DWI's used to be handled (at least in rural or small towns) with the cop testing the guy, and if drunk....taking them in the back seat of the car to their home. That 'gimmick' probably stopped in the 1980s, and it became popular to just detain the guy, charge them with the DWI, and settle up with a hefty fine, loss of the license for a while, and a couple of days in some city jail.
In some medium-sized cities today, I'd take a guess that half-a-million in DWI fines float through the city every month.
In California, it's a minimum of $1,400 and possibly up to $2,600 for a DWI, with 4 days in jail as the minimum (if you caused injuries or hefty damage, this jail-time there goes up to six months).
In Alabama, it's a minimum of $600 in fines, but could go up to $2,100. The loss of the license? Oh, that's 90 days.
In Indiana, depending on how much damage you do....it's a max fine of $5k, and a minimum of 60 days of jail-time.
After watching this Atlanta event unfold, I have a general suggestion.
After you (the cop) confirm the driver is drunk....you go and put a locking device on his wheels, then call the wrecker guys to come and tow it. The towed vehicle? It's city property once a judge assesses the test values. You lose the vehicle. Once the city sells the car.....some amount is deferred to you (maybe 10-percent....maybe 30-percent), but you only get that money after you go and spend a minimum of ten days in the city jail. If you don't want to spend the days in jail....fine, no cash from the sale of your car.
The odds of this guy finding some credit company to handle the purchase of another car? It diminishes a good bit.
This would take the cop basically out of the DWI business, and remove the fines as city revenue.
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