October 1, 2014. Espn.com reported that Micheal Phelps registered a .14 on his DUI breath test. That is not an interesting story. The interesting story is found in the comments to the story. Many of the commenters called DUI laws a joke and a scam. The comments ranged from the legal limit being too low to DUI prosecutions being about government revenue and not public safety. Government policymakers have overplayed their hand. DUI laws are too tough for the tipsy and too soft on the wasted. Of course, opinions differ on where to draw the lines. Further, public safety issues like texting and driving and drivers over 65 years of age which have been established as more dangerous than driving over the 0.08 legal limit are not enforced at all much less by jail and license suspensions. Selective enforcement of special interest crimes by law enforcement at the behest of public safety lobbyists has undermined the respect for authority in society in general.
-Author: George Creal