Mel Gibson's DUI and anti-semitic outburst

[Jedi Master Carr]

This all over the web,
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060730/us_nm/gibson_dc

If this is true, I think my feelings about Gibson have greatly changed.

[Rutabaga]

I am disappointed. Extraordinarily disappointed. :(

He's going to have to major damage control, no doubt about it.

[JMK]

Originally posted by Jinn Fizz
I am disappointed. Extraordinarily disappointed. :(

He's going to have to major damage control, no doubt about it.

Ditto.

What a horrendous display by Gibson. Shameful.

[Jedieb]

The arresting officer apparently has the arrest on audio. It's only a matter of time before that gets online. Man, does this give ammo to all those critics who found Passion anti-semetic. It's just friggin sad.

[JMK]

This has the potential to get really ugly. Gibson better hope and pray that that audio from the arrest NEVER sees the light of day.

[jediSamson]

dont know about the anti-semetic thing, but one thing I know is they really need to start cracking down on dui's the laws and punishment are laughable at best. I have been a (somewhat fan) of mel, but drinking and driving is inexcusable(sp). wish they would charge oui/dwi/dui's with attempted murder and setence them to min. of 20 years NO parole and NO early realease, they need to pull the whole sentence. But to many bleeding heart liberals out there that are to.....anyway.

[Byl Laprovik]

DWI isn't attempted murder. It isn't even close, and certainly shouldn't be considered as such.

As for Gibson, anybody who didn't think the man was an anti-Semite is pretty naive, but I think its a silly reason to suddenly cut bait and not watch his movies. If you want to play politics at the box office, go right ahead I suppose. Russel Crowe is a jerk and Johnny Depp is a level ten weirdo, and I'll go see their films because I don't care who they are when the credits end. Same for Gibson, really.

[jediSamson]

Originally posted by Byl Laprovik
DWI isn't attempted murder. It isn't even close, and certainly shouldn't be considered as such.

As for Gibson, anybody who didn't think the man was an anti-Semite is pretty naive, but I think its a silly reason to suddenly cut bait and not watch his movies. If you want to play politics at the box office, go right ahead I suppose. Russel Crowe is a jerk and Johnny Depp is a level ten weirdo, and I'll go see their films because I don't care who they are when the credits end. Same for Gibson, really. actually, Dwi is VERY close to attempted murder...Really think about it, read case's and you'd see just how inline with it, it is.


I mean, If I could REALLY, have my way ,anyone getting caught with high enough reading should be shot on the scene..but that will never happen..shame though..may have stayed a cop then.
Sorry, guys REEEAAAALLLLLYYYYYYYY hate drinking and driving, have no pitty and no remorse for my feelings of those scum bags.

[Byl Laprovik]

Originally posted by jediSamson
actually, Dwi is VERY close to attempted murder...Really think about it, read case's and you'd see just how inline with it, it is.


I mean, If I could REALLY, have my way ,anyone getting caught with high enough reading should be shot on the scene..but that will never happen..shame though..may have stayed a cop then.
Sorry, guys REEEAAAALLLLLYYYYYYYY hate drinking and driving, have no pitty and no remorse for my feelings of those scum bags.


No it isn't whatsoever. DWI does not require willful intent to engage in homicide, which attempted murder, being an attempt at a codified form of homicide does by definition. I can understand your disdain for it, but trying to lump the two together isn't legally sound at all.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think we should be harder on DWI's though. If I had my way one offense and your license is suspended for 2 years, you serve community service and pay a steep fine. It would help to stop people driving when drunk.
Oh and Gibson apologized
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060801/ap_on_en_mo/gibson_remarks;_ylt=Ai5vBb_q.p_hoAHk5D00UQtRF78C;_ ylu=X3oDMTA4dDg2MG9mBHNlYwMxNjk3
Well I am glad at least he came out admited it. Now maybe it was the booze talking, if he was that drunk you do things you might not do normaly. Although this will still hurt him, how much is the question.

[sirdizzy]

it has been now proven that you are more of a risk talking and driving on your cell phone then you are driving drunk, so lets throw the cell phone drivers in their too, the percentage of accidents caused every year by people on their phones is rising and making them the most dangerous drivers on the road

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well I don't like those people either. Now if you have one of those blue tooth phones okay, but otherwise you need both hands on the wheel.

[Sanis Prent]

Originally posted by Jedi Master Carr
I think we should be harder on DWI's though. If I had my way one offense and your license is suspended for 2 years, you serve community service and pay a steep fine. It would help to stop people driving when drunk.

Honestly, if we're not stopping people from drunk driving with the insanity that they have to go through now, then I don't think we'll do much by making the laws even more draconian (and they are pretty steep as it is). My best friend is just now coming off of his probationary period for an DUI that he had in January. Several thousand dollars and countless hours of inconvenience later, lesson learned. Having seen the things he's gone through, adding more crap isn't going to get into anybody's skull any better. If they decide to continue DUI'ing, you aren't going to change it after that.

I'm not a fan of the school of populism that seems to think that more punishment = better than. Thats the kind of garbage that's helped to ruin or country with clever ideas like capital punishment and the three strikes law.


Originally posted by sirdizzy
it has been now proven that you are more of a risk talking and driving on your cell phone then you are driving drunk

Cite the proof please.


so lets throw the cell phone drivers in their too, the percentage of accidents caused every year by people on their phones is rising and making them the most dangerous drivers on the road

If I get some statistical poll farm to cook a study up that says right handed people get in accidents more, then I bet I could get it in a newspaper too!

[Jedieb]

Originally posted by jediSamson
dont know about the anti-semetic thing, but one thing I know is they really need to start cracking down on dui's the laws and punishment are laughable at best. I have been a (somewhat fan) of mel, but drinking and driving is inexcusable(sp). wish they would charge oui/dwi/dui's with attempted murder and setence them to min. of 20 years NO parole and NO early realease, they need to pull the whole sentence. But to many bleeding heart liberals out there that are to.....anyway.

Well this bleeding heart liberal wishes we'd had tough DUI laws like that in place decades ago. That way both Dubya and his wife would have been sent to prison years ago. :evil


it has been now proven that you are more of a risk talking and driving on your cell phone then you are driving drunk, so lets throw the cell phone drivers in their too, the percentage of accidents caused every year by people on their phones is rising and making them the most dangerous drivers on the road
I'd be skeptical of any research that said cell phone driving was more dangerous than drunk driving. I'd bet it's just a case of raw numbers with more people using cell phones than those driving drunk. I'd bet there are numbers that show more accidents are caused by people eating McSuicide Burgers while driving than drunk drivers.

I'm not advocating buff's street side DUI justice, but it's still a very serious crime that can't be equated with careless driving habits like talking on a cell phone, eating, or putting on makeup. I think suspending someone's license, stiff fines, and community service should be the norm for first offenses. Everyone deserves one chance to do something stupid. Because honestly, I'd bet most of us at one time or another got behind the wheel and were probably over or close to the legal limit. But once you get to multiple offenses then there's no excuses. People need serious jail time once they get to that second offense.

[Mu Satach]

Originally posted by Sanis Prent
Cite the proof please.

I think he's referring to a 3 year study done here at the U of U.

http://unews.utah.edu/p/?r=062206-1

Both handheld and hands-free cell phones impaired driving, with no significant difference in the degree of impairment. That “calls into question driving regulations that prohibited handheld cell phones and permit hands-free cell phones,” the researchers write.

The study found that compared with undistracted drivers:

* Motorists who talked on either handheld or hands-free cell phones drove slightly slower, were 9 percent slower to hit the brakes, displayed 24 percent more variation in following distance as their attention switched between driving and conversing, were 19 percent slower to resume normal speed after braking and were more likely to crash. Three study participants rear-ended the pace car. All were talking on cell phones. None were drunk.
* Drivers drunk at the 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level drove a bit more slowly than both undistracted drivers and drivers using cell phones, yet more aggressively. They followed the pace car more closely, were twice as likely to brake only four seconds before a collision would have occurred, and hit their brakes with 23 percent more force. “Neither accident rates, nor reaction times to vehicles braking in front of the participant, nor recovery of lost speed following braking differed significantly” from undistracted drivers, the researchers write.

“Impairments associated with using a cell phone while driving can be as profound as those associated with driving while drunk,” they conclude.

[Sanis Prent]

Originally posted by Mu Satach
I think he's referring to a 3 year study done here at the U of U.

http://unews.utah.edu/p/?r=062206-1

Any supporting findings? Statistical confidence level?

Sampling was voluntary participation. That alone could skew findings in a significant pattern.

[Jedieb]

Does anyone doubt that there are probably hundreds, if not thousands of significant studies chronicling the devastating effects of drunk driving? I just don't equate careless driving with reckless and dangerous driving. You talk on your cell phone while you're drinking your coffee on the way to work in the morning, you're being careless. A careless jerk, but careless. But if you're staggering from the bar and getting behind the wheel because you're too cheap and stupid to call a cab then you're being reckless. I just don't think they're both the same. It's not the same as attempted homicide, but it's a serious offense nonetheless.

[Mu Satach]

T'ain't claiming for or against the arguement, as from my experience with jerkwad drivers, near misses and all around idiocy; you don't need to be lit, texting or yakin' on the phone to be a problem. I'm just pointing out the study, that it was made and published in a journal. (The ultimate goal of all researchers.)

If you want to debate the findings, contact the researchers.

Other studies by Strayer and colleagues on cell phones and driving may be downloaded from: http://www.psych.utah.edu/AppliedCognitionLab/

[Callomas Savoc]

Originally posted by Jedieb
Does anyone doubt that there are probably hundreds, if not thousands of significant studies chronicling the devastating effects of drunk driving? I just don't equate careless driving with reckless and dangerous driving. You talk on your cell phone while you're drinking your coffee on the way to work in the morning, you're being careless. A careless jerk, but careless. But if you're staggering from the bar and getting behind the wheel because you're too cheap and stupid to call a cab then you're being reckless. I just don't think they're both the same. It's not the same as attempted homicide, but it's a serious offense nonetheless.

Bingo bango.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Originally posted by Sanis Prent
Honestly, if we're not stopping people from drunk driving with the insanity that they have to go through now, then I don't think we'll do much by making the laws even more draconian (and they are pretty steep as it is). My best friend is just now coming off of his probationary period for an DUI that he had in January. Several thousand dollars and countless hours of inconvenience later, lesson learned. Having seen the things he's gone through, adding more crap isn't going to get into anybody's skull any better. If they decide to continue DUI'ing, you aren't going to change it after that.

I'm not a fan of the school of populism that seems to think that more punishment = better than. Thats the kind of garbage that's helped to ruin or country with clever ideas like capital punishment and the three strikes law.



Cite the proof please.



If I get some statistical poll farm to cook a study up that says right handed people get in accidents more, then I bet I could get it in a newspaper too!

You forget the punishment is nada. The state where I live it is like a slap on the wrist. That is part of the problem. Look maybe 2 years is harsh but it should be harsher than it is in my state.

[Sanis Prent]

Originally posted by Jedi Master Carr
You forget the punishment is nada. The state where I live it is like a slap on the wrist. That is part of the problem. Look maybe 2 years is harsh but it should be harsher than it is in my state.

You act like I've never been to Georgia before. That isn't a slap on the wrist unless you're a lifetime mafia member. Good grief. We're talking about occasional / one-timer offenders, not career felons here.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I live in SC :) I say this because I have experience with my sister's ex boyfriend he has two duis and not much has happened to him.

[Doc Milo]

On the cell phones and driving: According to that study, it's the mere act of conversing while driving, not handheld vs. handsfree phones. Does that mean if you have a passenger in the car, you better not talk to him/her? And what about those people who drive with one hand on the wheel, and one hand changing the station on the radio? There are literally hundreds of things people do in their cars every time they drive that are as distracting as talking on the cell phone. Why is the cell phone picked on? (Not that I'm a big cell phone user in the car, I just want to point out that I don't see the cell phone as any more distracting than driving while listening to the radio.)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Originally posted by Mu Satach
T'ain't claiming for or against the arguement, as from my experience with jerkwad drivers, near misses and all around idiocy; you don't need to be lit, texting or yakin' on the phone to be a problem. I'm just pointing out the study, that it was made and published in a journal. (The ultimate goal of all researchers.)

I'm with Mu on this one. Some people in general are just idiots.

[JMK]

I'm on the side of no cell phones when driving. And you can use the grey colored brush to ask all sorts of other questions like talking to others, listening to the radio, even smoking and eating.

The fact is that driving is a privelege, not a right. If you're behind the wheel, you should be concentrating on driving. If you've got one hand on your cell, and one hand on your gear stick...who's driving the car? Of course not everyone has a manual transmission, it's just an example. People need to be responsible behind the wheel and I can't even begin to count the number of times I've seen an inattentive driver have their lips flapping in to their cell phone. It's maddening and something should be done about it.

As for DWIs...different animal IMO. Those people should instantly lose their license and be tortured a la Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon. Don't kill them, just make it hurt real bad.