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ROR Impaired Driving Charges Dismissed


Brawndo

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For what it is worth... (and I can only speak for Pennsylvania law)

 

In PA, prosecution would need to show he was driving (not just the owner of) the car. Leaving the scene (in PA) of an accident that involves ONLY property damage (hit and run) has much lower punishment than DUI. So it is very common here. Proof that is needed to get a conviction for DUI is control of the car. I can assume that there may be video from TH security cameras, but maybe not. 

  As for .08 (and I stress, this is PA law) at .08 you have no defense to being intoxicated. It does not mean you are not guilty if you are below .08. If it can be proven that you were impaired, and your BAC is below .08 - you can still be guilty. (DUI - narcotics has no "level", but is the "same crime" - driving under the influence). PBTs are a tool used to show probable cause, just like the field sobriety tests, but can not be used as proof at trial. There is a "reasonable" amount of time that an officer has to get a reading - Blood, urine etc..., that is used for proof. 

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 A DUI is a terrible offense. According to MADD, 9,000 or so are killed every year due to drunk driving. Forgiveness can at times be can be difficult. And I'm not making reference to someone forgiving a drunk driver being responsible for the death of another. That would be very difficult. Simply saying there will be people finding it difficult to forgive the guy. He did put people at risks.  At times the only remedy is time. Of there's the judge not less the be judged. People mad at him for being at .08 may need to take a look at themselves. Have they ever had a few and chose to drive while most likely being over the limit? Good chance they have. So if they're going throw the guy under the bus, they should also do it to themselves. Let me add I'm not throwing him under the bus. He made a mistake, almost minor considering the bac level, and I like to think he's learned from it. Time to move on. 

 

To be fair, 32,000 people were killed in auto accidents last year in the US. I'm more likely to die at the hands of a plain old bad driver or a plain old freak accident than at the hands of a drunk. That's probably why we're so non-chalant about it.

 

A co-worker mentioned to me today that our drinking culture in this area was a shock to him when he moved here from California. He just doesn't understand how WNY is so casual about it. I think there's something to be said for how we're socialized to think about drinking in this region. 

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A co-worker mentioned to me today that our drinking culture in this area was a shock to him when he moved here from California. He just doesn't understand how WNY is so casual about it. I think there's something to be said for how we're socialized to think about drinking in this region. 

Please don't shut down our beer appreciation thread

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For what it is worth... (and I can only speak for Pennsylvania law)

 

In PA, prosecution would need to show he was driving (not just the owner of) the car. Leaving the scene (in PA) of an accident that involves ONLY property damage (hit and run) has much lower punishment than DUI. So it is very common here. Proof that is needed to get a conviction for DUI is control of the car. I can assume that there may be video from TH security cameras, but maybe not.

As for .08 (and I stress, this is PA law) at .08 you have no defense to being intoxicated. It does not mean you are not guilty if you are below .08. If it can be proven that you were impaired, and your BAC is below .08 - you can still be guilty. (DUI - narcotics has no "level", but is the "same crime" - driving under the influence). PBTs are a tool used to show probable cause, just like the field sobriety tests, but can not be used as proof at trial. There is a "reasonable" amount of time that an officer has to get a reading - Blood, urine etc..., that is used for proof.

 

Glad to see you back. Too bad THIS was the thread it took.

 

Regards! :beer:

Edited by Taro T
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Thanks Taro - I read the forum almost daily - just don't usually feel I have much to add (I'm a good listener) - I use these threads for my Sabres info - local paper hardly mentions anything outside of phila crap (especially since  we now have the phantoms in town). 

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The Sabres:

 

-  gave up a ton in the trade (in my view, they overpaid when they had more leverage to get a better deal);

 

-  agreed to pay the guy more than any other player in Sabres' history;

 

- structured the deal most favorably to ROR.

 

I just hope that ROR realizes the above, gets his sh*t together, and becomes the player and leader that others see in him.

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To be fair, 32,000 people were killed in auto accidents last year in the US. I'm more likely to die at the hands of a plain old bad driver or a plain old freak accident than at the hands of a drunk. That's probably why we're so non-chalant about it.

 

A co-worker mentioned to me today that our drinking culture in this area was a shock to him when he moved here from California. He just doesn't understand how WNY is so casual about it. I think there's something to be said for how we're socialized to think about drinking in this region.

The 9,000 killed by a drunk driver were preventable.

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A co-worker mentioned to me today that our drinking culture in this area was a shock to him when he moved here from California. He just doesn't understand how WNY is so casual about it. I think there's something to be said for how we're socialized to think about drinking in this region. 

 

It was a shock when I moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s.  I thought it would be party city but except for a few areas that are famous for partying (Hollywood, etc.), most of the city and its bars shut down by about 10 pm.  Still, it wasn't uncommon to have a beer with lunch on a work day, and every once in a while the whole office would get tanked at lunch and take the afternoon off.

 

Then I moved to Fort Worth which is fairly Bible Belt-y.  If I have a drink at lunch I can get fired from my office job.  Not that people don't drink,* but it just isn't a part of the primary culture.  (Luckily I've "tapped" into the local brewpub subculture.)

 

I also lived in Detroit for a time.  That was probably the most like Buffalo, but still, nowhere is like Buffalo but Buffalo when it comes to drinking.  Seriously.

 

 

 

 

*There's a joke that's pretty famous around here:  "How do you keep a Baptist from drinking your beer when you take him fishing?  Have him bring another Baptist."  So a lot of people drink but it's not necessarily socially acceptable, at least in some churches.

Edited by Robins Egg
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It was a shock when I moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s.  I thought it would be party city but except for a few areas that are famous for partying (Hollywood, etc.), most of the city and its bars shut down by about 10 pm.  Still, it wasn't uncommon to have a beer with lunch on a work day, and every once in a while the whole office would get tanked at lunch and take the afternoon off.

 

Then I moved to Fort Worth which is fairly Bible Belt-y.  If I have a drink at lunch I can get fired from my office job.  Not that people don't drink, but it just isn't a part of the primary culture.  (Luckily I've "tapped" into the local brewpub subculture.) 

 

I also lived in Detroit for a time.  That was probably the most like Buffalo, but still, nowhere is like Buffalo but Buffalo when it comes to drinking.  Seriously.

 

Maybe it's East Coast or maybe it's perception, but Philly and NYC also have strong drinking cultures. I didn't get that feel from DC, although that city was very white collar so I didn't go out that much in the district itself.

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It was a shock when I moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s.  I thought it would be party city but except for a few areas that are famous for partying (Hollywood, etc.), most of the city and its bars shut down by about 10 pm.  Still, it wasn't uncommon to have a beer with lunch on a work day, and every once in a while the whole office would get tanked at lunch and take the afternoon off.

 

Then I moved to Fort Worth which is fairly Bible Belt-y.  If I have a drink at lunch I can get fired from my office job.  Not that people don't drink,* but it just isn't a part of the primary culture.  (Luckily I've "tapped" into the local brewpub subculture.)

 

I also lived in Detroit for a time.  That was probably the most like Buffalo, but still, nowhere is like Buffalo but Buffalo when it comes to drinking.  Seriously.

 

 

 

 

*There's a joke that's pretty famous around here:  "How do you keep a Baptist from drinking your beer when you take him fishing?  Have him bring another Baptist."  So a lot of people drink but it's not necessarily socially acceptable, at least in some churches.

 

I knew i liked you guys for a reason :D

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A pretty good distinction was made on GR this morning, later on in the Kevin and Beans Show.

 

No one should excuse O'Reilly for his (alleged) activities, but we should be willing to try to forgive him if he follows through with his punishment and tries to improve himself.  Don't excuse, but consider forgiveness.

 

 

Maybe that's some well-known Catholic pulpituity and I don't know.

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The others aren't?

Didn't say that. Many accidents not involving alcohol could have been prevented. Alcohol played a major role in the 9,000 killed. There's no denying that. It's why there are strict laws on it and heavy penalties.

Edited by Thanes16
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I often wonder about that. How many would have happened anyway, but because there was alcohol, it is blamed?

 

I'm not saying that stat is one of the them, but in some cases "Alcohol was a factor" (or maybe "involved") doesn't mean what you think. Like, if there's a car accident and a passenger is drunk, it'll sometimes get rolled up into the stats as alcohol-related.

Didn't say that. Alcohol played a role in the 9,000 killed. There's no denying that.

 

But what role? See my-just-posted comment. I'm defending anyone, but people use their stats how they like. I'd like to see NHTSA numbers and not MADD's; MADD has a vested interest in making the numbers look as big as they can.

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This topic is OLD. A NEW topic should be started unless there is a VERY SPECIFIC REASON to revive this one.

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