My advice was not to get drunk and get behind the wheel. If curtailing driving while intoxicated is the goal of BAC limits, why not simply make it illegal to drink ANY alcohol and operate a motorvehicle? Why not make it illegal to install video monitors in the dashboard of vehicles? How about driving while using a computer or cellphone? What about driving while extremely tired? I did not advocate driving while drunk, I just stated my opinion on the motives of our government. In Illinois if you refuse the breathalyzer you suffer a 6 month license suspension. This will NOT look the same to the insurance company as a DUI cinviction.
“assuming the truth is being told”
Unfortunately we have no idea of whether the circumstances are being related accurately. I have observed many court proceedings for people who were arrested for DUI, and every one of them stated in court (under oath of course), “I had two beers”. That is the classic attempt to minimize one’s actions in a DUI case. It is always, “Your honor, I only had two beers”. Strange coincidence that they all consumed the exact same amount–don’t you think?
In this case, the “3 glasses of wine with dinner” could have followed a couple of Martinis for all we know. Or the “3 glasses of wine” could have been six glasses of wine. From afar we have no way of knowing the actual circumstances.
Personally, I hope that this person’s insurance does NOT pay for the damage to his car, simply because most people are unlikely to change their behaviors if they don’t suffer any consequences from their actions. Insurance rates are impacted by the payouts made by insurance companies, and everyone else winds up paying for the recklessness or the lack of personal responsibility of the few, including someone like me who has driven for 37 years/over 400,000 miles without an accident. I am tired of having my insurance rates impacted by the actions of others.
I guess you need to be a lawyer to understand the difference between DWI and DUI. It seems to me that any mind-altering drug, including alcohol, could be an intoxicant.
I’d call your insurer and discuss it with them. You can bet that either the state will contact them when the conviction comes through or you will inform them when your insurance policy come due. If you lie on the renewal and they find out, yo will be dropped. About the only possible scenarios where the insurance company won’t find out is if the verdict is not guilty (highly unlikely) or hubby can wangle probation before judgment. You guys need an attorney soon; he’ll explain PBJ if he thinks it’s an alternative.
My only thought is thank God you didn’t kill someone innocent, deprive some poor clidren of their parent or some poor family of their child.
In my humble and emphatic opinion no insurance should have to cover damage caused to ones own vehicle by drunk driving. As a matter of fact, someone who blows a breathalizer that high should have their car taken away by the courts even if no accident was involved.
You asked for my thoughts. There they are. So is hubby going to stop driving drunk?
MB–Thank you for your statement. As usual, we are of a similar mind on this situation.
My advice was not to get drunk and get behind the wheel.
You are right. Your advice was to refuse a brethalyzer test so that the drunk driver can get away with it with a slap on the wrist.
If curtailing driving while intoxicated is the goal of BAC limits, why not simply make it illegal to drink ANY alcohol and operate a motorvehicle? Why not make it illegal to install video monitors in the dashboard of vehicles? How about driving while using a computer or cellphone? What about driving while extremely tired?
Why not try to distract us by changing the subject? Does that often work for you?
With details missing of course, one wonders about the .11 and the 3 glasses of wine.
How does one blow an .11 on a full stomach with 3 glasses of wine over the course of that dinner?
A quick look at a chart shows that an average size male who has a full stomach and 3 glasses of wine would have a BAC of around .04. Figure a bit each way for metabolism of the individual.
If the test was accurate one wonders how large those glasses were; or the type of wine. One would not suspect MD 20/20 being served over dinner! (Easy on me) 
Gee, so when I got pulled over a few years ago and blew a .002 I shouldn’t have blown?
Most states have laws now where refusing a breathalyzer carries the same penalty as a DUI/DWI and it’s a MUCH easier charge to prove than the actual crime. Plus it looks really bad in front of a judge. In most localities with a first-time DUI with a lowish BAC and no crash you can easily plead down to a shorter license suspension and some sort of treatment, which will be far cheaper than the actual prescribed fine. If you don’t blow, these options usually aren’t open to you.
The whole “don’t blow” thing has an iota of truth in states where you can be convicted based on a breathalyzer alone AND where you can legally refuse it in favor of a blood test. There’s some situations in which the breathalyzer will heavily overestimate your BAC, especially if you were drinking only a few minutes before it was administered, and so if you really did only have a drink or two it can behoove you to take the blood test option if it’s offered. In most states, though, you can’t refuse the breath test, but you can request a blood test after you’ve been arrested and if the blood test is significantly better than the breath test there’s a good chance you can beat the rap. But if you refuse to blow, you’re essentially instantly guilty, so the decision to refuse to blow should not be taken lightly! If you’re someone who regularly pushes the envelope with these things, it’d be a good idea to talk to a DUI attorney in your state ahead of time.
MB - well said, sir!
I’m sick of drunk drivers killing, maiming, and ruining the lives of countless innocent people and often getting away with endless repeat offenses; I have zero tolerance for even first offenders.
My cousin, along with her fiance and another couple were killed by a drunk driver. The crash was so horrific officials had trouble sorting out which body parts belonged to which victims.
The morning after my junior prom, my date from the previous evening had to call and tell me that after taking me home (his parents chaffeaured us as we were both too young to have drivers licenses) that the older brother of one of our classmates ran a red light on his motorcycle at over 80 mph in a 30 mph zone, ran into the side of my date’s parents’ car. The guy was killed and my date’s mother seriously injured as well as my date and his dad injured.
In college one of my best friends was hit by a drunk, leaving my friend with a shattered collar bone and his girlfriend with a forehead gashed from temple to temple that left a permanent hideous scar.
And my brother had two good friends killed by a drunk going so fast that when he hit the VW beetle the girls were in, it actually launched the beetle up into a tree, practically obliterating the car.
So no, I have no tolerance, no sympathy, no patience with drunk driving. And I totally echo and endorse MB’s statement.
If u yourself crashed it or someone on ur policy no but if someone hit you was drunk yes
I guess you need to be a lawyer to understand the difference between DWI and DUI. It seems to me that any mind-altering drug, including alcohol, could be an intoxicant.
What PROBABLY happened is some lawyer got their client off because he was high on Cocaine and was charged with DWI. Probably some legal bull about being Intoxicated only applies to Alcohol. It’s our legal system GREAT.
Considering where this conversation is going, I thought I would share some data:
In all states, you will get a ticket and have to appear in court. The ticket alone will be around $4,000 in some states. Then you have the cost of an attorney, the mandatory alcohol evaluation and treatment (the least you will receive for treatment is an 8 hour informational class on the effects of alcohol and driving, which typically costs around $50.00 to attend), probation costs, license reinstatement fees, and increased car insurance charges. And then there’s the hidden costs incurred by lost wages from missing work or losing a job.
A DWI can cost from $10,000 on the low end to well over $50,000 when it’s all said and done; again, depending on if it’s your first offense and in which state you reside.
And that’s not all.
Even if you never drink and drive, your tax dollars are used to clean up the mess left by people who choose to drink and drive.
2001 saw $230 billion tax dollars spent due to highway drunk driving collisions.
[u]It costs less to take a cab from one end of the United States to the other than it does to pay for the costs you will incur if you drink and drive[/u], and those are just the monetary costs. No amount of money can make up for the losses incurred if you kill someone.*
*Publish quality content and get exposure for your work (emphasis added by Whitey)
Wish that were true…Not in my state…or any other state I know if.
I went through that when my oldest got her drivers license. I wouldn’t let her drive my Pathfinder at the time. And I explained to the insurance company that she’d only be driving my wifes car…NOPE…as long as she lived in the house she had to be covered under BOTH cars.
These limits are set with arbitrary numbers to increase revenue for the government.
They’re NOT arbitrary numbers…There have been study after study after study that shows a person with a .08 has DRASTICALLY reduced reflexes and judgement…no matter what size/shape/sex or age. It’s like saying…speed limits are really arbitrary…Some people can drive SAFELY at 90mph…“You Drink…You Drive…You loose.”…
It does sound like the guy made a mistake to me… it’s not like he slammed a fifth of Jack and decided to drive, assuming the truth is being told.
Forgetting to turn you signal on before you make a turn is “Lack of Judgment.” DUI is wall beyond that. When you drastically increase your risk of getting in a accident and injuring yourself/loved-ones or innocent people…that’s inexcusably. When you drive your vehicle after you’ve had too much to drink…it’s like taking a gun out and firing it in the air and HOPING the bullet doesn’t hit someone.
???
Are you sure it was state law and not just the insurance company’s policy? If it was just the insurance company’s policy, it sounds like a good reason to switch companies.
With details missing of course, one wonders about the .11 and the 3 glasses of wine.
You should see the glasses of whine my father-in-law drinks…usually 12oz or larger.
We hear far more often about lawmakers busted for alcohol violations than drug violations. Maybe they want the distinction for the next time they are busted for DUI.