Originally Posted by stekim

Let me provide another theory. Despite the fact that DUI is illegal and there are penalties for it, it's still among the most common of crimes. Millions are doing it daily. Most everyone has done it at least once. Most people far more than once. Few get caught, but they are doing it just the same. Most people can agree that drunk people are a menace on the streets. Therefore, it's not at all a positive thing that millions are doing it every day. So the question becomes, "what can we do to deter drunk people from getting behind the wheel of a big steel thing traveling at high speeds?" One possible solution is to make the penalites and fines, etc. serious enough that people really don't want to get caught. For instance, if we said that starting tomorrow anyone caught with a BAC above .08 will be hanged in front of City Hall, I guarantee you the number of people getting DUI's would fall dramatically really quickly. So maybe it's not a conspiracy, but rather a case of the government trying to prevent drunks from killing other people on the highway. The fact a few people get to line their pockets is merely a bonus for those people.