Owen Schmitt Arrested on Suspicion of DUI

I came into this topic praying this was a joke of some sort.

:(

"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."

by Fearless Frog on Jun 25, 2009 12:12 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I am utterly shocked that a player known as the Runaway Beer Truck would ever, ever drink and drive.

by John Morgan on Jun 25, 2009 12:27 PM PDT reply actions 3 recs

I thought everyone knew not to speed in Black Diamond.

They probably give out more tickets than anywhere in the state, save Othello.

by Groundhog on Jun 25, 2009 12:32 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Quincy, speed trap heaven.

by Built2Spill on Jun 25, 2009 1:35 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ellensburg.

The demise of the Broncos in '09 is our future. Pray hard.

by Nick Andron on Jun 25, 2009 4:07 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I lived out behind the gym...

and walked home from the bars more than once or twice.

Also drove more than once or twice when I shouldn’t have…

damn, i MISS college.

Please, for the LOVE OF GOD, stop suggesting next year's 1st round pick (or picks) be used for Taylor Mays and or a QB of the future. Let's just let the season unfold, people, and evaluate much deeper in the process!!!

by whiskey chainsaw on Jun 26, 2009 12:28 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

also...

Napavine
Oakville
Rochester
Elma
Montesano

Basically any town that has a high school that plays in southwest washington AA, A, or B sports…

Please, for the LOVE OF GOD, stop suggesting next year's 1st round pick (or picks) be used for Taylor Mays and or a QB of the future. Let's just let the season unfold, people, and evaluate much deeper in the process!!!

by whiskey chainsaw on Jun 26, 2009 1:47 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's horrible behavior and far more serious than it will be treated

I wonder how this will shake out. The state and league aren’t likely to do much, and Tim Ruskell has already set the precedent that this shouldn’t alter his role on the team, so I guess we can wag our tongues and cross our fingers and hope there’s an ounce of sincerity in his apology.

by John Morgan on Jun 25, 2009 12:33 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

If the NFL really wanted to crack down on drunk driving

Schmitt should receive the same penalty as Stallworth.

by Jed MC on Jun 25, 2009 12:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That'll never happen though, because there's an attitude that everyone does it.

Drinking and driving is a rite of passage in America.

by John Morgan on Jun 25, 2009 12:54 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why?

He didn’t kill anybody.

Drinking and driving while killing someone should have a much heavier punishment than driving at midnight where you’re endangering fewer people (Black Diamond barely has over 4,000 people anyway).

It’s still a really dumb thing to do and he’d be harming himself more than anything but treating him like Stallworth is a little too much, in my opinion.

Andy Reid is the only coach in NFL history that uses the pass to set up the pass.

by SSreporters on Jun 25, 2009 1:01 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Are you crediting Schmitt for doing something incredibly reckless in a less populated area?

by John Morgan on Jun 25, 2009 1:04 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's still reckless and stupid and endangering lives (like his own)

But Stallworth was in Miami Beach. You play the probability game and Stallworth had a higher chance of killing someone.

Andy Reid is the only coach in NFL history that uses the pass to set up the pass.

by SSreporters on Jun 25, 2009 1:13 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

By that logic

someone should get a lighter sentence for stabbing someone with a switch blade instead of a bowie knife because the blade is smaller.

by John Morgan on Jun 25, 2009 1:17 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I have no knowledge of the law.

But couldn’t someone argue that attacking with a switch blade wouldn’t be intent to murder or a ‘lighter’ form of assault rather than if a bowie knife was used?

"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."

by Fearless Frog on Jun 25, 2009 7:29 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

murder is murder

doesn’t matter if you used your bare hands or an M60. There is no probability about it, either you killed someone or you didn’t. Either you drove drunk and hit someone or you didn’t. The probability of something happening is pointless after the fact.

by B.B.Finnegan on Jun 26, 2009 12:07 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I dunno about anyone else

but I am not inclined to disagree with you on what the results of any perpetration are. I would’t try to call murder not murder.

But the context here was about sentencing, which quantifies how egregious the perpetration was. Intent matters, there. Still found guilty, still held accountable for one’s actions, even still convicted of a higher charge than a lesser, cases are commonly made about intent to harm, aggravated, rather than premeditated homicide, that lead to lighter sentences.

by jacobstevens on Jun 26, 2009 1:08 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

true, but we weren't talking about intent

the discussion was comparing the same type of crime, only a different method.

Very few people get into a car drunk with an intent to get a DUI, get into a wreck, or kill some random stranger. Things such as where the incident occurs (populated or rural) or what kind of vehicle or the kind of pants they were wearing that day doesn’t mater.

by B.B.Finnegan on Jun 26, 2009 5:04 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

"Murder" entails intent.

Once you use the word “murder” we are in fact talking about intent.

by thebyron on Jun 26, 2009 8:34 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with your premise but not your actual argument.

The results of an action SHOULD factor in. Sure, drunk driving is drunk driving, and there’s a chance of killing someone every time you do it. But some people blow a .1 and they’re falling over, and some blow .15 and they can still drive 3 miles home. There’s a difference between driving 2 miles home from a bar and joy riding with friends while you’re drunk at excessively high speeds (not saying this is what Stallworth did).
Look at LaRussa. He fell asleep while drunk. Dangerous? Yes. Could he have fallen asleep while driving? Yes. But he also could have been drunk, drove 3 blocks, realized he was too drunk to continue driving, and then just fell asleep at the wheel.

by LantermanC on Jun 25, 2009 2:34 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I disagree with that.

“Well, I only had to drive drunk for 3 blocks to get home” or “I didn’t have that much to drink, I should have been fine to drive”. Yes, the consequences should be appropriate for both the crime itself and it’s results, I agree to some extent, but sleeping behind the wheel generally implies driving, right? It should begin with same penalty (which should actually worse than the current laws, IMO) for that as driving around that way, regardless of location be it a schoolyard or a deserted island. DUI isn’t treated harshly enough, which is why I think so many evaluate the consequence/resulting sentencing of these crimes and that takes away from the scrutiny and consideration that should be given to the originating offense (DUI). It gets minimized in the process, yet causes an astronomical number of deaths each year.

Ultimately, I think it’s both about the crime and the results (if any, ie: injuring someone, killing someone, etc). Unfortunately, punishments for the crime of DUI itself, as someone mentioned before, are lax in relation to the severe danger that is presented when committing the act.

Early prospect watch: RB C.J. Spiller, QB Jevon Snead, OT Ciron Black, DT Gerald McCoy, S Eric Berry, DT Ndamukong Suh, CB Ras-I Dowling 6'2, 200, RB Jonathan Dwyer

by Misfit74 on Jun 25, 2009 2:53 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

well, maybe I agree more than the title implied...heh

Early prospect watch: RB C.J. Spiller, QB Jevon Snead, OT Ciron Black, DT Gerald McCoy, S Eric Berry, DT Ndamukong Suh, CB Ras-I Dowling 6'2, 200, RB Jonathan Dwyer

by Misfit74 on Jun 25, 2009 2:55 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, I agree that the average sentencing for a DUI should be a lot harsher, regardless

of the consequences of the DUI.

by LantermanC on Jun 25, 2009 3:03 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't...

and I’m a guy that got one. And it seriously fucked up my life.

After I passed a battery of tests for 45 minutes. I failed on a technicality (hands in the pockets of my cargo shorts in 60 degree weather, not literally directly at my sides, and what’s more, i walked with them at my sides then put them in my pockets when i was done because i was cold.)

So because I ’didn’t follow oral instructions correctly" for 2 out of approximately 40 minutes, I failed and they had me blow; I blew a .17

Was I drunk? Yes, according to legality and a BAL test. According to common sense, I was fine.

I was pulled over for driving 22 in a 20, in a small town in California, in one of those “School Zone” areas where the “When children are present” sign wasn’t there. At around midnight. Didn’t think kids were a problem (and the regular speed limit was 25 there).

Again, let me repeat— I passed every test, walked the line, did the alphabet, asked if they wanted me to do it backwards and did that too because I could. (It didn’t help.)

Here’s the thing— it cost me about 15k— maybe more, and when it was all said and done… all that because I 1) drove 2 mph over the limit in a “trick limit” 2) I put my hands in my pockets.

So I don’t have a lot of care and respect for the current drunk driving laws and those presiding and enforcing them. Look, people drink, and people drive. Most don’t do both together. However, I see far more people that are far worse drivers than me while sober in the middle of the day, on a daily basis.

People that pull out in front of you, people that run lights, that weave while on a cell phone, that don’t understand to stay right except to pass, that just do stupid god damn things on the road all the time because their so defensive in their driving they make the road unsafe. People that can’t figure out how a roundabout works. Jeebus, man. Those people are a far greater risk than I was the night I got caught “breaking the law.”

You want drunk driving penalties? Fine. Make some affordable public transportation. And allow passengers to drink in the vehicle if the driver is sober. And raise the test beyond a BAL to actual tests… make it be something serviceable, like passing reasonable tests or not. If you can pass the tests, you can drive, if you can’t, you get the DUI.

I could care less what your BAL is, I want to know your cognitive ability and motor skills. If you can function on a .22, or a .02, or if you’ve never had a drink in your life, fine. I have more concern over whether you can function than whether you pass a test related to the smell of your breath.

If you can’t pass the tests in broad daylight while sober? You don’t get a license, period. Every test they administer on a DUI check should be administered to people trying to get their license.

Of course, I’m a terrible person, because I blew a .17, and someone reading this lost a family member or some such, therefor I am lumped in with a drunk ass idiot who couldn’t stay in his lane or whatever. (And for the record, I too have lost people close to me in auto accidents due to both alcohol and plain stupidity… )

Please, for the LOVE OF GOD, stop suggesting next year's 1st round pick (or picks) be used for Taylor Mays and or a QB of the future. Let's just let the season unfold, people, and evaluate much deeper in the process!!!

by whiskey chainsaw on Jun 26, 2009 12:49 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just re-read that...

and I’m sticking to it, though I can see by reading the comments down below that I’m going to get skewered by most, and not for my improper “their/they’re/there”…

Please, for the LOVE OF GOD, stop suggesting next year's 1st round pick (or picks) be used for Taylor Mays and or a QB of the future. Let's just let the season unfold, people, and evaluate much deeper in the process!!!

by whiskey chainsaw on Jun 26, 2009 12:55 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

If you blew a .17, it's likely you were not capable of judging your fitness to drive.

Most people would not be. Further, let’s say for the sake of argument you are an exceptional case that can drive well despite a very high BAC. You still must conform to the law. The law is utilitarian. It might not work for the exceptional few, but it does the most good for the most number of people. Most people that have a BAC above the legal limit would not be able properly judge if they have the coordination, motor skills, concentration, etc. to drive, and letting them make that decision is extremely dangerous to the great majority of people that do not drink and drive. A BAC law cuts out interpretation. It says, if you’ve drank, you shouldn’t drive, however capable you think you are. It protects the most people in the most efficient and effective way.

by John Morgan on Jun 26, 2009 10:53 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh I'm very capable.

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my place is in the backseat of a taxi

:P

The demise of the Broncos in '09 is our future. Pray hard.

by Nick Andron on Jun 26, 2009 11:16 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's exactly what I was going to say.

If you blew a .17 there is no way I believe this: “According to common sense, I was fine.” What I hear is blame, rationalization, minimizing, justification and the absence of responsibility for driving drunk. The facts are you broke the law by driving over the BAC limit. It’s not about hands in pockets or an imperfect field sobriety test. Take responsibility, and hopefully change both your thinking on the matter and especially your behavior about it. It sounsd to me like you might often a danger on the roadways, since you claim to ‘be fine’ after drinking significant quantities of alcohol. I pray you don’t continue that and hurt someone or yourself.

Early prospect watch: RB C.J. Spiller, QB Jevon Snead, OT Ciron Black, DT Gerald McCoy, S Eric Berry, DT Ndamukong Suh, CB Ras-I Dowling 6'2, 200, RB Jonathan Dwyer

by Misfit74 on Jun 26, 2009 3:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dude, you were double the legal limit.

Kudos to you if you can hold your liquor — but the rest of us don’t want to take your word for it that you’re an exceptionally coordinated drunk. Your opinion of your own drunk driving skill is biased by ego and booze. Many a drunk driving fatality has been caused by a driver who thought he was fine to drive, but wasn’t. Once you start drinking, it is no longer your call. Alcohol impairs judgment, and only a fool thinks he’s immune to that.

The law is based on BAC rather than cognitive ability and motor skills because 1) the latter two are not easily quantifiable in an objective way, and 2) because this is a life-and-death issue, so setting a low bar for the definition of drunkenness protects drivers and saves lives. Ignoring all that for the sake of the convenience of driving yourself home is selfish.

by sev79 on Jun 26, 2009 12:11 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

+1

Early prospect watch: RB C.J. Spiller, QB Jevon Snead, OT Ciron Black, DT Gerald McCoy, S Eric Berry, DT Ndamukong Suh, CB Ras-I Dowling 6'2, 200, RB Jonathan Dwyer

by Misfit74 on Jun 28, 2009 12:54 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

this:

“I sincerely apologize to the team, the NFL, the fans and my family and friends for my actions and my poor judgment,” Schmitt said. “I fully understand the seriousness of this matter, and I am disappointed in myself. I am committed to earning back the trust of everyone affected.” -Seattle Times via the NFP

Early prospect watch: RB C.J. Spiller, QB Jevon Snead, OT Ciron Black, DT Gerald McCoy, S Eric Berry, DT Ndamukong Suh, CB Ras-I Dowling 6'2, 200, RB Jonathan Dwyer

by Misfit74 on Jun 25, 2009 8:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm just going to say it:

FUCK!

Time for a nickname change…

Early prospect watch: RB C.J. Spiller, QB Jevon Snead, OT Ciron Black, DT Gerald McCoy, S Eric Berry, DT Ndamukong Suh, CB Ras-I Dowling 6'2, 200, RB Jonathan Dwyer

by Misfit74 on Jun 25, 2009 12:47 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Wow, that sucks

At least he didn’t get tazed in the process.

by ninjasocks on Jun 25, 2009 1:13 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Damn it.

Again with this. You’re a friggin professional football player. Hire a cab, or a limo, or a fricking helicopter.

Stacey Nelson throws flaming screwballs.
It's great to be a Florida Gator!

by Wayward Llama on Jun 25, 2009 1:34 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

But it's more fun to get loaded and drive.

I mean, what the hell did Schmitt work so damn hard for if he can’t even pound a half rack and kill some squirrels.

by John Morgan on Jun 25, 2009 1:46 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Then he should buy a few acres, get shitty, and climb into a jeep.

With a five point harness of course. Thank God he didn’t hit anyone or anything.

Stacey Nelson throws flaming screwballs.
It's great to be a Florida Gator!

by Wayward Llama on Jun 26, 2009 4:53 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Apparently

the teams keep track of the number of calls for the NFL-provided car service and the teams (can) bring it up in contract negotiations.

by ninjasocks on Jun 25, 2009 4:12 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

If that's what's acting as a disincentive

maybe it would be in the best interest of the league, corporally, to not leverage that in contract negotiations. The CBA gives the players 70%, I mean that number isn’t going down. Seems like the net benefit of establishing risk in contract leverage would be at best negligible, while the aesthetic value of widespread usage and adoption of the service easily trumps it.

Or if it doesn’t, then how can one acknowledge the logic of punishment PR for the likes of Stallworth?

by jacobstevens on Jun 25, 2009 4:29 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I didn't know that. Seems like BS to me. A deterrant for the deterrant...

Early prospect watch: RB C.J. Spiller, QB Jevon Snead, OT Ciron Black, DT Gerald McCoy, S Eric Berry, DT Ndamukong Suh, CB Ras-I Dowling 6'2, 200, RB Jonathan Dwyer

by Misfit74 on Jun 25, 2009 4:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Proof plz

I find this incredibly hard to believe (no offense)

The demise of the Broncos in '09 is our future. Pray hard.

by Nick Andron on Jun 26, 2009 8:11 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Damnit, Owen.

by abender20 on Jun 25, 2009 1:35 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Our supposedly high-character team...

has what, 3+ incidents in recent memory…? Not cool.

We should have drafted Bernard Scott!

Early prospect watch: RB C.J. Spiller, QB Jevon Snead, OT Ciron Black, DT Gerald McCoy, S Eric Berry, DT Ndamukong Suh, CB Ras-I Dowling 6'2, 200, RB Jonathan Dwyer

by Misfit74 on Jun 25, 2009 1:57 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Considering his nickname.....

I’m not surprised. He was “Schmitt faced.”

Guyz, I need ur help. Im txting from my iphone. I'm at a girls house i like, & i had 2 go 2 the bthroom. It was #2, & i clogged the toilet, water is everywhere. What should I do?

by MontpikeMike on Jun 25, 2009 2:36 PM PDT reply actions 3 recs

just wow.

Early prospect watch: RB C.J. Spiller, QB Jevon Snead, OT Ciron Black, DT Gerald McCoy, S Eric Berry, DT Ndamukong Suh, CB Ras-I Dowling 6'2, 200, RB Jonathan Dwyer

by Misfit74 on Jun 25, 2009 2:55 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

oi vey

Stacey Nelson throws flaming screwballs.
It's great to be a Florida Gator!

by Wayward Llama on Jun 26, 2009 4:53 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, at least this time it's from someone we already knew was bonehead

that’s about all I can say about this

by B.B.Finnegan on Jun 25, 2009 3:07 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Fail!

Sickening. Ridiculous. Stupid.

I don’t so much miss “church van” as I do Mack Strong. Now HE was a classy, intelligent human being. And, one of the best FBs in the league in the last 15 years.

Schmitt! Schmitt!! Schmitt!!!

I had a good deal of hope concerning him, too. Especially in light of the fact that the coaches were sold on him enough to announce that he would be the starting FB on a team which will be giving new emphasis to the running game. All he had to do was keep his nose clean.

Call me old fashioned, but I happen to take a lot of pride in the fact that our team values character above, or just as much as other imperative traits. Owen, you made a really poor, selfish choice. Hopefully, you’ll learn something from it.

I’m very disappointed. Yuck!

by xXx_Amagearu_xXx on Jun 25, 2009 3:35 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I miss Mack the most

I almost cried when he had that 30 something yard run in the playoff game against the Redskins during our Super Bowl season.

Andy Reid is the only coach in NFL history that uses the pass to set up the pass.

by SSreporters on Jun 25, 2009 3:53 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That was so awesome. Especially since Shaun was out.

Or at least, I think he was during the time of that run.

"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."

by Fearless Frog on Jun 25, 2009 7:31 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I've never been so proud to have a Strong jersey.

The dude is/was/always has been the picture of class.

Stacey Nelson throws flaming screwballs.
It's great to be a Florida Gator!

by Wayward Llama on Jun 26, 2009 4:54 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Me too.

Mack was simply amazing in every respect as far as I know. One of my all time favorite Seahawks, and one of my all time favorite NFL players. Class, character, intelligence, phenomenal blocking, great hands, selflessness, leadership, grit, etc. The man had it all as far as FBs go, and was a great human being to boot. Shaun Alexander owes a large deal of his success to Mack, too. As well as Big Walt, Hutch, and the rest of the O-line that year, of course.

A couple of questions:

1.) Wasn’t Mack Strong a “walk on”?

2.) What are the odds of Mack making the Ring of Honor one day?

He was with the team for a staggering 15 years at a physically destructive position, and would most certainly get my vote if I had one.

by xXx_Amagearu_xXx on Jun 26, 2009 7:52 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

He was signed as an undrafted free agent, out of UGA.

I’d think the chances making the ring of honor are pretty good.

Stacey Nelson throws flaming screwballs.
It's great to be a Florida Gator!

by Wayward Llama on Jun 26, 2009 9:45 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Apparently

someone needs to drag this bone-head’s arse down to Harborview’s Intensive Care Unit, and show him just how disgustingly stupid a mistake he made!

by xXx_Amagearu_xXx on Jun 25, 2009 3:38 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Another day, another DUI...

What does it say when someone not only doesn’t learn from Dante Stallworth, but has a teammate who got a DUI last year as well?

1) That someone has some serious problems of some sort (alcoholism, ignorance, etc.)
2) The punishments for DUI’s are a joke.

Some places in Europe take away your license for “drink driving” as they call it, no questions asked. I see no reason why we shouldn’t do the same.

Anyways, about football, it’s incredibly disappointing to have a player who has yet to prove anything prove that he’s a grade-A dumbass first. I was pretty pumped about Schmitt before, but now I hope the Hawks find a way to sit him for another year. He could clearly use the time off.

by Sheriff Bart on Jun 25, 2009 3:52 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm cool with Europe as a model...

For example, Germany:

A) public transportation readily available, even until 2-3 in the morning.
B) passengers can drink in the vehicle as long as the driver is sober
C) an actual driving test that is a challenge in the first place, reducing bad (sober) drivers from the road. And let’s be honest, bad sober drivers cause a hell of a lot more wrecks and issues on the road than bad drunk drivers, if not at the fatality level and reputation.
D) very high cost for the driver’s license, eliminating many people from the roads (of course, they can always take a bus or train, alternative transportation are actual options).
E) driving laws that make sense, like, for example STAY RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS, and if you don’t, and someone runs into you from behind, it’s YOUR FAULT.

Give me those things, and you can have your “license taken away no questions asked” though I would still have some questions for a cop that makes a judgment call on whether or not you "appear’ to be intoxicated.

See my post up a bit above, but the punishment for DUI when you consider the cost of insurance, is exorbitant, not a joke!

I had a perfect record prior, got a bullshit DUI by cops that subsidize their town, county, state, whatever it is— with their arrests and convictions (which you have to be rich or lucky to win/overturn) and now 5 years later STILL pay 130 bucks a month for my insurance for another month until it finally disappears.

An extra 40 bucks a month… for 60 months. Yummy.

Plus the 1650 dollar ticket. Plus the 150 dollar tow. Plus the 65 dollar blood test. Plus the 50 dollar court fees. Plus the lawyer fee of 500. Plus the class, another 400 there. Plus the fingerprints, another 40 dollar processing. Hell, I’m sure I forgot a few things. Oh, books for the class, extra 40 bucks.

The punishment is NOT a joke if you are not wealthy and you try to make right.

My only regret? Not that I got behind the wheel… I was fine. My regret was getting caught, the way I did, in the town I did. I didn’t know alternative directions to my buddy’s house, but had I gone another route, I wouldn’t have been caught.

The fact that I’ve paid thousands of dollars taught me nothing other than “don’t get caught (in a bullshit town by bullshit cops.)”

And finally, the kid is like 23 years old. Give him a break. He’s a kid. Sit him another year for that? Really? Meh. Only if he hurt someone.

Please, for the LOVE OF GOD, stop suggesting next year's 1st round pick (or picks) be used for Taylor Mays and or a QB of the future. Let's just let the season unfold, people, and evaluate much deeper in the process!!!

by whiskey chainsaw on Jun 26, 2009 1:29 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with the European model.

But unfortunately, alcohol is demonized in the US and seen as part of life in Europe. Anyone who has been to Europe and can compare the way American kids and European kids act when drinking can attest to that.

Stacey Nelson throws flaming screwballs.
It's great to be a Florida Gator!

by Wayward Llama on Jun 26, 2009 4:58 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Actually fatalities are overwhelming connected with DUIs.

The effects alcohol has on the system quite noticeable when comparing sober driving to drunk driving. DUI should have licenses pulled because of your exact argument. The “I can drive better than some sober people” is what causes major accidents. If you ever drive on the freeway around 2-3 in the morning, you can see the amount of drunk drivers who nonchalantly use two lanes to take a left or think driving on the line helps them drive straight. I have a friend who was hit by a drunk driver, shattered her knees, caused brain damage from hitting the cement. He blew a .1 . He was arguing that she was using the crosswalk and he did not see her, as if she popped into the crosswalk just to fuck him. He was not drunk in the same way you “were”. No way around it, DUIs are dangerous. I think DUI should have your license pulled. Unfortunately we seem to under fund transportation because we seem to think it does not affect us which completely fallacious.

by Built2Spill on Jun 26, 2009 7:10 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You pay a greater insurance premium because you are a higher insurance risk.

That’s not part of your DUI punishment, that’s the additional liability your insurer takes on for covering you.

$3,000 is about as lenient a penalty as one can get for a DUI offense. In many countries you would have been incarcerated.

by John Morgan on Jun 26, 2009 10:59 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

This will be quickly forgotten

Now that Michael Jackson is dead.

Andy Reid is the only coach in NFL history that uses the pass to set up the pass.

by SSreporters on Jun 25, 2009 3:53 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Farrah Fawcett dies at 62 of cancer...

Early prospect watch: RB C.J. Spiller, QB Jevon Snead, OT Ciron Black, DT Gerald McCoy, S Eric Berry, DT Ndamukong Suh, CB Ras-I Dowling 6'2, 200, RB Jonathan Dwyer

by Misfit74 on Jun 25, 2009 4:29 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Man, what is wrong with the world today?

by aerozeppelin on Jun 25, 2009 4:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sean Connery, Robert Deniro, and Patrick Stewart are all getting old as hell.

That’s what’s wrong with the world today.

Stacey Nelson throws flaming screwballs.
It's great to be a Florida Gator!

by Wayward Llama on Jun 26, 2009 4:59 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Seriously?

"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."

by Fearless Frog on Jun 25, 2009 7:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Seriously.

Andy Reid is the only coach in NFL history that uses the pass to set up the pass.

by SSreporters on Jun 25, 2009 8:05 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

sigh

The demise of the Broncos in '09 is our future. Pray hard.

by Nick Andron on Jun 25, 2009 4:09 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I am indignant!

by Nate Dogg on Jun 25, 2009 4:30 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

We're almost approaching Bengals territory

Well not quite..

by TheSteelersRuinedMyBirthday on Jun 25, 2009 9:12 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

This ruined my night.

And angers me greatly. Anybody getting behind the wheel of a car while under the influence of any mind-altering substance should be thrown in a cell. And that’s that. It blows my mind the extent to which this is tolerated in our society, namely in the NFL.

Owen Schmitt, you just dropped waaaaaay down on my list of favorite Hawks. You’re below Lawrence Jackson now… how does that make you feel????

by PRIDEin253 on Jun 25, 2009 10:24 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

What about...

nicotine?
caffeine?
ritalin?
Claritin?
zanex?
Prozac?
Zoloft?
Paxil?
Wellbutrin?
Effexor?
Concerta?

It blows my mind the level to which we penalize people for driving with a mild buzz. .08 is a random number that proves nothing other than a you are above or below a random decided upon percentage of alcohol in your system. It does nothing to show whether you can or cannot pass a cognitive or motor skill test. Those tests no longer matter, all that matters is the chemistry.

But ask yourself, would you rather have someone behind a wheel with a .09 who can talk and walk and move and prove motor skills, or my grandfather, who somehow at 90 years old still has a license. Cause I’ll tell you what, I would much rather have 1000 or me at .20 than any of him at .00.

The only time I’ve ever been in a collision wreck I T-boned an 89 year old lady who pulled out across 5 lanes of traffic at geriatric speed and I was in the 5th lane. I doubt she had any level of mind altering substances, but I could drive better, safer and more effectively than her with a case in me.

I’m not saying drunk driving should be allowed… I’m saying test the person, and think beyond BAL as an end all be all. It’s a meaningless number.

Do I think he messed up? Yeah. Do I think it is that big a deal? Not at all.

Please, for the LOVE OF GOD, stop suggesting next year's 1st round pick (or picks) be used for Taylor Mays and or a QB of the future. Let's just let the season unfold, people, and evaluate much deeper in the process!!!

by whiskey chainsaw on Jun 26, 2009 1:38 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Kind of hard to put those drugs into the mix.

None of them provide a “buzz” like alcohol does.

Stacey Nelson throws flaming screwballs.
It's great to be a Florida Gator!

by Wayward Llama on Jun 26, 2009 5:01 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

But they do have quite an effect on your alertness and ability to pay attention.

by bewrong on Jun 26, 2009 8:21 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

some increase your alertness and ability to pay attention

by Built2Spill on Jun 26, 2009 8:27 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Some would say that cocaine does that too

That doesn’t mean coked-up drivers are a good thing….

by thebyron on Jun 26, 2009 10:33 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

If you mean ritalin and caffeine,

they do increase your susceptibility to distraction, and make you very focused on said distraction.

by bewrong on Jun 26, 2009 2:04 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

So does meth

by vanrijn on Jun 29, 2009 7:40 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

try effexor sometime

I guarantee you’ll feel a buzz. Especially if you try and stop.

by djafrot on Jun 26, 2009 6:00 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

But they do alter behavior and the mind.

Sam Bradford, future Seattle Seahawk.

by Carl Shinyama on Jun 28, 2009 2:05 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Comparing driving while drunk to driving while caffeinated is beyond asinine.

Alcohol is linked to thousands of vehicular fatalities every year. The rest of your list is not. There is nothing ambiguous about this: It is selfish, reckless and homicidal to drive a motor vehicle when intoxicated. Your own personal experience is blinding you to the facts. Most, nearly all if not all drivers that exceed a BAC of .08 are unfit to drive. The law cannot lose effectiveness or practicality for those supposed few exceptions.

No one is ever forced to drive. If someone wishes to drink, they must accept they then cannot drive. Maybe they think they are still capable of driving, but hard science says most, almost all are not capable of determining that. Therefore laws are enacted to do the most people the most good.

Comparing a drunk driver to a driver that’s otherwise impaired is completely illogical. How does another unsafe act make drunken driving safer?

A person’s BAC is not a “meaningless number”. It’s like a speeding limit. Some people can drive safely at 100mph. Some can’t drive safely at 50mph. But in a nation of over 300 million people, you can’t determine that case-by-case. You must set some guidelines based on most people. A nation’s laws must protect and benefit the most number of people. If that means some people get DUI’s when they think they were capable of driving, or even were capable of driving, but that it discourages the great majority of people that are incapable of driving, and incapable of determining their fitness to drive, from driving, and therefore saves lives, it’s a worthwhile law, and, frankly, tough shit to the people that fall on the wrong side of it.

by John Morgan on Jun 26, 2009 11:18 AM PDT up reply actions 2 recs

Driving Under the Influence

Doesn’t necessarily refer to alcohol.

by Groundhog on Jun 26, 2009 4:16 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sometimes I drive under the influence

of James Brown

Ow! (and then I swerve my tires spasmatically)

by B.B.Finnegan on Jun 26, 2009 5:11 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

Well done.

"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."

by Fearless Frog on Jun 27, 2009 2:48 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I've found that one of the more dangerous influences under which to drive

is good music. I don’t know if it’s possible to listen to Zep’s “Immigrant Song” (or [insert awesome uptempo rocker here]) without your speedometer creeping upward.

by thebyron on Jun 27, 2009 9:20 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sometimes good people..

do stupid things. Tatupu is another example. By all accounts a responsible guy, good teammate, honorable man—but he drove drunk anyway. It happens. Of course, that is not an excuse, and punishment is appropriate, but it’s not surprising to me, and only mildly disappointing.

A sure sign I’m getting old, I suppose. Foibles in anybody surprise me less and less.

Nor does one DUI make a player a Benglas-type thug. That requires a special type of recidivism that no current Hawk has yet shown.

The first screw-up puts everybody on alert. If a second one comes, THEN I get disappointed. But if it stops at the first time, you just give thanks nobody was hurt, levy a big-ass fine if possible and move on.

by Hawkdawg on Jun 25, 2009 10:38 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Not a sign you are getting old...

a sign you think for yourself, evaluate each situation and each individual uniquely. I say kudos to you!

Too bad we don’t do more of that as a society. We don’t live in strict black and white people, we live in a lot of shades. The more dogmatically we force ourselves to construct a set of rules and expectations that work for anyone every time, the more probable we will miscast everyone every time, and the nuances of individuality and even common sense will be crushed below the weight of rules to protect everything but our freedom, rights, and individual liberty.

Please, for the LOVE OF GOD, stop suggesting next year's 1st round pick (or picks) be used for Taylor Mays and or a QB of the future. Let's just let the season unfold, people, and evaluate much deeper in the process!!!

by whiskey chainsaw on Jun 26, 2009 1:45 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

To bad.

People drink, people drive. The bad part is most people never learn a leason until they are picked up by the police or they kill someone. Lets hope that Owen learned his lesson before killing someone.

You would think after what just happened to Stallworth in the last week some of these guys would think twice, but when Dante got off with as light a sentence as he got (and in my book it was light, for killing someone), maybe people with money and some fame really just don’t care, lets hope not.

by JustinWF on Jun 26, 2009 9:57 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs