thekid: Guess what? we were 3 rows up from the 1st base!!! I paid dearly for those tickets and couldn't enjoy the game with obnoxious drunk teenagers directly behind us! It still scary driving out of there with all the drunks who get behind the wheel, no matter where you sit!

Hannah: You had a party at your house. You bought and had enough beds-so you knew you would have serious drunks. Some of your guests were from out of town. You still provided enough alcohol to let them get drunk. You let them get in their cars and drive home. Hello that makes you just as bad as the drunk driver, if not worse. Congratulations, you hosted a party that put a whole lot of drunk drivers on the road. But I guess if you can afford a house with 4 baths at least if someone had gotten hurt-you would have had something to lose in the civil suit. Most victims of drunk drivers find out their isn't any insurance or property of value to sue for damages.

My family lost a little boy to a drunk driver 30 years ago. MADD was already fighting drunk drivers in WI then, so nothing has changed. I can't believe somebody would say that you should only get the worst penalties if you hurt somebody. If you were that "somebody" you wouldn't see it that way. If you take their licenses they only drive without them. They do put breathalizers on cars but people have their kids blow into them. The DA's plea bargain all of the penalties down to nothing. If they go to jail they go with Huber privlages or they get the bracelet-ooh that really is a tough one. Throw their butts in jail without Huber, fine them what it costs for them to sit in jail, mandate treatment and follow up. Make them face those "somebodies" that they hurt and pay their bills. People need to drink responsibly-oh I forgot-WI doesn't expect people to be responsible for anything. None of those will ever be acted on as our government officials drive drunk too or they are afraid of losing votes from the ones that do. The state gov. needs to show me that they aren't all hot air and they aren't just grandstanding-like they have been doing for the last 30 years.

drunk driver sounds so harsh.. could you please call them intoxicated americans or or maybe overly social drinkers...

Do you know that in Wisconsin you can register and plate a car on just a STATE ISSUED ID CARD!!! When I asked the DMV worker why the response I got was," the person might have a chauffeur! So to make it easier on them they let the person register a car on an ID!" Well our law makers need to come up with a new law for that one too!! I know first hand what a person can do with a car, no license, no insurance and ONLY A STATE ISSUED ID but he did have his car registered and plated!! Driving OWI around Janesville at 1700 on a Saturday afternoon!!

A convicted felon can not have or own a gun. A convicted drunk driver should not be allowed to own a car or license plates.

Illinois just enacted a law that after the first DUI, the person needs a breathalyzer to start the car.

The "never killed" attribution to pot is specious. Most people who smoke pot also drink alcohol (while the contrary is not true). So, because of detectability problems with pot, vehicular fatalities are only attributed to drunk driving whenever the driver is blasted on both alcohol and pot.

Since moving from Wisconsin to Indiana in 1987 I never drink and drive anymore. The risk is too high here. Drunk driving penalties are so severe for even a first offense, I wouldn't chance it even after one drink. I think tougher laws definitely make a difference. I remember when I lived in Wisconsin getting busted for drunk driving just didn't seem like it was that big a deal. It blows my mind to read the police briefs in the Janesville Gazette and see that people are getting picked up for DUI 4 or 5 times! Wow - your pushing your luck to even get more than 2 DUI's in this state. Unless you know a good lawyer, after a 2nd offense, not only will you do jail time (and likely lose your job - can't go to work if your sitting in jail!), when you get out you'll be riding a bicycle because you won't have a driver's license anymore and you won't have any money to go anywhere because you'll owe too much money in fines to be able to afford anything. And this is the minimum! If you end up hurting someone as a result of drunk driving you may as well kiss your a** good bye! Being the true Wisconsinite that I am, If I'm gonna drink I just stay home and do it. Sounds pretty pathetic . . I know. . .but I've never had a DUI and don't plan on it. I like my life and the lives of others, my job and my money too much to give it all up for a few beers.

hey nellie: some advice for the brewers games. the more you spend on a ticket, the closer(obviously) you are to the field, but yer also further from the drunks who dont care. theres also i believe two family sections that dont allow alcohol at all.

I have had two family members die as a result of drunk drivers.
Driving...we think of it as such a simple task. We've done it for years. So we can talk on the phone, text, eat, smoke, talk to the kids in the back seat, put on makeup, etc. It's all good. Then we get angry when someone else isn't driving the way WE want them to.
Are our lives THAT busy that we have to be multitasking at all times?
Are we that weak that we have to get drunk and can't be grown-up enough to call a cab?

Will somebody explain to me why a person with multiple DUI arrests is allowed to have an auto title and license? If you allow a repeat offender to use your vehicle, you are an accessory or there should be another charge of auto theft plates in there name when they are not suppose to drive any way.

It's really scary when you go to a ball game and there are drunk people all around you. and then you think,I have to drive out of this place with these drunk people!!! While at a Brewers game this summer, there were kids underage behind us drinking all they wanted because their buddies were buying it and giving it to them. One guy got wise and didn't sell them anymore but they just found another seller. I think in a big setting like that, drinking should be banned. After all, we all have to leave there at the same time. I don't understand why they do it, how can you concentrate on the game if your 3 sheets to the wind!!

I agree with Professor. It seems when you read these stories that it's assumed that criminal penalties and enhancement of criminal penalties are the answer. What if we invested in more public transportation, thereby providing a way for drunks (and others) to get around? I bet it would cost a fraction of this whole infrastructure from jail to prosecutors to officers, etc. But, because we're so pleased with punishment, we never even think of other ways to handle social problems.

irishlady - your ideas wouldn't work, unfortunately. For starters, in a busy/crowded bar (as most WI bars are on the weekends) do you actually expect bartenders to remember how many drinks each patron has? And many times people buy drinks for people in their group so it's not feasible to count individuals' drinks. Not to mention that someone might have already started drinking at another establishment, so how would you know how many total drinks they had? Also, determining who is drunk and who is not is not an exact science because everyone's tolerance is different. I know people who can get completely annhiliated with alcohol and you wouldn't be able to tell. Then there's me who has 3 drinks and I'm totally hammered. So even if you limit everyone to, say, 3 drinks, someone like me is "permitted" to drive completely drunk.
.
I also know of people who are so drunk when they leave the bar they can't even stand up let alone drive, but because they are prominent people in the community (read: wealthy) the cops don't even pull them over because they have so much clout that it doesn't matter. I know this for a fact and it scares me to think these people are out there.
.
Unfortunately in Wisconsin, a lot of people refer to a DUI as a "drunk driving award" and when people get them, it's like, "hey, it happens to the best of us". It's not taken very seriously.

Drunk Driving laws should be tougher - I understand that anyone can get 1...it's just the fact that every time you look in the paper it is listed as someone's 2nd, 3rd, or 4th offense. Obviously those people are not learning from their mistakes.

In our country most people before they drive off the road and into a ditch yell and scream oh god!. in wisconsin they yell and scream Hold my Beer and watch this! pretty sad that we top most lists when it comes to drinking

We can't keep trying to answer social problems with criminal laws. I used to be a big fan of checkpoints; however, I've found directed patrols are equally, if not more effective, less costly, and less intrusive to the innocent driver. The problem is, whenever someone says, "lets go after the drunk drivers", few politicians want to go on record against it. I'm much more concerned with the repeat offender, or the .20 and above driver, than I am the .08 driver, and turning that person into a criminal because it is the political issue de jure.

4th occurence - involuntary injection of Antabuse implants for the rest of your life. Miss an injection and you do a year in jail - WITH an injection while you wait it out.

32% or 41.4% as the article said; it is still an unacceptable amount of needless deaths.
“In Wisconsin in 2007, 41.4% of fatal crashes involved an alcohol-impaired driver, among the highest in the nation.” This is disgraceful! It is not funny. The people, who think that this is just “Wisconsin culture”, really need to smarten up. We lose good people and loved ones way too often because of irresponsible drunk drivers. Here is some good reading material for you.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/30565984.ht...

JMO

I always thought driving was a privilege and not a right. Any impaired driving, whether it's alcohol, drugs, texting or make-up applying should all be punishable by much jail time and very high fines. There are people out there the don't let driving get in the way of all the other stuff they are doing in the car. If they want to crash into another driver that's doing the same thing, that's ok. That rarely ever happens and innocent people that do take driving seriously are usually the ones that pay for others stupidity. I guess there hasn't been anyone high enough in the food chain in WI politics that lost someone to an impaired driver for driving laws to be taken more seriously yet.

Apply the laws of the Commercial. Drivers. License. to everyone. 1.2.3.

1st occurence....you walk the streets for 6 months.

2nd occurence...you walk the streets for 1 year.

3rd occurence....you walk the streets the rest of you life. Driving priviledges revoked forever.

Problem solved.

For those who disagree with this (and I know there are), here is the other solution. Ban vehicles.

We have already tried banning alcohol in the USA (think Prohibition)and that failed. Banning vehicles is the only other solution. (this would really sink GM...)

I guess they were right saying drunk driving isn't taken seriously in Wisconsin when the first two comments are basically saying it's no big deal! I'm not from WI and I have been outraged by the drunk driving I've witnessed and read about and the times I've read about multiple DUI offenses with very light consequences. I hope this state does get serious about this problem. Ever hear of a designated driver??? There is no reason to be behind the wheel if you've had "3 or 4 beers"!

Until the local D.A.'s get a new attitude, not much will change. The new tougher laws will just be extra bargaining chips in the plea bargain poker that has nearly completely replaced the pursuit of justice.

The New York Times published an article about binge drinking in Wisconsin. Wisconsin has led the way every single year since the cdc started keeping track. Number 2 every year has always been a distant second. This whole Iowa a close third thing is a stretch. Wisconsin leads the way in everything bad that is associated with drinking. It is the heritage of the state many say. If you want to change laws, you have to change the culture. I doubt that will be happening any time soon...

I dont drink any more as I drank enough when I was younger to last well into my here and after. the laws need to be tough and yes consequences for actions be appropriate. i dont know how old the posters are here but drinking has always been part of our society and was acceptable and one of the most deadly when behind the wheel and IT IS LEGAL TO DO!!!! everyone wants tougher penalties,well get a clue. limit the amount that is served in the bars (LEGALLY) hold the ones that serve the person that is so intoxicated when they leave the bar that sold it (LEGALLY) I as an alcoholic was never able to stop at 1 or 2 and there are many more like me out there. I have on many occations been served beyond being drunk more times then I can remember as most of the time I was in a blackout and had no memory of the night before and how I got home with my car without killing someone including myself. That is why I dont drink anymore. Jail alone was not the solution to my drinking But AODA and counseling was. You cant make a person see he has a problem if they dont think they have one. warehousing the drunk drivers is not that answer and I think Iowa has a good start. getting the appropriate treatment and dealing with the issue is.

Ya think maybe ya could be more persuasive without the full frontal f-bomb?

Tougher laws and police checkpoints would put a serious dent in the drunk driving caused fatalities. Just look where it's being done now...jmo

Actually, I heard that 32 percent of traffic fatalaties are due to drunk drivers. That means 68 percent are caused by sober drivers. Maybe we should keep those crazy sober people off the road! (Totally kidding of course)

Ah, the "jusht a couple of beersh, oshiffer" defense. Impressive. Obviously texting presents its own dangers, but alcohol is a proven factor in half of all driving deaths.

916WI your so wrong. Your the type of person that thinks it's o.k. for your underage son or daughter to sit in the bar and have a drink with you because you can teach them the right way to drink that it is your right as an American to be able to as you want. ( wrong )The only answer here is ZERO TOLERENCE I say Thank you Wisconsin it's about time we toughen the laws on these people.

oops- i meant 916

921-I agree completely. Let's quit fretting about people having a couple of beers and start dealing with teenagers texting and the increase thefts.

Seriously, I'm much more worried about the 16 year old who is trying to text and play with the radio while driving than someone who has had 2 or 3 drinks and is hovering around a .08. I could understand jail time for killing someone if the offender was completely drunk, but to even suggest that someone could face a year in jail for getting picked up after stopping after work to have 3 or 4 beers with some friends is completely insane. All it is, is a money making racket for the local governments.....