Ohio brings New DUI Punishment - Special Plates

[Ben]

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1170958&page=1

Got this in my email today, what is everyones thoughts on this? I see alot of vehicles being vandalized by anti-DUI people.

[1badPT]

I think any incentive to keep drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel is remarkable.

[DUBBED]

I hate to say that if you drive drunk you deserve to get your car shit kicked but that is almost how I feel. You definately deserve to get embarassed though, that funky yellow plate is a perfect way of doing so.

[tegdream]

no not a good idea at all, all it does is bring unwanted attention anfd will cause vandalism and a hard time for anyone else who drives that car....and its not like you can be careful around them, what are you gonna do if a person witha special license plate runs a red light at 140kph as opposed to a person with a normal plate: DIE, either way, ur still jacked, seems rather pointless to me!

its a good idea for the drivers themselves, but not for everyone else implicated in the situation!

[Mike09]

It's Brilliant, every1 who drive's buy will recognize them.

[4wheeldrift]

Maybe that will finally fucking teach people that drunk driving is not ok. Maybe after their cars get vandalized enough times they'll learn their damn lesson.

[FiveFreshFish]

I can see lots of challeges and lawsuits coming.

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by tegdream
no not a good idea at all, all it does is bring unwanted attention anfd will cause vandalism and a hard time for anyone else who drives that car.... thats the point!!

Originally posted by tegdream
and its not like you can be careful around them, what are you gonna do if a person witha special license plate runs a red light at 140kph as opposed to a person with a normal plate: DIE, either way, ur still jacked, seems rather pointless to me!
thats NOT the point!!

[/////AMG]

:thumbsup: but it shoul be just for the person, not the family

[Akagi Redsuns]

Nah, this gives a huge detterant to drinking and driving. Good incentive to stay clean.

[EG STyLeZ]

I don't think there is anything wrong with this idea. If you have been caught DUI, you shouldn't even be allowed to drive until after a certain amount of time, no question about it. This may bring about vandalism to your car, but it's well deserved. You can't justify drinking and driving.

[kaput]

.

[AutodreamMarvin]

i think it's a great idea.
as for having the rest of the family receiving the plates :thumbsdow i agree that the ones responsible should be punished, but the families? sure, they can be held accountable to a certain degree, but that is taking it too far.

[sfmedicusaf]

I personaly think its a complete waste of time. 'tagdream' was talking about somebody running a red light. That's just the tip of the iceburg. You can't get people to follow speed limits, get insurance, stop racing on the street, breaking into cars, and yet they want ignorant drunks to take to responsibility to put a beacon on their car stating such! It'll never happen. They'll just find a way around it or end up stealing someone elses plates. This law has been in effect for umpteen years, why in the hell are they just now trying to enforce it? Guess Taft needs a new condo. :banghead:

[James]

"Any other vehicles in the family will have to carry the special plates as well. Critics call it guilt by association, but supporters said it's not unreasonable."


This is kinda stupid, my Step-dad had a DUI charge 2 years ago, lost his Lisence for a year.....which he deserved 100%, but I am EXTREMELY against drinking and driving for many reasons, especially since my moron step dad had his Lisence taken away. So penalizing everyone in the house may be too far....just because i lived with him dosnt mean i drive drunk as well( although i know part of why they are doing it is becuase of the possibility of the charged person driving the other cars, but still)

[xerxes799]

thats great! maybe after the drivers with those plates see what most of us think of him for driving drunk he'll fell shame then remorse witch it the whole point.

[Seanith]

Originally posted by James
"Any other vehicles in the family will have to carry the special plates as well. Critics call it guilt by association, but supporters said it's not unreasonable."


This is kinda stupid, my Step-dad had a DUI charge 2 years ago, lost his Lisence for a year.....which he deserved 100%, but I am EXTREMELY against drinking and driving for many reasons, especially since my moron step dad had his Lisence taken away. So penalizing everyone in the house may be too far....just because i lived with him dosnt mean i drive drunk as well( although i know part of why they are doing it is becuase of the possibility of the charged person driving the other cars, but still)

I agree. Although i'm against drinking and driving, it would be extremely unfair to force other family members to have to put on the same plates.

[Mike09]

But what they are trying to do is make other family member's responsible for each other and to make sure no one in there family drink's and drive's. Good logic behind it but not always fair.

[4wheeldrift]

Here's a question for everyone who thinks putting the plates on family members cars is not fair and humiliating. Which is less humiliating, having that plate on your car as a deterent for the drunk driver not to go anywhere, or having your family name splashed all over the news after your drunk driving relation kills someone?

[Shaolin]

I didn't read the article, but I think i can get the general idea from reading the posts.. if they do it to individuals that'd be alright, but family? come on.. it's like, if my sister fucks up and does something stupid, I will get the blame for it as well? Only person that can control the offender is the offender themself, so where's the logic in getting the family members involved?

[Seanith]

Originally posted by Shaolin
I didn't read the article, but I think i can get the general idea from reading the posts.. if they do it to individuals that'd be alright, but family? come on.. it's like, if my sister fucks up and does something stupid, I will get the blame for it as well? Only person that can control the offender is the offender themself, so where's the logic in getting the family members involved?

yeah its not like someones 17 year old son can stop his dad from going to the bar and getting gooned and driving home :rolleyes:

[M_Power]

It is a good thing that all family members get the plates, although some think it is too harsh, the person who does drink and drive will get so much heat from there family that they will never want to go though it all again.
How long do the plates stay on?

[Zephyr]

i think thats a good idea. people will get unwanted attention and most people dont like that so this is a good. this is also good for cops to id cars that have been convicted of DUI before..

then again when it comes to new years police might just target these cars on the road just to make sure they arent drinking, and this might lead to a lawsuit of some sort..

[xkon]

I think its an excellent idea, even doing the whole families cars... one more thing to think about when deciding whether or not calling a cab is worth the extra $20

they should bring that to alberta... also makes it easier for the police to pinpoint previous offenders on the streets, and I doubt a previous offender would be driving drunk with those plates... moving target!!

[rice_eater]

i dont agree with the rest of the family having to have those liscence plates too...i mean sure you could drive their cars and no one will know BUT if i screw up why should my parents or whoever in the family have to suffer the consequences...on top of this it makes those vehicles targets to vandalism, eventhough that person is just a relative of a drunk driver. I mean...what is it really supposed to solve by this? Everyone knows you got caught drinking and driving...so what?

[hjr]

i think its a good idea all around. If your driving effected people around you directly they would bother you to not DUI. Really whatever it takes to stop people from DUI is probably worth it.

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by hjr
Really whatever it takes to stop people from DUI is probably worth it. good point. the "unfairness" to the family members really is trivial when it could mean a reduction in DUI related accidents.

[Maxt]

I see problems on the horizon for this one...
All you need is some anti drunk driving advocate as overzealous as some of the know anti abortion activiststhat tend to go overboard, and do something stupid to a person driving a car with those plates, and the government will be sued and the taxpayers will pay..
Vandalism is on thing, put other peoples lives in danger in the search to save lives , in IMHo is kinda non productive...
I am not advocating DD'ing, however, lets keep the punishments as they should be ...Jail time, then pay the price singularly.. and one you have served your time, you have served your time...
A long time ago, when I worked at North Hill Mall, we use to watch the cops put a grease pencil X on the headlights of cars driven by people that entered the bar at the highlander hotel, then lateron a bunch of cops would know which vehicles to pull over..good idea until someone took issue with the cops vandalising his car with grease pencils...Maxt

[Dave OH]

As my title states, I live in Ohio and cannot wait to see someone's car with these plates on there! I guess we'll see if they're effective or not in the future...

It would definitely clash with the E and or SLK haha

[itsnotaDUB]

by punishing the associated family, it shows the driver that unless he/she wants to hummiliate the family. they wont drink and drive. it also makes them think twice and not only about them selfs when they hop in the car pissed.

[DSM Power]

Good idea but poor implementation. :dunno:

[403Gemini]

the reason why they associate the family with this is because its not just yourself your thinking about, now you hafta think how this impacts the whole family.

i am all for it! :thumbsup:

[rx7_turbo2]

Originally posted by 403Gemini
the reason why they associate the family with this is because its not just yourself your thinking about, now you hafta think how this impacts the whole family.

i am all for it! :thumbsup:

That's retarded.

[403Gemini]

Originally posted by rx7_turbo2


That's retarded.

im baffeled? how is it retarded?

if you drink and drive it impacts your family, with or without these liscence plates. should a kid be proud to say "my dad cant drive me/pick me up cause DUI" ? no. with this law you think about your entire family and the consequnses of your actions because it impacts them DIRECTLY.

without it, you DUI and get in an accident and severly hurt somebody, that person CAN sue you but with a greasy lawyer you can win. You win, then there is no big deal. but with this liscene plate you win you still wear the plate. so does your family.

and anybody who opposes this law boogles my mind. do you drink and drive? do your relatives? if so your not doing enough to imbed into their minds that its not right.

[rx7_turbo2]

Originally posted by 403Gemini


im baffeled? how is it retarded?

if you drink and drive it impacts your family, with or without these liscence plates. should a kid be proud to say "my dad cant drive me/pick me up cause DUI" ? no. with this law you think about your entire family and the consequnses of your actions because it impacts them DIRECTLY.

without it, you DUI and get in an accident and severly hurt somebody, that person CAN sue you but with a greasy lawyer you can win. You win, then there is no big deal. but with this liscene plate you win you still wear the plate. so does your family.

and anybody who opposes this law boogles my mind. do you drink and drive? do your relatives? if so your not doing enough to imbed into their minds that its not right.

Ya maybe your right. Perhaps we should do this with all offences. Someone in your family is found guilty of robbery, why not label the whole family thieves. Even better your son's a serial killer, lets send the whole family to jail. Give your head a shake man. Just cause some dumb ass in the family acted like a moron is no reason to paint the whole family with the same brush. Punishing innocent people ya that sounds like a smart idea:dunno:

[hellcat]

Well I live in Ohio and this pisses the hell out of me. #1 Taft needs to be shot. He is one of the worst things that has happened to Ohio. #2 the family should not have to have the plates. That is just retarded. So if my sister is an idiot and gets a DUI why the hell should I have to have that plate on my car. It just gives the cops one more way to uselessly profile people. Then every cop and ever normal person would target me as a drunk and bad driver when I've never even been pulled over let alone gotten a ticket or DUI. Its just another stupid waste of money.

[Dave OH]

I am a big proponent of taking responsibility for your actions, something society (or, at least american society) has put on the back burner in recent years - So i think the plate is a OK idea.... not a great solution to the problem however. The solution to the problem is not babying the offender and taking the lowlife's driver's license. Drunk driving shows ultimate lack of regard for the safety of other people and that shouldn't be tolerated. Take their license after the first offense without question.


Originally posted by hellcat
#2 the family should not have to have the plates.

I agree, going way too far and messing with other peoples lives just because some idiot was selfish - Very uncool aspect of the law.


Personally, I think the punishment for DUI should be MUCH stricter than just license revocation... but unfortunately, our society and the bleeding hearts would never let that happen, instead lets spend lots of money trying to "help" them and try and show them the error of their ways....:barf:

*end of rant*

[hellcat]

Bamboo canes work very well in Singapore for showing people "the error of their ways":devil:

[illeagle]

it's a good idea, but what if your buddy has the plate and is parked in your driveway? next thing you know YOUR house or property is being fucked up.

[sxtasy]

I really don't think it is a good idea. Do you honestly think that a drunk person will think about the "plate they might get" if they jump into a car and drive? Is humiliation the first thing on a drunk person's mind?
It's a step in the right direction, but I don't think it is that great of an idea.

[403Gemini]

Originally posted by rx7_turbo2


Ya maybe your right. Perhaps we should do this with all offences. Someone in your family is found guilty of robbery, why not label the whole family thieves. Even better your son's a serial killer, lets send the whole family to jail. Give your head a shake man. Just cause some dumb ass in the family acted like a moron is no reason to paint the whole family with the same brush. Punishing innocent people ya that sounds like a smart idea:dunno:

i would disown/abandon any family member who murders.

but yea your right it is harsh to go after the entire family. i could definatly see just the dd's car... thing is what if its only a secondary driver then? :dunno: does that mean if a kid is 18 gets caught drunk drivin in his dads m3 the m3 gets the plate on it?

[Robert Davis]

While the new law is not really a new law, judges have had the capability of using the special plates for several years now, the 'new' part is the implimentation of the 'mandatory' on first offense section.
T
aft has had the ammendment [or whatever they call the document] on his desk for a short while now, that would bring the edict back into a more reasonable perspective [if any reasonableness can be assigned to this effort.]

I was told that there were about four drafts that elevated the law towards more punishment for the DUI offender and that the draft that was passed was not the draft that the legislators intended to pass. How this occurred is a mystery. Nonetheless, there is an effort to correct the error. But, it seems that Taft has procrastinated and there is some speculation that he has been lobbied to do so [procrastinate.]

The problems abound with this 'scarlet letter mentality.'

Imagine you have a first time offense DUI [and don't forget that the law was changed to charge a driver that breath tests .08 which requires very little drinking needed to produce this result.]
The driver so charged is asked to obtain a special plate that IDs the offense.

That driver shares a car [with that plate] with their spouse, a good person and non-offender.

Since when does the law require a non guilty party to be punished for the offense of someone they are associated with? Does a murderer's spouse go to the electric chair because of an association? We used to allow a criminal to pay another to serve their time in prison - sort of proxy prison I suppose but, we ended that stupidity.

Now we can imagine the ways around the laws 'scarlet lettering.'
We can transfer our car to a relative and then 'borrow' our own car with standard plates. Another option that was suggested is to rent a car. There is no requirement to 'mark' such a temporary endeavor with a 'scarlet plate.' Also cars from other states are not subject to the 'scarlet plate' technique. Those that have relatives in other states may find that helpful.

However, I was wondering, as a matter of protest and descent from the imposed law, perhaps we non-offenders but, sympathetic folks [who are not in line, goose stepping, with the prohibitionists that sponsor such laws] might decide that the scarlet and yellow plates are attractive and we may want to purchase one for our own cars. Wouldn't that be a hoot? Innundate the state with support for ending the inappropriate
behavior of the extremist mentality.

We abandoned prohibition because we found it to be outside what we the people wanted for ourselves. We tried it and it failed. The extremists such as Cary Nation and others were finally put aside and reason took hold again. We saw this same extremism with the McCarthy era and that too was put aside.

I know we have laws on the books and those laws are just fine and do a good job of protecting us from the excessive drinker who drives. Enforce them and I am happy to see that done and I abide by the law without complaint.

But to continuously add new levels to the punishment is outside reasonable. Let the judges have some latitude to assign punishment correctly and according to the specifics of the case before them.

Mandatory sentencing has put 1 in 75 males, in the US, in prison. The highest level of imprisonment in the world today. Even the Taliban in Afganistan were less abusive [or puritanical] to their population than that.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post. Buy a Scarlet plate today.

[boi-alien]

i think it's a great idea. and with regards to the family thing, i don't think it's meant to punish the family members, but it's the fact that the person living within that family has access to all the vehicles, what's to stop him/her from driving the car of a family member that doesn't have those plates? it's the only way to ensure that at all times doesn't matter which car in the family he/she drives a vehicle with those plates on it.

[syeve]

Originally posted by 403Gemini
the reason why they associate the family with this is because its not just yourself your thinking about, now you hafta think how this impacts the whole family.

i am all for it! :thumbsup:

why should'nt that be applied to all crimes then? what about assults? what about rappists?

Who should be held accountable for their actions, the person who commits the crime or the person who lives with them?

A deterrent is effective for only those who have a concience.

EDIT: Whats wrong with albertas law, this isnt even really a factor, in Alberta if you get cought drinking and driving you lose your licence anyways, so there is no need to make special plates, unless they are for the dorks bike?

[pizalm]

It's a good idea because people know that your irresponsible. When you drive drunk it's not just you life at risk it's everyone's. But more has to be done to stop DUI.

[Robert Davis]

Well, there you have it - the change I mentioned on 6-25 has occurred with the Scarlet License plates - formally known as [get this] "FAMILY PLATES."

Governor Taft has apparently signed the bill that now ends the mandatory placement of 'Family Plates' on all DUI cases. Now the judges have the authority to discriminate between those he feels this plate would help and those it would be less than helpful. This seems to have occurred on 6-29 or 30th.

So the outcry by reasonable persons, that the DUI offender should be punished but, his non guilty spouse or children are not to be punished for something they had nothing to do with has taken sway.

Those who tried to rationalize that punishing the DUI offenders spouse or kids was somehow reasonable have now to go out and apologize to the masses that had their time wasted listening to the diatribe. Folks - if Cicken Lttle cries that the sky is falling-- please, for your own sake and for ours, look up. If the sky is not falling then assume you should shut up or better yet assume you should find and express the truth.

Now the public will not be so quick to punish [through criminal acts of their puritanical selves] non-guilty personages whose only problem was their association with the DUI offender.

Again, exercise your right to dessent. Peacefully purchase a yellow and red license plate and wear it proudly. Cause the prohibitionists to be frustrated and perhaps they will crawl back into the holes [Spider holes,if I were guessing] from which they sprang.

I asked a municipal judge, what the judges thought of the license plates? He responded that he was aware of no judge in Ohio that thought the family license plate had a place in punishment of the DUI case. They were generally for ending this bad idea. He related that this opinion was also published in several law journals he has had contact with recently.