The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon.
Today’s question:
Do you think if a person is arrested for DUI, they should ALWAYS have their vehicle towed, or do you think a relative or trusted friend should be allowed to drive it home, which will save the suspect time and a lot of money?
Talk about it….
Park and secure it or allow someone to come get it. Some families rely on one vehicle and need it to get to work, childcare, etc.. Punishing an entire family shouldn’t be the case as it was the one person who drove drunk. Plus towing fees and storage the family or friends may have to incur to pick up the vehicle isn’t fair.
@Trex ,Drunk driving kills 28 people a day over 10,000 a year. Trying to figure out how to get around without a car is a lot better than than trying to figure out how to raise your children with a spouse. It’s a lot easier than becoming an parent less child, it’s a lot easier than losing your child , it’s a lot easier than spending the rest of your life handicapped and unable to support your self. It’s a lot easier than having to feed , bath and change the diapers of a loved on for the rest of your life.
The inconvenience you caused yourself is a lot easier than the innocent people you devastated for life.
Totally agree.
@hill. I’m talking about people other than the driver who did it.
If the vehicle is registered jointly, it should automatically be exempt from towing. It should be secured and the joint owner notified immediately.
If it’s registered only to the driver, secure it and call a designated party specified by the driver.
There are few instances where towing is necessary.
@Rex. I’m taking about the people who are 100% incent that lose there lives or worse. Thousands of families don’t have vehicles and figure it out. This is in inconvenience, not the end of life or permanently disabled for life. It’s unfortunate that his family has to suffer for his actions, but that is a consequence of his actions. His actions affect his family, just like they can greatly effect others.
DUI I’m fine with them taking the vehicle. You shouldn’t have access to a vehicle if your drinking and driving. They should take it and and auction it off . Put it towards fines.
Tow it!
Absolutely. You drive drunk, you get your car towed and should be impounded for 30 days. Same as driving unlicensed. Driving is a privilege, not a right. You drive drunk and potentially kill someone, you go to jail and lose those priveleges.
Arrested is not the same as convicted. Those concerned about rights should know about the presumption of innocence
No due process?
Automatically declared guilty and impound the vehicle for 30 days?
Why not let a judge decide ?
+1
Sorry but I say tow it! If it inconveniences other family members, oh well … let them get on the back of the drunk driver.
I have a problem with punishing a person before they go to court. Not everyone arrested for DUI is under the influence of anything. I had a neighbor once that was slightly retarded. He sometimes slurred his speech and had trouble walking in a straight line. The poor guy was arrested for a DUI and his car was towed. When he went to court, he brought proof from his doctor that he had a medical condition, and the charges were dismissed. He still had to fork over a couple of hundred bucks to get his car out of impound.
I totally agree with Dawg. If the person is drunk they don’t get to drive home that night. Also taking a car away from someone for good could mean they don’t have means of transportation for work, which means they could loose their job. Hopefully getting arrested and if convicted it will be a wake up call and they won’t do it again. However, if someone gets arrested mutiple times that is a different story, that means they have not learned their lesson. Also if it is a family car, is it fair to the rest of the family?
I think in general they should provide the family a limited opportunity to retrieve the vehicle prior to the city/state towing it away.
Agree.
If there is also a sober licensed driver in the car let them take it. Otherwise tow it
What alot of people people don’t realize is that you don’t have to be over the legal limit to be arrested for dui. If in the officers judgement your driving is impaired and or how you preform you FST’s you can and more than likely be arrested for driving under influence. He generally but not always there will be 2 charges 23153(a) or 23152(b), driving under the influence and driving while over the legal limit.
I leave myself open to correction if I am mis-speaking
Tow it. It’s the wake up call they need. Innocent people can get hit and killed by the drunk driver. And most of us have seen drunk people. Do you really think the officer has a hard time telling if someone is drunk even before the field sobriety tests? And nothing else smells like alcohol, even before going to court. If you’re drunk, you’re drunk. There are certain things you can hide, but being drunk isn’t one of them. And the family might suffer if it’s a one car family, but socioeconomic status isn’t part of the equation when it comes to getting drunks off the road. Let the entire family take the bus together. And substitute 99 bottles of beer on the wall for 99 bottles of sober water. Enjoy!
If combined with an accident…or in combination with 90mph swerving, brake-checking, road raging & general jackassory…dui or not….then tow it, crush it into a cube & run DL through a shredder
If they are multiple offenders (2-3 times) and are convicted again, off to the crusher.
If someone is available to drive the car away that is not intoxicated, then let them do it.