Didn’t say I was confident in the officer’s training. They might be poorly trained and the testing protocol might be a POS and unscientific. What people are suggesting though is that we give up on trying to detect and arrest driving druggies because there are a few false positives. There are false positives in any system. Bet these same guys think people are retarded when they call for motorcycle racing to be banned because a dude got killed. Instead they call for improvements in track safety. It’s also the exact same logic anti-gunners use to justify their gun grabs. There are false positives, accidents, and people getting unjustly fucked over in every system and human activity. Doesn’t mean we just give up on those systems or activities.
You’re conflating prosecuting based on a reasonable suspicion vs charge people and make them prove their innocence, knowing that they won’t be able to do so because of the length of time marijuana stays in your system. No one in this thread has said we should stop trying to prosecute DUIs, so that’s a bit of a red herring on your part. But if the cost of finding actual offenders is to ruin a lot of innocent people’s lives, new methods need to be found. Just my opinion; YMMV.
Personally, I am NOT OK with innocent people going to jail or having their lives ruined. YMMV. BTW, if you check my posting history you will find i side with the LEO community FAR more often than not. This one is a definite not.
So you are OK with guilty till proven innocent because a cop "thinks" that you "might" have taken something but has no way to prove or disprove the charges? Thats pretty fucked up comrade. The state also has the duty not to toss people in jail for no reason and it appears they fucked that up by giving Barney Fife some bullshit training course and the authority to arrest people based on his feelz... Until the authorities start prosecuting shitty drivers harder and make drivers licenses more difficult to get you can shut down the tearjerk bullshit about getting impaired drivers off of the road. If a family member is killed by someone while driving does it really matter if that person was drunk or just a shitty driver? Dead is dead and it does not really make any difference if the person was drunk, texting, putting on makeup or just got a license after driving a rickshaw for most of their life. While I do not agree with drinking and driving I would almost guarantee that a significant percentage of people on the Beeb would be better drivers drunk than most of the general public are sober...
Ever hear of better for 10 guilty men go free than one innocent man be convicted. The alternative is tyranny. The person wrongfully convicted should 100% go after the trainer and state for using a test that was pulled out of someones ass.
No what people are suggesting is use accurate testing or nothing. How fine would you be with serving some jail time and loosing your job because you failed some test that had no basis in science? Bet a few nights on cement might alter your perspective on tests that catch innocent people. If not getting out to a house payment and no job might.
There is a standard. It’s called a field sobriety test. It’s NOT “just for alcohol”. Being able to perform all those tasks without evidence of impairment, but still being “too high to drive” is total bullshit and makes no sense. The officer isn’t just measuring your ability to touch your nose, he’s listening to your speech, watching your motor functions, testing your reaction times, observing your ability to make decisions and follow directions. All of those things are crucial to being a good driver. Not having bloodshot eyes or sweaty palms are not. Hell, some people should probably be given drugs at the DMV. A little coke or Adderol would probably go a long way to improve their focus and make them better drivers!
I will say weed never affected my driving in a bad way. I currently do not smoke weed but years ago when I did it was the only time I drove the speed limit. No idea why but even to this day I get in a hurry for no reason and get all stressed out when people won’t even drive the speed limit. If I was to smoke a fatty all of that would just go away. And I’ve never felt that it impaired my driving whatsoever. I definitely could see it affecting some of the retards I see everyday on the road that don’t belong on the road anyway.
Isn't the admittance of driving slower while stoned proof positive it did indeed affect your driving?
I always felt that DUIs and Impaired driving (of ANY type) were always on the same level. Someone weaving at 2am vs. then someone distracted during rush hour that rear ends another motorist on a busy highway. Which is worse? Which affects more people? Both are impaired drivers... why does the impairment have to have a BAC or sobriety test to determine? Also after a 2nd DUI conviction...why arent these folks charged with serious weight felonies like "Attempted vehicular manslaughter" or "Assault with a deadly weapon" when getting behind the wheel?
The tests are designed to divide your attention, much like driving. It's why you are asked to count your steps when performing the walk and turn and count to ten when doing the 1 leg stand. The only standardized test that doesn't divide the attention is the HGN (horizontal gaze nystagmus). Consume alcohol and when the eyes move slowly left to right they bounce. You can damn near guess the intoxication level just from the amount the eyes bounce. This of course does not work with people that have an astigmatism. Some narcotics have a bouncing affect when the eyes move up and down.
No need if they would just take their license for 5 years or so. The 6 months shit doesn't deter anyone and they all just drive while suspended anyway. Take their License and plates for 5 years and i bet dui's would drop in the first year.
So if they drive anyways during a 6 month suspension, how is an even longer suspension going to stop them? It’s a great idea in theory but it doesn’t work. That’s why you see people with 5+ dui convictions. It just doesn’t matter to them, they’re going to find a way to drive regardless of a suspension.
