Driving is overrated anyway!
This week’s ARTICLE focuses on Wisconsin lawmakers consideration of new OWI laws. Specifically the permanent revoking of one’s license after their 4 OWI offense. Yes, I said PERMANENTLY losing one’s right to drive after their 4th OWI offense. The House passed the bill unanimously and it is now headed to the Senate.
Yes, 4 times drunk driving is very serious. But the permanent loss of one’s license? Hmm, I’ll have to think about this one for a bit. Thoughts?
This is a tough thought to completely process. Yes, I agree, drunk driving especially more than four times should be taken seriously. However, a permanent loss of your driver’s license does seem a bit extreme though I can see where the lawmakers are coming from. Too many lives have been lost because of drunk drivers this could be a way to decrease the amount of deaths due to drunk driving. Maybe if there was just a suspicion up to 5 years or something. Even if it was more than 4 times that a permanent loss of your license should come into effect. But the bill has passed and I am interested in seeing what changes happen over time.
Although this can be a disputable topic in many ways, I have to support it. Drunk driving is a serious issue. Most common causes of adolescent death in U.S are car accidents and unintentional injuries. These car accidents are cause by less experience behind the wheels and irresponsible driving, which includes driving after alcohol consumption. It is not just the problem for adolescents. Nowadays we see so many news related to drunk driving and victims of the accidents. It can injures you, and even take life away from you even though you were not the one who were driving. I do believe that something has to be done on a different level to stop drunk driving. You loose your license permanently after driving drunk four or more times. This means that you will be given second and third chances depending on the seriousness of the incident that you’ve cause while driving drunk. Others may say this is too harsh but it sounds fair enough to me. However, since it is considered as a huge consequence, the baseline for the system and rules should be clear when practiced. Also, some form of redemption should exist to be fair for those who think they got punished too harshly, because I do believe that there will be so much confusion until the new system is settled.
This is an interesting law that are trying to pass. Yes drunk driving is a serious problem but taking away someone license permanently is a bit over board. I think 4 OWI you would think someone would have learned their lesson but sometimes it take people actually grasp the situation or for something serious to happen in order for them to stop. You would hope that it would not have to get that far for someone to stop. I think someone getting their license suspended or revoked for a couple years may help them be more aware they should stop driving drunk. I think if the lawmakers were to permanently take away the license then there would be more police problems because then there will be many people driving without license. At the end of the day people still have point A and point B to make it to outside of the weekend fun.
While this law is a bit extreme, I’m leaning toward supporting it. If someone has 4 OWI they obviously have not learned their lesson from the first 3 times and most likely have an addiction. Taking away their license permanently does seem like the best option in order to protect others. The article mentions that they can petition to get it back after a decade. I think as long as they are allowed to petition and prove that they are no longer a danger to society and have received treatment for their addiction, this law seems fair. I can understand getting one OWI, but any more than that raises a red flag for a serious problem. It is not worth risking people’s lives to give someone the privilege to drive who does not follow the rules.
At first thought, I thought this law sounded a bit extreme because I considered a person’s ability to “rehabilitate” from drunk driving. I believe that some criminals can be rehabilitated and can change, but for a person to get OWI’s, there has to be a prominent underlying issue. I’m conflicted about this law because while I believe that the person could change and still be granted their driving privileges, I also realize that driving drunk (four or more times at that) is an endangerment to others. Maybe if there was a different way of meeting halfway for those people who could prove that they are capable of driving safely again.
I do believe that people can be rehabilitated, however, if an individual hasn’t learned after three offenses that have resulted in jail time, hefty fines, classes, and revocation, then they are probably not going to learn. Driving is a responsibility and privilege and people that repeatedly defy the laws don’t deserve this privilege. Wisconsin is behind on the harshness of our OWI laws compared to a lot of other states and I think it’s about time they do something about this.
Just about everyone has been affected, or knows someone affected by a drunk driving incident. This criminal behavior is a serious matter and should not be taken lightly. It is an act that recklessly endangers others and is completely unnecessary. That being said, I think that this proposed law is much too severe. Revoking someone’s license for a few years for a first or second OWI offense is understandable. Revoking someone’s license for a decade for a third or fourth offense would also be an adequate punishment in my books. I even agree with the part of this new law that claims that those who have obtained a second OWI offense, in conjunction with another traffic offense, would have their license taken away permanently. Taking an offender’s license away simply for having four OWI’s is an entirely different matter.
What you are essentially telling this person is that they can never be trusted behind the wheel again. Imagine if someone has been convicted of three OWI’s and just happens to have one drink too many at the bar. If they get pulled over for speeding and test just over the limit for alcohol they may be looking at a lifetime revocation of their license. It seems unfair that they would have such a huge punishment, for such a minor infraction.
I believe this law is the right thing to do for people facing their fourth OWI charge. If the person has not learned after three OWI’s then there should be a serious consequence. In which this case they are taking away their license. Its better to take away their license than to have them kill someone in a drunk driving accident. Wisconsin is not as extreme as some other states such as Virginia. For an individual who has their third DUI they get a year in jail. What I am curious about is what will happen if someone already has four OWI’s and if there license will be revoked. I’m glad Wisconsin is stepping up and making their drinking laws more strict.
Drunk driving is an extremely awful offense that happens daily, especially in Wisconsin. We are one of the biggest drinking states in the entire country, which is fine except when you step behind the wheel after drinking. Now looking at the current bill, I am shocked that this bill passed the Assembly. Yes, drinking and driving is a serious offense, but permanently taking someone’s right to drive away- is terrible. That is the government interfering in our lives, once again, where they are not trying to solve the actual problem. The government is so overreaching and for the Wisconsin Assembly to approve this by 84-10, is saddening. That’s 84 individuals who chose to take away a problem rather than figure out a way to fix it.
I agree with the majority of the House representatives in the sense that one’s license should be revoked after their 4th OWI charge. The amount of lives lost specifically due to drunk driving accidents is far too many and this would guarantee that those with revoked licenses wouldn’t be as much of a danger to society. This is just like the debate of when to send an offender to prison and how long their sentence should be. In my opinion, a 4th OWI charge is like a homicide crime regarding the severeness level, because a drunk driver could potentially kill someone with their recklessness. I agree with the classic 3 strikes and you’re out rule and this would be true for OWI charges too. I think offenders have time between the 1st and 4th charge to seek out help from friends, family, parole officers, and therapists in order to correct their addictions/decisions to drink while intoxicated. If one’s license is permanently revoked it doesn’t automatically mean they can’t get places, there are other means of public transportation they can seek out. I believe it could open someone’s eyes if severe consequences are put into place.
Yikes. This law is a little bit extreme but I totally understand why they would want to pass this bill. I mean honestly you would think after somebody first OWI they would learn there lesson, but some people like to be hard head and disobey the law and continue getting OWI’s. I dont think that one’s driving privilege should be provoke unless they got into a car crash or caused bodily harm to others. I honestly think that them serving time would be better than taken away their driving privileges. I think instead of the senate or government worrying about passing this bill they need to worry about other dangerous thing in the world. Like the gun laws, domestic violence laws and etc. I understand that drinking and driving can be harmful to society but a person shouldn’t have there driving privileges taken away.
This is really hard to think about because I can see how this can be a bit extreme but I also feel like the law would be something extreme that it would scare people enough from drinking and driving, especially if it means permanently losing your license. I just think that 4 OWI strikes is still pretty lenient and you would think that people would learn their lesson after the 1st, but that’s why this law is being considered and it’s obviously a big enough problem since people are not learning their lesson. I mean I think that law would scare me enough to the point where I wouldn’t want to drink and drive because no one wants to lose their license. Yes, people have jobs and places they need to be, but if they cannot follow a law and it leads to their license being revoked, they have to pay the consequences for their negligence.