of and for himself...
DUI laws are by and large a cash cow for local governments. I do believe in individuals being responsible and not getting behind the wheel when impaired, I don't think the way it is set up now is the answer. Impairment could mean Granny is off her meds, Uncle Joe has pulled a double shift at the chicken plant, and is very tired, or Bubba is just too damn stupid to drive. Oh, yeah, and Buffy slept late, needs to get her mascara on while arguing with her boyfriend on the cell phone.
thought it ironic. guy opposed raising the DUI level to that
of most states...
He has a high DUH level to go with his DUI level.
A .15 blood alcohol level is drunk, but not badly drunk. I don't know what the legal limit should be. But I am in favor of aggressive enforcement.
Tom Rukavina: calling Friends of Bill W.
I'm in favor of patrolling and stopping people who are TRULY driving poorly and potentially endangering lives. I'm in favor of a mandatory drivers test at age 65, and then an annual test when one reaches age 70. I'm in favor of restrictions on teens driving (only during certain hours, and with a limited number of passengers). I'm NOT in favor of traps set up to raise revenues of local government. And before you ask, I am a 44 year old female. I drink, and when I do I do not drive. The only traffic fine I've ever had is for exceeding the speed limit. I have a good friend who was once Prez of the local MADD chapter, and she agrees that drunk driving laws are out of hand.
Well there, irma, now that you've voted to make me do the hoops in order to drive, I am going to take away your cell phone, your hair brush, nail polish and compack mirror in lieu of fining you a bundle.
Now you're just being dang mean. And who are you calling irma! ;)
By the way, I just may steal your tagline when mine goes stale.
So, does she speak against them?
It would make natinal news, I am sure.
I support the death penalty for drivers who cruise 45 in the left hand lane with a cell phone stuck to their ear.
natinal news? Sorry, but I am the spelling Nazi. No soup for you!!
Damn straight! They SHOULD be pulled over and handed a ticket. It's against the law here to drive in the left lane and a slower pace than the traffic flow.
Death penalty is extreme by the way. I favor locking them in a cell with Shrillary speeches piped in 24/7 til they LOSE their minds.
That is why I thought of Irma Bombeck as in her, The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank...
(she spelled her name Erma) I loved Erma's writings. She was such a hoot.
In Alabama it was .10 and they can be charged with a lower reading if their is sufficient evidence. I am sure he was, "framed like o.j." Some evil republican got him intoxicated and called the police. The repub wanted his congressional seat.
yep, if you drive after 1 beer in less than an hour you're a drunk driver - easily will not pass the 08 threshold - pulled over, game and match your life has ended
I like irma better. Erma is just so damn metro.
I am glad you are only a spelling Nazi: for a moment, I thought you were the Earl of Salisbury.
Do I detect a little ageism here? :)
I'm 73 and haven't had a moving violation since 83 and I drive and ride hard.
Yes sir or maam...if you are over the limit, regardless of your ability to operate a motor vehic, you are screwed. Mark Hacking is more guilty than any of your garden variety "drunk driver", but he is allowed to prance around and have himself committed to a psycho ward. System is f'd.
But dangit! Mrs. Bombeck spelled her name Erma, so we should honor that. Just like I'm laura, not lara. BE RESPECTFUL of how we spell our names...harrowup.
Don't tempt me.......
And good for you...you would pass with flying colors, but please admit that you have peers that should turn in the keys!!!
Okay, okay. Have it your way, Earl.
That's how I sign it: Top Temptation Quark.
It isn't about me passing with flying colors ~ it's about government passing more goofy laws; drivers licences are issued by states not by the federal gov't. ~ here in Oregon they are renewed every four years and every eight years you have to get an eye exam.
As for people turning in their keys ~ there just as many incompetent forty year olds driving as there are seventy year olds.
My next door neighbor is ninety years old and she drives every day.
You are still an ageist and it isn't pretty ~ get a grip!
Shee-ut. Maybe not for a wino. That's hammered to a normal person.
Hey Bob, that's ERMA.
whatever you say, harry.
This medium leaves a lot to be desired for communication; you can't look people in the eyes, see body language, hear voice inflections, etc.
My intention is to not let jerks who drive interfere with my serenity.
I'm a retired big rig driver and a recovering alcoholic; I know about drinking and driving ~ I had one DUI when I was nineteen.
I've been clean and sober since 10-26-75, I retired in '86 when I was fifty five.
PS it's funny I was just communicating with Conspiracy Guy about one of his poems on John F'n Kerry. :)
Be ever vigilant and don't let crazies get to you.
Roger that!
sure is nice to see our congressmen making meaningful time during their vacation.
Not.
Yep on the medium. I get the crap beat out of me somedays by people I actually agree with. When you were 19 the DUI laws were different than now. MADD almost villified drinking into a second prohibition era. Bar watching and road blocks by many PD's have allowed many communities, (often college towns), to double their income.
I got a DUI one night for leaving a bar in a small town after 11:00. Had I been drunk I wouldn't have gotten in the car. I refer to that night as my $2,500 six pack. I got my charge reduced but still paid full fines and lost license for 90 days (mandatory in AL if you get booked and take the breathilizer also automatic if you refuse to take the breathilizer) Gestapo? Had I needed a license for my job it would have cost me everything. I am not a heavy drinker and I know when to stop. I had to learn the hard way when the government wants me to stop.
Roger Wilco.
Yes. Largely due to MADD's irrational need to raise money by demanding more strict laws. I remember an instance here where a man who tested in the .24 range killed some people with his car. MADD used that as an example of why we needed to reduce the limit to .08. Did your friend speak out against that or did she continue the campaign to raise money?
As long as the arrests pile up from people with the low levels the statistics look good and everyone is happy. Too bad that there isn't more effort to take the really dangerous drivers off the street until it's too late.
The Song It's Hard To Be Humble
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
When you're perfect in every way
I can't wait to look in the mirror
Cuz I get better lookin each day
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a man
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
But I'm doin' the best that I can
I used to have a girlfriend
But I guess she just couldn't compete
With all these love starved women
Who keep clamoring at my feet
Well I probably could find me another
But I guess they're all in awe of me
Who cares I never get lonesome
Cuz I treasure my own company
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
When you're perfect in every way
I can't wait to look in the mirror
Cuz I get better lookin each day
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a man
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
But I'm doin the best that I can
I guess you could say I am a loner
A cowboy all locked up and proud
Well I could have lots of friends if I wanted
But then I wouldn't stand out in a crowd
Some folks say that I'm egotistical
Hell I don't even know what that means
I guess it has something to do with the way
That I fill out my skin tight blue jeans
I got my DUI in Redwood City, CA. it was Thanksgiving '49, we'd had a company party and I was taking the bookkeeper home who lived in Palo Alto, I'd just passed Woodside Road (my turn off) and this guy pulled in front of me from a side street. I was exceeding the speed limit and hit the guy in the rear, totaled both cars; his was a '40 Plymouth coupe and mine was '34 Ford chopped and channeled three window coupe, with a full load 3/8"X3/8" flathead Ford engine. *sigh* :)
I think the fine was $150.00 and I lost my licence for a year.
My best to you and the lovely Laura!
At least there was an accident. Most DUI arrests don't even involve a traffic violation other than the drinking.
The real problem drivers don't even have a license anymore and continue doing it even after serving time.
Since the laws got so tough the arrest rate is way up, but there is no corresponding reduction in the % accident rate involving drinking. If the law was effective the accident rate should be down, shouldn't it?
In November 49 I was 5 years and 2 months from my debut. Sounds like a nice car though.
I'll have to smack her around later for being so edgy. Just kidding I am usually on the receiving side of the smack.
I don't know the statistics on drinking arrests and accident reductions ~ I don't read the local commie-rag newspaper.
It was a nice car, I've always liked high performance vehicles; quite a few of my motorcycles and cars/pickups have been in that category. :)
I'm driving an '01 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning pickup, it came with 380HP, I SuperChipped it and it now has 425HP ~ old guys like to go fast, too. :)
Good for her. :):)
Great rant but false.
============================================================ In 1996, local law enforcement agencies nationwide made an estimated 1,467,300 arrests for driving under the influence (DUI). Arrests for DUI peaked in 1983 when there were 1.9 million arrests. Compared to 1983, the per capita rate of arrest for DUI in 1996 was 34 percent lower.
Declines in DUI arrest rates have occurred for every age group. Of particular note is the decrease in DUI arrest rates for those under the age of 21 compared to their rates of DUI arrest in the early 1980's when States had not adopted a uniform drinking age. In 1980 persons between 16 and 20 years old accounted for 10 percent of licensed drivers but 15 percent of DUI arrestees. In 1996, this age group accounted for 7 percent of drivers and 8 percent of DUI arrestees.
In 1996 there were 17,126 alcohol-related traffic fatalities accounting for 40.9 percent of all traffic fatalities during the year. This is a 29 percent reduction from the more than 24,000 fatalities recorded 10 years earlier when alcohol was involved in 52 percent of the fatalities.
An estimated 32 percent of fatal accidents involved an intoxicated driver or pedestrian (the majority are drivers, however) with a blood alcohol concentration, or BAC, of at least 0.10 grams of alcohol per deciliter of blood, the most commonly used definition of intoxication.
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