Alberta has introduced new 'drunk' driving laws that penalizes those who register under the legal BAC limit of .08 but over the mark of .05 which the Province "still considers unsafe." The penalties include having their vehicle impounded for three days and losing their licence for three days. The Globe and Mail article is here.
So, in an effort to stop crashes caused by impaired drivers the government has decided to make it illegal to have a glass of wine with dinner. How a law like this is supposed to in any way effect someone selfish enough to drive legitimately drunk I'd like to know. This seems like the easiest possible way for a politician to look like they're working on the problem. Or at least get MADD off their backs for a while. I don't know.
Also on the topic, I'd also like to throw it out there how ineffective and expensive longer prison sentences are for most crimes, including drunk driving.
Honestly what's the difference between a 20 year prison sentence and a 10 year one? Is a would-be drunk driver sitting weighing the pro's and con's of either driving drunk or not driving drunk? The exact problem is that they are not thinking of the consequences of their actions, on themselves and other people.
Keep in mind also that the drunk driver likely possesses no other threat to society besides when he/she is behind the wheel of a car.
I agree with the feeling that we're not getting enough justice but we need to get beyond longer/mandatory prison sentences being the answer to everything.
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