LAST EDITED ON Dec-18-18 AT 05:30AM (MST)[p]Tri you are absolutely correct in that money is a big part of it as it is with everything from sports, to guided private land hunts, to politics and beyond any space I have to type.
I'll even throw in some local laws here that are exactly that Mind you I have to bite my tongue somewhat in what I point out but make no mistake, there is a money element. First you have a public safety group assigned to monitor bars, restaurants, and any place where alcohol is consumed or sold. This is in no way specific to Utah. All states have it in one form or another. The idea is to weed out the bad apples and revoke the licensing to habitual offenders to include selling to underage, selling bootlegged (untaxed liquor, beer, and wine), selling to obviously intox patrons, selling without a license.. you get the idea. Now here is where Tri is spot on. All of this is done in the name of public safety and most with good cause and in good faith. Now let's say you get the establishment that blatantly ignores the regulations time and time again. The establishment did it for the money. The establishment will then get notice of a license suspension and or revocation. Here is where public safety and money pull a 180 to each other. The suspension is usually an and or proposition. The license suspension can be waived in leu of a hefty financial penalty. I could go on and on with various example but yes, it is sadly more about the money many times than it is about public interest.
Liquor stores. I don't think the state has any business whatsoever in being the gatekeeper to something that should be private enterprise. The state removing competition for their monopoly on state run liquor stores goes against the very grain of capitalism. There is absolutely nothing to support the idea that the stare can do this more responsibly than the private sector. It is a taxation and money making scheme pulled under the guise of public safety.
Now having said this; this is also where you are wrong Tri. It's not ALWAYS about the money and it is most certainly not ALL about the money. One of the largest taxes on society is alcohol. First like gambling, it is largely a tax upon the poor, those who can least afford it spend a significant portion of their income on it. It is then a massive tax on society in terms of property damage, loss of life, illness both acute and chronic, failed marriages, child abuse, and a myriad of other crime. Ask any cop who has worked a beat what the percentage averages to be for calls which are deemed alcohol related. A lot. The most devestatrng recurring ones that I see are people too short sighted and or selfish to refrain from driving under the influence. The numbers of injured and killed from it are absolutely staggering. The political lobby machines behind the push for strict relentless pursuit targeting the DUI demographic are motivated by very real, heartfelt, human tragedy so easily avoided. One of the main local lobbyists for MADD lost an infant grandchild years ago on Christmas Eve to a drunk driver. I can assure you that he and thousands like him are indeed, not motivated by the money.
It is hard to put a line on the magic number of when someone is ?safe enough? to drive. This is largely because each person is different in the physiological response to alcohol as well as individual tolerance. I can tell you where the line is drawn for the operator of a Boeing 747. It's zero. Why? Because the argument can, will, and has been made that impairment begins from the start. It doesn't magically kick in suddenly at an .08 or pick your number. I would suspect that heart surgeons are also set at the nominal scale of zero.
Here, DUI deaths per million road miles traveled are some of the very lowest in the nation and aggressive enforcement/prosecution are the commonality. I actually have a lot of hope that things are changing. One of the best tech advancements to take place in the last several years are services like Uber and Lyft. I have personally seen way to many sad, sad tragedies resulting in death and life long disability over this to with a straight face, discount all the efforts and strong feelings as being all about the money.
The real bottom line is that unless major changes occur with NHTSA standards established for DUI detection and apprehension, nothing is going to significantly change for many reasons which could fill several pages.
Now the real reason not to flirt with driving with alcohol are far greater than any monetary criminal fine. If you are driving down the road doing absolutely nothing wrong, and you run a red light that any sober person could have missed, or hit a kid jay walking in dark clothes or any catastrophic accident occurs which has little to no bearing on the fact you are say a .035.....you will be drawn out in civil court hearings for several years as criminal charges aside, I can assure you that a wrongful death suit will be filed and the king pin will be affixed to the fact that you had alcohol in your system. Just the way it always works.
Lastly without naming anyone to bring up old sorrows, I can think of more than one member here who left life too early as the result of a DUI.
